Saturday, November 8, 2014

Digital TV transmission in Singapore

MediaCorp started transmitting free-to-air (FTA) channels in digital format (i.e. the Is and Os) since Dec 2013 using the Digital Video Broadcasting - Second Generation Terrestrial (DVB-T2; previous version being DVB-T) standard. The analog transmission will cease operation once the switch to digital transmission is completed (expected to be around 2016-2020). This blog is just to educate myself about the transition from analog to digital TV reception, especially considering that my TV is not digital TV-integrated. I tried to research on this topic..

The benefit of digital transmission versus analog can be referred to this site (briefly, better resolution and sound quality, unclog/clear the radio-frequency being transmitted in Singapore [for other commercial purposes], richer content [more function for viewers and content provider], et cetera).

What must I do (or what had been done)?
Fig. Progressive rollout of DTV transmission from 2013-2016 (sourced from MediaCorp)

  • What will I need to get to enjoy DTV? A digital TV antenna and also a tuner/converter.
A digital TV antenna (that can bandscan or search VHF and UHF). For example, Philips DTV tuner/antenna (Model SDV1125T/27) that cost USD 15 (output is via coaxial connection). Ebay Singapore produced several hits when search input was "Philips digital TV antenna" and the price range was around SGD 30 and above. The antenna will be connected to a tuner/converter before being fed to the TV.

A digital tuner/converter box with several output connections, e.g. coaxial, S-video (or RCA), HDMI, USB, etc. Things to look out for are support options (aspect ratio, resolution, closed caption, parental control, etc.. A search in Ebay produces an example, e.g. Supersonic SC-58 DTV Digital to Analog Converter box +HDMI Output (1080P) +USB for reference. It cost below USD 50. The output connections for this item are HDMI and RCA (aka A/V jack).


I guess the next step would be to search for an antenna and tuner/converter. In the US, the transition from analog to digital was sponsored by the government, with a "voucher" at USD 40 to get the antenna and converter/tuner. Not sure if Singapore is going to sponsor the transition to digital when the analog transmission is ceased (considering that many household will be affected)? For those who can't wait to enjoy better TV experience, I guess they will be looking for one right now (or had got one). I'm still deciding...


References

1 comment:

  1. Ebay Singapore produced several hits when search input was "Philips digital outdoor hdtv antenna

    ReplyDelete