Ready or not, here it comes - that seems to be the message to the people of Hong Kong on digital terrestrial television (DTT). While digital TV has been on offer in the territory for some time via satellite and broadband internet, DTT differs in that much like its analogue counterpart, it transmits signals to a conventional antenna or aerial - though consumers can only receive these signals through special set-top boxes.
Unlike the broadband or satellite options it's not intended to complement or compete with the traditional television format, but to render it obsolete.
According to the Hong Kong government's DTT blueprint, the city's two free-to-air broadcasters, ATV and TVB are required to begin launching channels in digital format by the end of the year and to bring DTT transmissions to at least 75 per cent of Hong Kong by the end of next year. A few years of transition will follow before the plan culminates in a D-Day that will mark the end of television as Hong Kong audiences know it. ATV and TVB are due to shut off their old analogue broadcasts completely by 2012.
It may be a relatively new phenomenon, but for Hong Kong DTT has been years in the making. Authorities began trials of technology with key broadcasting players in the late 1990s, in concert with the government of mainland China. Consultations held soon after found that the public and industry 'generally support[ed] the government's initiative to introduce DTT broadcasting into Hong Kong as soon as practicable', according to a spokesperson for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau 's communications and technology branch. Another milestone was reached in June, when the government announced Hong Kong would adopt the mainland's DTT standard, known as DMB-T/H, or Digital Multimedia Broadcast-Terrestrial/Handheld.
So why the headlong rush into DTT? The bureau is confident the technology will bring a host of benefits to consumers. First off, broadcasters will be able to cram more channels and content into the frequency spectrum they're allocated, which the board says will promote the more efficient use of 'a scarce public resource'.
DTT also allows TV stations to issue programmes in high definition television (HDTV) format, closed-caption programmes for the hearing impaired, boost audio quality and eliminate the 'ghost' or 'snowy' reception problems that sometimes plague analogue TV sets. Digital broadcasting will also pave the way for interactive TV services and up-to-the-minute electronic programme guides.