Patchy television reception to follow from analog closure
23rd October, 2008
Federal Member for Wide Bay, Warren Truss has expressed concern over the Federal Government’s plan to close the analog television transmission network in Queensland by the end of 2011.Mr Truss said that the Government’s timeline would leave many households in the Wide Bay with unreliable or patchy television reception from 2011 while some may lose broadcasts altogether.
“The Government is not listening to community concerns about the quality of digital transmissions and the costs of upgrading antennas and equipment to receive digital signals,” Mr Truss said.
“There is not only the cost of a new digital television or set top box, but there can also be the cost of a new antenna and wiring to ensure that digital broadcasts can be received. This can easily run into the hundreds of dollars.
“For pensioners and people on low or fixed incomes, it could mean that they lose access to television entirely when the analog network is switched off.
“Even with the latest technology, digital television is still prone to problems ranging from sound and picture drop outs, images freezing or becoming pixilated on the screen, to a total loss of access to transmissions in bad weather.
“Digital television can also be unreliable in built up, high density areas including apartment buildings. Likewise, unless you are in the line of sight of a digital transmission tower, your reception may also be prone to drop outs.”
Mr Truss said, “I am concerned that the Government is not taking the switch off issues seriously. Labor has actually cut funding to the unit that was to be responsible for fixing digital transmission problems.
“The Rudd Government does not have any plan to upgrade analog translators that were funded under the former Black Spot program, which extended analog television reception to many regional areas. That means that many communities would lose their television service as soon as the analog network is shut down.”
Mr Truss acknowledged the benefits of digital television but warned that plans for turning off the analog network are premature.
“Digital television’s picture and sound quality can be superior to the analog transmission, but the strength and quality of the digital signal needs much improvement,” Mr Truss said.
“The Government needs to ensure that questions concerning the cost of changing to digital and the reliability of digital transmissions are honestly addressed before giving their approval to turn the analog network off.”
