DTT in Cape Town

IdlePhaedrus

IdlePhaedrus

Expert Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2005
Messages
1,621
Reaction score
500
Well, the end of the year has pretty much arrived, but DTT has not been commercially launched as far as I can tell. Nor are there set top boxes for sale on sale in stores. I did find this yesterday though:

http://www.citypress.co.za/news/sta...mpaign=state-to-subsidise-poor-for-digital-tv

So the STB box price remains at R700 though the DoC said it would be cheaper.

Got my DTT signal back a few weeks ago, but there is no sound on SABC HD1 and the sound levels between SABC and ETV are massive. Can anyone else confirm?

Have a great New Year everyone... :)
 
Thanks QT, and do you get very different sound levels between SABC and E-TV? On normal volume on SABC when changing to E-TV I have to pump up the volume so much on the TV that it hums...
 
OK, if you do have a moment to check some time I would really appreciate it. No rush, would just be interested.
 
I agree - whoever's responsible really needs to fix the sound on eTV. It's so annoying I switch to analogue when I want to watch something on eTV. Image is also breaking up more than it used to when watching SABC (especially SABC2). Anyone else who can confirm this?
 
dj_jyno said:
I agree - whoever's responsible really needs to fix the sound on eTV. It's so annoying I switch to analogue when I want to watch something on eTV. Image is also breaking up more than it used to when watching SABC (especially SABC2). Anyone else who can confirm this?
Click to expand...

The signal certainly seems 'weaker' than it was earlier in the year before it disappeared. I certainly get a lot more loss of signal than I did across all channels. Not sure that it is specific to e-tv or SABC2, but will check and let you know. The signal meter on my decoder is definitely sitting lower down the scale than it was for channel 38.
 
Last edited:
IdlePhaedrus said:
The signal certainly seems 'weaker' than it was earlier in the year before it disappeared. I certainly get a lot more loss of signal than I did across all channels. Not sure that it is specific to e-tv, but will check and let you know. The signal meter on my decoder is definitely sitting lower down the scale than it was for channel 38.
Click to expand...

All channels are on the same carrier. If there are sound and breakup issues on eTV only, it must be an uplink issue from eTV's side. Signal level was back to normal when I checked a week ago. Only back in the office on the 7th... Will check again then.
 
Quantum Theory said:
All channels are on the same carrier. If there are sound and breakup issues on eTV only, it must be an uplink issue from eTV's side. Signal level was back to normal when I checked a week ago. Only back in the office on the 7th... Will check again then.
Click to expand...

Great, thanks. Will keep an eye out.
 
What's the point of digital tv when satellite tv is so cheap and the quality is so much better? Seems kind of pointless and a waste of money.
 
deweyzeph said:
What's the point of digital tv when satellite tv is so cheap and the quality is so much better? Seems kind of pointless and a waste of money.
Click to expand...

You call R600 per month for DSTV cheap? When compared internationally that is hugely expensive given the content. And, the current quality on DTT is comparable to the SD channels on DSTV.

However, that is not entirely the point. The DTT migration is there to free up bandwidth for LTE and other fourth generation mobile wireless technologies. If we don't free it up, we will languish further behind than we are already.
 
If Sentech broadcast all local channels FTA on satellite, then I would agree with you, but they don't.
 
Actually you can get TopTV which has many more channels than DTT for about R160 a month. The bottom-range packages for DSTV are also around that price point, also with far more channels than DTT.

To have a satellite dish installed costs about R500 including the equipment. That's cheaper than what a DTT receiver costs at R700. Surely it makes far more sense for the government to just shut down the analogue broadcasts, free up the spectrum for other uses, and just insist that everyone gets satellite tv without all the fuss and bother of implementing DTT?

If Sentech broadcast all local channels FTA on satellite, then I would agree with you, but they don't.
Click to expand...

Actually DSTV has a package for R20 a month that has all the local TV channels plus a whole bunch of others.

So again, I ask, what is the point of the government wasting money on implementing DTT? I really don't see the point at all.
 
When I was in the UK earlier this year I looked at DTT there. It had more channels than DSTV here (about 140 or so), and was pretty good, so the DTT implementation can work and will introduce competition if it is properly implemented. The cited article in the first post would suggest it won't be though.

Hear you on the R20 package from DSTV, but still think public channels SABC / ETV etc should be FTA on satellite regardless.

Think TopTV will fold in the next three to six months. We shall see.

On the whole I do agree with you. Satellite is a better medium, but not the way it is being managed here. I also think DTT has its space if properly managed (which it clearly isn't).

As far as I can tell this is generally down to the DoC, ICASA and the government.

If I can pick up a DTT (T2) decoder in the UK for between 20 and 35 GBP, why should I pay R700 for it here?

There is a huge smell of corruption and patronage in the air with this (once again).

So, I think what I am saying is that the issue is bigger than just the TV signal and associated content.

Just throwing this out there. Not necessarily correct. Just my thoughts.


deweyzeph said:
Actually you can get TopTV which has many more channels than DTT for about R160 a month. The bottom-range packages for DSTV are also around that price point, also with far more channels than DTT.

To have a satellite dish installed costs about R500 including the equipment. That's cheaper than what a DTT receiver costs at R700. Surely it makes far more sense for the government to just shut down the analogue broadcasts, free up the spectrum for other uses, and just insist that everyone gets satellite tv without all the fuss and bother of implementing DTT?



Actually DSTV has a package for R20 a month that has all the local TV channels plus a whole bunch of others.

So again, I ask, what is the point of the government wasting money on implementing DTT? I really don't see the point at all.
Click to expand...
 
its all a massive balls up. Until sport gets broadcast on something OTHER than DSTV, Im really not interested in any of this cr@p

it all makes me quite mad :mad:
 
techead said:
its all a massive balls up. Until sport gets broadcast on something OTHER than DSTV, Im really not interested in any of this cr@p

it all makes me quite mad :mad:
Click to expand...

Not a chance. Top TV headed for bankruptcy and the national broadcaster operating on government bailouts. Sport rights are not cheap.
 
In a country like South Africa where there are only 5 million taxpayers out of a population of 55 million, there simply isn't a big enough middle class to support 2 pay-tv providers.
 
deweyzeph said:
In a country like South Africa where there are only 5 million taxpayers out of a population of 55 million, there simply isn't a big enough middle class to support 2 pay-tv providers.
Click to expand...

Thats funny, because its more than true. I see myself in the middle class, but refuse to be ripped off by MC. Either they make it more affordable, or I just live without sport.
 
Tinuva said:
Thats funny, because its more than true. I see myself in the middle class, but refuse to be ripped off by MC. Either they make it more affordable, or I just live without sport.
Click to expand...

<<< same boat. Will make do without (which sucks) but Im sorry Im not forking out to MC
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X