Less than 20 per cent of households will watch the Beijing Olympics next month on high-definition (HD) television, industry experts say, with fewer consumers than expected embracing the digital revolution. The number of households changing to high-definition television will not match the increase in digital coverage, which will be extended to 75 per cent of Hong Kong's population as broadcasters switch on six more transmission stations within two months. However, the industry regulator estimates that only 30,000 out of about 100,000 buildings in the coverage area would have upgraded their antennas before the Olympics. The new service has provided better images for viewers since the end of last year, when it was available to only half of Hong Kong residents. Although broadcasts will be free, viewers need to buy a set-top box to receive the digital signal, and a liquid-crystal television. An upgrade to the antenna facilities of their buildings is also needed. According to a survey by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, about 6,300 buildings out of 10,000 checked on would be ready by early next month. Alan Lee Pak-kuen, of the Asia HD Association, said the demand for digital products had not been as high as expected. Sales of set-top boxes did surge before the Lunar New Year, but growth had slowed gradually since. 'Even fewer people will consider purchasing flat-screen TVs as they are much more expensive,' he said. 'Consumers are quite confused about the various HD brands and products and most prefer to wait a while longer.' Mr Lee said it would be 'very optimistic' to estimate 20 per cent of the 2 million households would switch to digital TV by the end of the year. 'People can still watch the Olympics on existing TV channels. I do not see a huge boost in the market unless the two broadcasters step up promotions of their programmes in the coming few weeks,' he said. Leung Ding-kau, chairman of the Chamber of HK Computer Industry, said the fact that fewer-than-expected households were switching had hindered the popularity of digital television. 'People will not even notice those digital products until they can receive the signals,' he said. He added that the price of set-top boxes had dropped by about 20 per cent since early this year, but he expected the market would not get going until the arrival of Japanese-made integrated digital televisions that included the function of set-top boxes - later this year. But retailer Fortress was optimistic. 'The sales of set-top boxes have increased every month and we expect a surge of two to three times that before the Olympics.' For the Olympics, TVB is launching a 24-hour dedicated channel with HD quality, while ATV will allocate five channels to cover the Games. Antenna upgrades Getting ready for HD television The number of buildings out of 10,000 surveyed by Ofta that will have upgraded their antennas to take HD TV before early next month is 6,300
