Digital delight doesn't come cheaply

According to Joe Makhafola, a spokesperson for the Department of Communications, "the costs [of digital television] outweigh the benefits by far". He says the boxes will provide specialised new television services and programmes dedicated to education, health, the youth and small and medium enterprises
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HUH? :D Is he being accidentally honest....?
 
I support the government on digital migration and using more advanced decoders.

My only gripe is giving local companies the opportunity to manufacture the decoders even though the cost will be higher. absolute bs!

Some half rate aa company will win the tender (through bribery), do a crappy job and the whole thing will end costing much more.

Why should individual households pay more to benefit a few aa fat cats (linked to government) who win the tender?
 
When I saw the title I thought this was going to be about blow-up dolls, and cybering :D
 
It's nice to see a balanced report on digital, everyone else has just quoted Goldstuck's overwhelming pessimism. I agree with Professor Berger, especially on the deadline, the government have set the early deadline just for the reason that no matter when you set it people will wait till the last minute. I imagine they will extend it when we get to the date, not to mention the cost of dual-illumination is going to be high.
 
is there going to be a press release about digital-tv 4 times a week on a regular basis?
 
Another government decision subsidizing the fat cats to get even fatter on their BEE deals
 
I wonder !

I wonder how much a standard STB will cost without the CREAM ON TOP and if i choose not to have any communication with the SA government ?
The people must have the right to choose.

How about the STB @ R700 for the rural poor and very poor ?

The R200 STB with just basic encryption and ability to remotely deactivate the STB for the medium income and city dwellers.

LETS GET A PETITION GOING TO THE DOC.

DXL - Mobile
 
DXL said:
I wonder how much a standard STB will cost without the CREAM ON TOP and if i choose not to have any communication with the SA government ?
The people must have the right to choose.

How about the STB @ R700 for the rural poor and very poor ?

The R200 STB with just basic encryption and ability to remotely deactivate the STB for the medium income and city dwellers.

LETS GET A PETITION GOING TO THE DOC.

DXL - Mobile
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Surely you meant the STB @ R200 for the rural poor, and the STB for the city rats @ R700? :D
 
I meant what i said !

The_Librarian said:
Surely you meant the STB @ R200 for the rural poor, and the STB for the city rats @ R700? :D
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The post i put up is 100% correct !

I dont want the SA govts communication 2 me !

I dont want the Cream on Top !

I just want Digital TV !

I should pay R200 ?

Turn my STB off if i dont pay TV licence or subscription for Pay TV.

DxL - Consumer
 
It will be interesting to see if there are two grades of STB, one full-featured, and one bare bones, just enough to receive DVB-T and output an analogue signal.

See how many people actually care about the government's "cream on the top". Personally, with an Internet connection, I don't see the point of a fancy TV-based interface, and don't plan to pay for it (other than through taxes, of course).

I'm thinking more along the lines of a DVB-T compliant HDD recorder, such as this, or these.

Wonder how long it will take to get something like that here.
 
DXL said:
Turn my STB off if i dont pay TV licence or subscription for Pay TV.
DxL - Consumer
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"However, according to Department of Communication spokesperson Joe Makhafola, viewers won't need a TV licence to obtain a government decoder."


Dude, you don't even need a TV licence to get one of these things.

Where's the rotten fish I smell? :confused:
 
DXL said:
The post i put up is 100% correct !
I dont want the SA govts communication 2 me !
I dont want the Cream on Top !

I just want Digital TV !
I should pay R200 ?
Turn my STB off if i dont pay TV licence or subscription for Pay TV.
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Right. How often does a private person need to communicate with the government? How will this new device send the data back? Built-in WiMax, Cell connection or landline?
What an absolute waste to put this facility into a STB.

It would make sense to have this facility and maybe equip libraries, schools or community centres with it, especially the rural areas, but not in every STB.
 
The idea of these things being able to receive individual signals is a bit worrying. Government propaganda could take on a whole new meaning.

With regards to the cost our government wants to support inefficient local industries. Then they don't want the decoders to be obtained cheaply here and used elsewhere. Is this some sort of joke? :p
 
What makes today's standard decoders cheaper, says Berger, is that they are imported by companies like MultiChoice. Because the government wants to give local industries the opportunity to manufacture its new decoders, these boxes will be more expensive.
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Thats a weird statement, most Multichoice decoders are made locally? :confused:
 
The government has allocated R2,45-billion during the three years of dual illumination -- the conversion from analogue to digital, during which both signals will be available -- to assist the estimated 4,5-million poorest TV-owning households with a subsidy of up to 70%.
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Thats why we will pay R700.00 for the gravy box. Damn Gov idits will do anything to screw the working population.
 
they can keep their crappy box. i'll rather get DSTV from monochoice
 
According to Joe Makhafola, a spokesperson for the Department of Communications, "the costs [of digital television] outweigh the benefits by far".
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Personally I would say the cost of the "cream on top" far outweigh its benefits, but sure that goes too.

She emphasises that the government only asks R700 one-off, and that there will be no recurring subscription costs such as MultiChoice's. Also, over time the decoders will become cheaper, she says.
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Except for the recurring tv license costs you mean?

Goldstuck says that this "cream on top" mainly refers to the government decoders' ability to receive an individual signal, enabling the government to pipe specific information to specific households.
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Am I the only one really worried about that functionality? Without a lot of effort it would allow government to broadcast news to only one race group for instance...

The new decoders also offer the ability for viewers to give feedback and send information.
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SIGH! No the device will not be able to send information as it will require an antenna or a upstream connection then which it obviously won't have. Interactivity != send information.

He thinks the government's set-top boxes might contain software and hardware to provide conditional access -- meaning that consumers will only be able to receive certain information by entering a code. "It's possible that you only get this code if you buy a TV licence."

However, according to Department of Communication spokesperson Joe Makhafola, viewers won't need a TV licence to obtain a government decoder.
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Well done on not answering the question JOe Makhafola. The question was not whether you'd be able to buy the decoder without a license but whether your access will be restricted if you don't have a license...
 
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