A joint delegation of representatives from the DVB and the European Union has met with The Philippines’ National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in a bid to persuade the regulator of the merits of the DVB-T2 system.
In addition to putting forward what it sees as the technical benefits of the European system, the delegation also outlined the economic advantages and the benefits of the economies of scale.
The delegation is hoping to persuade the authorities to reconsider the June 30 deadline for a final decision on the Philippines’ digital TV standard. The Japanese ISDB is seen as the favourite for selection with the broadcasters association KDP arguing that ISB “costs less” than DVB-T2, a point refuted by the DVB. It claims DVB-T2 receivers are“60% more expensive” than ISDB-T boxes, though concedes DVB-T2 allows the carriage of a greater number of channels.
“Owing to the significant success of DVB-T2, low cost STBs are already available for as little as $45 in UK retail stores. In addition, there are commercially available low cost DVB-T2 HD set-top boxes operating in 6 MHz channels, as required in the Philippines,” commented Peter Siebert, Executive Director, DVB.
The first DVB-T2 services were launched in the UK in December 2009. Subsequently services have been deployed in Italy, Sweden and Finland with a total of 28 countries now committed to the second-generation system.
In the Asian region, India, Singapore and Sri Lanka have chosen DVB-T2 and tests have been carried out in Malaysia and Thailand.