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Call for comment on digital switch

ACMA is seeking public comment on the switch to digital television -but you better be quick if you have something to say.

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offbuttonGot an opinion on the switch to digital television? Now you can have your say -but you better be quick.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is seeking public comment on the switch from analogue to digital, set to begin in Mildura in the first half of 2010.

It will follow with staggered, region-by-region changes around the country ending in 2013.

“The proposed variations to the schemes are intended to assist the implementation of the Government’s digital television switch-over timetable,” said Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman.

Before finalising the proposed changes to the schemes, ACMA is calling for comments on the draft variations.

Somehow I don’t think telling them you’d like TEN shows to stay in HD really fits their brief, but the closing date for comment is this Friday 20 February 2009.

Source: ACMA

14 Responses

  1. Its like a catch 22. People aren’t taking up digital because there is almost nothing worth getting it for at the moment, and the tv stations aren’t giving us new stuff on digital because next to no one is taking it up. That and the cut off date is 2010-2013. Thats years away! If someone said to me “omg they are going to cut off analogue tv broadcasts in four years” I wouldn’t be rushing out to buy a set top box because I still have years until I need it. They need to stop pushing the date back and just do it already. There will always be people who aren’t ready and who don’t have set top boxes. Whether it happens tommorow or in four years that will be the case. I don’t think that should be a major factor in the timing.

  2. If the quality of free TV was any good, more people would be making haste to convert to digital. Although the economy going down the toilet isn’t helping those purchases.

  3. And another thing that would help digital switch off is having ditigal tuners in all TVs. Not just big screens. I don’t understand why they still sell Tvs with analogue tuners now.

  4. Government assistance like Paull said is needed to help people get set top boxes – they do that in the US. Agree analogue should have gone already. Until it goes, Freeview no point. So we all wait 4 more years to really benefit.

    The Australian market is not big enough for a 4th commercial station. As it is, the big 3 struggle to survive. I think it would lower quality rather than improve.

    Ch 31 and ch44 could be put together into one digital service but probably only pratical in capital cities.

    But, in all honesty, suggest government has bigger issues to worry about than TV going digital – like making sure we all have jobs and don’t have a recession.

  6. Evil, whilst I agree that this should of years ago, in some cases it will cost more than $30. Alot of homes will require a new antenna to pick up digital television as well. (As was the case for me) There needs to be an massive education campagin and it really should have already begun.

  8. Yeh just wondering when TVS (and local tv in other states) will be going digital. Sure I don’t really watch TVS because the shows aren’t exactly that entertaining, but it’s a good outlet for local content (which comprises of shows imported from local melbourne tv, and indian weddings).

  9. But seriously, I have read the document, and it states that, 38A and 38B licences are will be approved for “digital-only local market areas within existing licence areas” defined by the Minister.

    This means if approved, the dual metro/aggregated markets of NSW’s Central Coast, Queensland’s Gold and Sunshine Coasts and Geelong in VIC could get their own local TV operators, to drive digital takeup in these areas.

    It is a win-win situation for all concerned.

  11. Just switching it off would be pretty mean to all those people who can’t afford $30 out of their normal weekly budget due to being on some form of government assistance. If the government gave out a free sd-stb to those who earnt under a certain amount then it wouldn’t be a bad idea, but otherwise you can’t just switch off Analogue, imagine the amount of old people who have no idea about analogue, missing out on their favourite shows just because a few people want analogue shut off. It would be unfair.

    To start with, the government needs to do more to promote digital tv, and like america did a couple of years before they shut off analogue (this june now), they need to ban the sale of new tvs with analogue tuners.

  12. Xavier, they have been talking about a fourth FTA since the early ninties and still nothing to this day and probably never will.

    Agree with Evil’s comment re:2008 start date for Digital. set top boxes can be picked up so cheaply now

  13. Had they stuck to the original 2009 analogue cutoff date Freeview would have been a lot more welcome. They could have used the freed bandwidth to provide true multichanneling instead of the crap we’re now seeing on Ten with the dropped bitrates making OneSD and TenSD look like complete crap and TenHD disappearing.

    Even with a delay, the USA are going to switch off before we are — and they didn’t even GET digital set top boxes until ~2006-2007.

    The end result being, in 2013, we’ll only just be switching off the analogue, and everyone’s supposed to marvel at 2000-era video quality? And they want comment and possible delays? Switch the thing off! A SD STB is what, 30 bucks?

  14. Well thats exactly what i wanted to say! I still want ten hd! why did the make it, then decide to drop it after a year and a bit?

    also one other question, is it possible to have a 6th FTA channel any time in the near future?

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