The ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI) have endorsed last month’s decision by the ASEAN Digital Broadcasting council to use the DVB-T standard. The countries included in the pact are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
In a statement the ministers “acknowledged that digital broadcasting will usher in a new era of growth and investment in this sector and welcomed the progress of the ASEAN Digital Broadcasting (ADB) cooperation”. The statement acknowledged that the European led system brought advantages in “economies of scale, ease of adoption and versatility for multiple platforms”.
The decision was welcomed by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, which said it was likely to encourage other countries to choose the DVB standard.
The conference also discussed the timetable for analogue switch-off with 2015 set as the date by when all countries would be expected to convert to digital only transmissions.
