PRC Research on Cable Platform Shows IP Driven Growth in Domestic Demand

Digital Broadcasters Vendor News Asia (DBVNA) has learnt that latest IP research in the People's Republic of China (PRC) shows that demand for new TV services on its cable platform is driving increased replacement of standard definition (SD) "1-way set-top boxes" with high definition (HD) "cable+IP 2-way set-top boxes".
Authors of an upcoming report, IMS Research predicts that more than half of cable set-top boxes (STB's) produced for the Chinese PRC domestic market by the end of 2011 will be in HD as a result of government initiatives and increased competition with other platforms.
Recent directives by the Beijing Central Government for cable TV operators to converge voice and video networks has resulted in a boom for cable operators with the IP upgrades.
The IMS Research news release to Digital Broadcasters Vendor News Asia (DBVNA) stated that in some urban areas, 2-way cable networks utilize last mile IP and use cable set-top boxes with an IP back channel. In general, in major urban areas such as Shanghai and Beijing, cable operators compete with IPTV services where the current business model lacks HD content and high bandwidth, and it is hoped that greater availability of HD content and a “catch-up TV” mentality will encourage further digitization and customer retention. “Conversion of China’s cable infrastructure to 2-way, IP-based, HD-capable networks will occur gradually over many years,” emphasizes analyst IMS Research, Anna Maxbauer, co-author of an upcoming report: The World Market for Digital Set-top Boxes & iDTVs – 2010 Edition. Ms Maxbauer noted that the costs of infrastructure and equipment upgrades will likely fall to operators and the government. Why? Because: "most consumers are interested in new features but are unwilling to pay extra for them,” she says. DBVNA does not have a business connection nor paid by IMS Research, which is a UK-based research house and a consultancy for a wide range of global electronics markets with offices in Austin, Texas and Shanghai, China. The PRC research above was issued from IMS Research in Austin, Texas.

Digital Broadcasters |Al Jazeera English Versatile HDTV and SD

All digital broadcaster, Al Jazeera English, at its new Doha
headquarters studio complex in Qatar routinely retains video feeds in
high definition television (HD, HDTV) on a rotating basis for up to
one week using a recently installed, NEXIO XS server system from
Harris Broadcast Inc (NYSE:HRS). Specifically, the NEXIO XS server
platform at Al Jazeera English consists of 4 x NXS3600HDX servers
with more than 30 terabytes of storage that allows for 4 x incoming
news agency feeds simultaneously. The server is versatile enabling
the ability to record and generate output in either HD or SD -
standard definition, where required.

When the NXS3600HDX servers connect to the NEXIO storage area network
(SAN), the digital broadcaster has a streamlined infrastructure for
producing, processing, distributing and managing SD and HD content
uniformly.

Al Jazeera English is striving to become a unique broadcaster, the
distinction that Al Jazeera in Arabic has achieved already. Al Jaz
balances the news flow from south to north, providing accurate,
impartial and objective reporting for a global audience from a
grassroots level. Al-jaz has regional news bureaux in Kuala Lumpur,
London and Washington D.C.

Digital Broadcasters | Malaysia to Adopt DVB-T

So now we know, it is confirmed the Malaysian Government is going ahead with the adoption of DVB-T for digital terrestrial transmissions. Digital Broadcasters Vendor News notes that this is clearly ahead of the intended date of such an announcement - a month before the present Klang Valley trial was due for completion.

Deputy Information Minister Chia Kwang Chye who made the announcement, March 26 at the ABU Digital TV Symposium in Kuala Lumpur indicated that the results of the DTV trial were very positive, the meaning was "why wait?"

According to Mr Chia more than 60 percent of trial participants said signal quality was 'good' to 'very good'; 70 percent sound quality was better -- responses being all better than his department had imagined.

That means that DTTV will roll out in the Klang Valley in 2009, and in Mr Chye's quoted words "Malaysia was keen to trial the DVB-H standard for mobile phones".

Mr Chia said the Malaysian government's Digital Task Force was also considering the implementing the HD format in programming.