Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
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How digital TV could drive<br />
informati<strong>on</strong> access<br />
By Guy Berger<br />
Guy Berger is Director-designate for<br />
Freedom of Ex<strong>press</strong>i<strong>on</strong> and Media<br />
Development (FEM) at UNESCO.<br />
He served as head of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> School of<br />
Journalism and Media Studies at<br />
Rhodes University from 1994 -2010.<br />
He is co-editor with Elizabeth Barratt<br />
of “50 <str<strong>on</strong>g>years</str<strong>on</strong>g> of African Journalism”<br />
which is available at www.<br />
highwayafrica.com. His research is<br />
<strong>on</strong>line at http://guyberger.ru.ac.za<br />
Africa is famous for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> migrati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
of wildlife across <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Serengeti; now<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>tinent faces a migrati<strong>on</strong> off<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ground.<br />
In <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> next five <str<strong>on</strong>g>years</str<strong>on</strong>g>, African TV<br />
broadcasting will have to leave<br />
analogue signals behind in favour<br />
of digital distributi<strong>on</strong>, and in so<br />
doing also shift from <strong>on</strong>e part of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
airwaves to ano<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r.<br />
This “digital migrati<strong>on</strong>” trajectory<br />
is not to be c<strong>on</strong>fused with satellite<br />
TV, which already comes down from<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> skies in largely digital form. It<br />
is about land-based signals, and is<br />
known as “Digital Terrestrial TV”<br />
(DTT). Radio will remain analogue<br />
FM and MW for a l<strong>on</strong>g time yet.<br />
Here’s what <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> migrati<strong>on</strong> to DTT is<br />
not:<br />
• It is not an automatic change<br />
to High Definiti<strong>on</strong> televisi<strong>on</strong>.<br />
Over <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> medium-term, digital<br />
transmissi<strong>on</strong> of signals will still<br />
mainly be in Standard Definiti<strong>on</strong><br />
in most African countries<br />
• Even High Definiti<strong>on</strong> transmissi<strong>on</strong>s<br />
will not necessarily<br />
show <strong>on</strong> your TV set. The point<br />
is that even if c<strong>on</strong>tent is filmed<br />
Secti<strong>on</strong> 4: Access to Informati<strong>on</strong><br />
in HD, and transmitted in HD, it<br />
is <strong>on</strong>ly HD-enabled TV screens<br />
that can display this quality of<br />
video. Most African TV viewers<br />
are still many <str<strong>on</strong>g>years</str<strong>on</strong>g> away from<br />
getting such costly new TV sets.<br />
• Despite much government<br />
rhetoric, DTT is not a magic<br />
method to overcome <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> digital<br />
divide and provide internet<br />
services, around this. Digital<br />
broadcasting could play a part<br />
in regard to a promised land of<br />
broadband for all, but in most<br />
cases it probably w<strong>on</strong>’t. More<br />
<strong>on</strong> this below.<br />
So here’s what <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> transiti<strong>on</strong><br />
actually is:<br />
• It’s a more efficient way to<br />
transmit broadcast signals.<br />
C<strong>on</strong>sider that a single radiospectrum<br />
frequency used to<br />
be taken up completely by a<br />
sole analogue TV service. One<br />
signal, <strong>on</strong>e channel. But digital,<br />
especially with DVB-T2 data<br />
com<strong>press</strong>i<strong>on</strong>, will be able carry<br />
up to 24 video channels (in<br />
Standard Definiti<strong>on</strong>) <strong>on</strong> just <strong>on</strong>e<br />
“multiplexed” signal.<br />
• The full migrati<strong>on</strong> is very expensive<br />
because it requires<br />
digitisati<strong>on</strong> all al<strong>on</strong>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> valuechain:<br />
at <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> point of broadcast<br />
producti<strong>on</strong> (filming, editing,<br />
archives); <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> point of distributi<strong>on</strong><br />
(signal towers); and at <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
point of c<strong>on</strong>sumpti<strong>on</strong> (viewers<br />
will need to buy a “set top box”<br />
to c<strong>on</strong>vert <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> digital signal to<br />
show <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir existing analogue<br />
TV sets).<br />
• The spread of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> process will<br />
take <str<strong>on</strong>g>years</str<strong>on</strong>g> to reach <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> point<br />
where analogue TV signals<br />
can be switched off <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
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