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In response to public enquiries on an advertisement by Internet email promoting a company﷿s set-top boxes to customers, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) today (February 7) clarified that there were no external set-top boxes (decoders) currently available in the market for receiving the Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) services to be launched in Hong Kong.
The two free-to-air TV companies, Asia Television Limited (ATV) and Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), will start providing DTT services sometime in 2007. When DTT services are launched, ATV and TVB will broadcast their existing programme channels in both analogue and digital format (i.e. simulcast). They will also provide new digital services such has high-definition TV services. Viewers will continue to be able to use their current analogue TV sets to receive the existing analogue TV services until the shutdown of the analogue broadcasting. Subject to further market and technical studies, the Government aims to switch off analogue broadcasting in 2012.
As the existing TV sets are incapable of decoding digital signals, viewers who want to receive DTT services will need to purchase either a digital set-top box (decoder) to be connected to their existing TV sets or an integrated digital TV set with a built-in digital decoder.
As of today, the technical standard for DTT has not been decided. OFTA reminds the public that advertisements for sales of set-top boxes (decoders) or other receiving equipment claiming to be capable of meeting the forthcoming DTT technical standard and receiving DTT services to be launched in Hong Kong are untrue and misleading.
More information about digital TV and its receiving equipment is available at the websites below:
Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau: http://www.citb.gov.hk/ctb/
OFTA: http://www.ofta.gov.hk
Ends/Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Issued at HKT 18:13
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