The Korean Ministry of Information and Communication announced yesterday that Korea’s National Assembly has passed a special act to convert the country to digital broadcasting by the end of 2012.
The act was first drafted by the Committee for Digital Broadcasting Development, co-chaired by Minister of Information and Communication and Chairman of the Korean Broadcasting Commission in April 2007, and had been undergoing the legislative process, including deliberation in related agencies, legislative notification, and review by the Ministry of Government Legislation.
Under the act, terrestrial television broadcasters are required to stop analogue broadcasting on the date appointed by the President before the end of 2012. The act also requires installing digital decoders in new television sets and related electronic goods, and attaching a notice to television monitors and related electronic goods to let customers know about the termination of analogue broadcasting and the ability to receive digital broadcasting.
Under the act, policies are required to smoothly provide broadcasting services for low-income people, such as welfare recipients, who fall under the National Basic Living Welfare Law. The act also demands making recommendations to the National Assembly and related agencies about support programs to adjust television broadcasting fees and improve advertising systems in recognition of the cost burden that terrestrial television broadcasting service providers have to consider in order to convert to digital broadcasting.
The act is scheduled to take effect in June 2008.
(Source: Korea.net)
on Feb 28th, 2008 at 12:35
It’s good that they remember about the low-income people. But what about the North Korean viewers in the border regions?
on Feb 28th, 2008 at 12:40
That’s a good point. I wonder if they will leave some analogue transmitters on the air in those regions.
on Feb 28th, 2008 at 23:19
I understand that North and South Korea use entirely different TV standards. North Korea has 625/50 video with PAL colour and audio 6.5 MHz above video (D/K standard), the same than in China and some European countries (Romania, nowadays also a number of others who have replaced SECAM by PAL). South Korea has 525/60 video with NTSC colour, i.e. the US standard.
Thus there would be no chance to get usable reception (other than distorted pictures without sound) of stations from South Korea with a TV set purchased in North Korea, unless these are dedicated 625/50 transmissions, aiming at viewers in North Korea. If such transmitters exists they will certainly be extempt from a mandatory conversion to a digital standard (which one actually?).
And the same story than in Europe: They talk about “ending analogue broadcasting” and mean TV only, as if radio is no broadcast medium anymore.
on Feb 29th, 2008 at 03:28
In the 1970s and 80s, in the Soviet border areas with Finland - esp., in Estonia - many viewers used to adjust their TV sets, so that they could watch Finnish TV. Of course, many people had excellent technical education back then.
All radio/TV sets distributed in NK are pretuned. The government controls those very carefully. But there’s a lot of smuggling going on on a border with China. Who knows what they are bringing in. Acc.to a CNN documentary, lots of radios and even DVDs with SK soap operas.