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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, November 23, 2001

Digital Broadcast to Cover Main Cities by 2008

Sources from a national conference on digital broadcast held November 21 said China is making an active effort in promoting a nationwide digital broadcast market and trial digital broadcast is going to be first launched in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, showing the substantial endeavor made for digital broadcast in China. It is expected commercial digital broadcast will have covered all main cities in China by the end of 2008, and the 2008 Olympics is going to relay to the world with digital technologies.


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Digital broadcast to cover big areas

Sources from a national conference on digital broadcast held November 21 said China is making an active effort in promoting a nationwide digital broadcast market and trial digital broadcast is going to be first launched in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, showing the substantial endeavor made for digital broadcast in China. It is expected commercial digital broadcast will have covered all main cities in China by the end of 2008, and the 2008 Olympics is going to relay to the world with digital technologies.

Technological policies and market regulation needed

Zeng Peiyan, supervisor of the State Planning Commission, also head of the State Digital Broadcast R&D and Industrialization Group, indicated that digital broadcast will bring valuable opportunities for the development of China's electronics industry and for China to be a television power. In such case, technological policies and market regulation are needed to stimulate the growth of an orderly digital broadcast market and prevent repetition of construction.

Pushing forward the cause

Zeng reminded that all departments concerned are supposed in line with the nation's interests and industrial development to upgrade audio-visual products, improve the work of broadcast and seek for new ways to generate revenue.

The present task of the said conference is to push forward the cause of digital broadcast under the guideline of the "10th Five-year plan" and a coordinated development of the electronics and broadcasting industries. At present, according to the conference, China's digital broadcast should start with cable then extend to satellite and ground transmission.



What is Digital Television

Digital Television (DTV) has different meanings depending on whether you're discussing production and post-production or distribution and transmission. For production and post-production it means using digital production tools such as cameras, VTRs, switchers, disk recorders, CGs, etc. In distribution and transmission, it means sending the audio and video digitally to its destination.

Digital Television in the United States has meant direct broadcast satellite (DBS) with DirecTV (which bought USSB and Primestar) and EchoStar's DISH network. But that has changed. Both broadcasters and cable headends are starting to send their signals to viewers digitally.

In 1998, stations across the United States began transmitting free over-the-air digital pictures and sound, while retailers began selling "digital television" and "digital television ready" TV sets and VCRs (known as D-VHS). In 1999, the network affiliates (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) in the nations 10 largest cities were scheduled to go on-air in May and 30 largest cities scheduled to go on-air in November (some made it and some didn't). This year, more stations will be going on-air, and the links below will assist you in finding out when stations in your area will be going on-air.

More information at: www.digitaltelevision.com



by PD Online Staff Yang Ruoqian
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