That's the conclusion of a feedback report by the parliamentary portfolio committee on communications that visited Britain and Brazil during July to see and investigate how those two countries are not only handling and implementing the switchover to digital terrestrial television (DTT), but also to learn more about the digital broadcasting standard they're using.
The South African government - specifically the department of communications created big controversy earlier in the year by suddenly backtracking on the official agreement the government made in 2006 with the South African TV industry that the European-based digital video broadcasting standard DVB-T will be used. The South African government and the department of communications seems enamoured for dubious reasons with the Brazilian supported International System for Digital Broadcast (ISDB-Tb) of Japan the past few months. DVB-T is the most widely adopted DTT standard in the world.
The parliamentary portfolio committee on communications has now warned the South African government that it should ''very carefully consider'' the implications of changing South Africa's DTT policy. because the DVB-T standard is already regarded as the official standard per the government's 2006 agreement, it would seem as if the commitee is cautioning government to think very carefully about possibly switching DTT standards when South Africa switches from analogue to digital television broadcasts in the next few years.
ALSO READ: ISDB-T instead of agreed upon DVB-T for South Africa's digital terrestrial television (DTT) will be difficult, impossible, expensive, says Sadiba.
ALSO READ: M-Net and e.tv unite over DBV standard for digital television, blast South African government for contemplating change.
ALSO READ: South Africa's switch-over to digital terrestrial television (DTT) delayed, Icasa published final Digital Migration Regulations.
