Although I’m in IT now, I come from an electrical engineering background – how that happened don’t ask. But I have Radio experience which is not too far off TV, and I have end user experience with digital TV. But most of what I say / said is simply common sense and logic and it’s a pity we not heard from anyone at Sentech and they don’t answer their technical emails and won’t confirm sh*t to the public! Typical.
We have followed the same path in DvB digital TV as the UK, as we did back in 1975 when SAUK first switched on the PAL analogue signal. Sentech have been testing the system since 2003. They have already upgraded half the transmission towers. I doubt there will be much turning back, regardless of what the clueless DoC is talking about. If they do there’s no way of making 2010. Yes it may be encrypted and so on – that has so little to do with it I won’t go into details.
This means that a digital TV of UK standard will work here, as far as I’m concerned.
(My point stand - So where have our digital tv’s been for the last 5 years)
As far as encryption:
Yes they could make it controlled access. Using CAMS (in which case your pommy TV will also work as all digital TV’s come with at least two.) But I doubt they will take this route for 2 reasons:
1) So many have already complained that they only use their TV for DvD’s, games, DSTV etc. Now with a CAM (Conditional Access - smart card like dstv) If they don’t pay, this is a marvelous excuse because they cannot actually receive the signal.
2) There is a big legal difference between “license” and what amounts to a “pay subscription” TV service. Especially if you are the “National broadcaster”.
If it’s a pay channel service, all the extra service – I want mine turned on for the 2010 WC, here’s my money, turn it off again after ….Monochoice can do this….. for SABC? Our subs will go from R15/month, R180/year to who knows what…?
Then they could hard chip their decoders. (Hands up who remembers, when Mnet first launched, taking their decoder to Mr Lee’s dodgy corner shop to get rechipped for 50 bucks). Shove under the home brew UV box - clear and reprogramme. 5 mins max
This is way more problematic than it’s worth. It would also mean a proprietary piece of hardware for the TV’s with built-in digital. Mass producing TV’s simply for tiny SA and our limited population would cost how much exactly? (And imagine what it would cost us to buy such a set!!)
My CRT tv is very old. Very modest by today’s standards. But I cannot afford a plasma or LCD, esp if it doesn’t have digital. But for an 8 year old 32” widescreen 16:9 with Dolby 5:1, plenty more than just 2 AV inputs, progressive scan and DvB digital tuner, can’t wait for the day they turn the digital on so I can use it at least once here before it packs up. I think the CRT picture outperforms all the lcd and plasma.s, esp the 100hz models. (Me old school) Maybe eyes not so good anymore.
Then again with all said and done, with our DoC, and how stupid they are, with little or no common sense or logic, who the hell knows what they gonna do, anything’s possible!
ARF9999 and others who have given me hell on this thread - I’ll PM you in November and let you know if I was right or wrong. Laughing or crying.
