Digital TV Development For Viewers

Gary Tonge, Engineering Controller of the Independent Television Commission has warned that the interests of viewers must be kept centre stage of any move to introduce digital terrestrial TV.

Speaking at a one day conference on new technology he suggested that the current debate surrounding digital TV are more related to protecting established positions. He welcomed any move away from a national Single Frequency Network, as this would not include any regional broadcasting.

He also told delegates that he expects digital compression to become the dominant technology for cable and satellite in the near future, offering flexibility of choice for viewers; but for terrestrial digital services, only a handful of new channels will be available. This must be borne in mind when

considering how digital terrestrial services can best benefit the viewer, he said. He reiterated the ITC’s commitment to supporting digital terrestrial technology, but said that people are more interested in programming than technology.

Any package of digital terrestrial services must be able to offer viewers programming not available on cable or satellite. The key to its success will be the proportion of the population who can receive these digital programmes. The ITC believes that with some small freqency changes around 90% of the population could be served by four digital networks.

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