Published:
16-Jan-08
China started trial Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) on 1
January 2008 in and around the capital city Beijing. Seven channels including one HD channel and six other standard definition channels are available free to viewers. HD content is provided by China Central Television, and the six standard definition channels are CCTV-1, CCTV-2, CCTV-Kids, CCTV-Music, BTV-1 (Beijing TV-1) and CETV-3 (China Education TV-3). Formal launch of HD Channel in Beijing is scheduled for March, or likely May 2008. Other Olympic games hosting cities, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao, will follow.
Our take...
China was planning to launch DTT in late 2007. However, launch was delayed by the choice of a technical standard. Trial launch of DTT and HD
on the first day of 2008 is likely a gesture under the approaching Olympics. It is hard to see how many viewers in China can actually benefit from free HD transmission on DTT, given the limited number of hosting cities, and the relatively high cost of a HD ready TV and HD set-top-box.
China,
