In a few days digital television will begin in Australia. It will be unlike any previous leap in technology in this country. Hitherto, Australians have shown a remarkable propensity to take up new technology. Television, colour television, video recorders and mobile phones were taken up with alacrity. Australians saw the benefits of the new technology and took it up. Not so with digital television. Consumers are taking precious little interest in it. Manufacturers are also wary.
The reason is that the Government has nobbled nearly all the benefits of digital television, just for the benefit of the existing three commercial broadcasters. Digital television could have offered wonderful opportunities to Australians and extra information, educational and entertainment possibilities. Alas, the Government’s legislative framework for its introduction is a shocking shackling of a technology in order to appease the big commercial broadcasters. But the government and the broadcasters ultimately will not get away with it because consumers will not be treated like mugs. Quite rightly, they will not shell out good money for digital television sets or digital television converters until they get value for money and that cannot happen until the Government admits it got it wrong and changes the legislation. Present indications are that consumers are showing virtually no interest in digital television, unlike the conversion to colour in the 1970s or video in the 1980s when the uptake exceeded all expectation.
Digital technology presented a great opportunity. With the technology the present spectrum could carry a lot more signal. The new capacity could be used either in what is called standard definition digital, which is very high quality – better than any present television — or in high-definition digital which is extremely very high standard – almost cinema quality. You could carry four signal of the former or just one of the later. The Government should have allowed the networks, ABC and SBS to make their own choice. Instead, at the behest of the commercial channels, it laid down the rule that demanded core hours of high-definition, thus burning up so much capacity that there is room for only one signal. In short digital means the same number of programs, but in cinema quality. To take advantage of the cinema quality you need a $20,000 set.
The Government could have allowed what is called multi-channelling. The ABC, for example, could have put out four different programs simultaneously, but only at standard definition. It would have to abandon high definition. There is no difficulty in abandoning high definition because at that price so few people are going to buy the sets to receive it anyway. Moreover, standard definition is very good indeed. The words “”standard definition” in fact are a misnomer. Perhaps, deliberately, the commercial networks use the term to infer something inferior. In fact it is used throughout the US and Europe. Those countries do not bother with high definition because it is unnecessarily good and it takes up too much spectrum.
The commercial networks like the idea of one high-definition signal. It captures and focuses audiences on one set of programs with no choice. That means cheaper production costs and higher advertising revenue.
The audiences, though are denied the possibility of having three of four different programs from each commercial network and the ABC and SBS. It would have been technically possible for Australia to have begun broadcasting standard definition digital from January 1 with each network putting out three of four program each at the same time. There would have been about 20 free-to-air programs to choose from, instead of the present five.
But the Government, eager to suck up to the commercial television interests, has denied the Australian people this opportunity. And the Labor Party refused to join the Democrats in at least allowing the ABC and SBS to do some multi-channelling.
Further, digital technology allowed enhanced datacasting – or a vastly improved form of internet that could virtually mimic television on demand. But the Government knocked this on the head, too, to please the commercial networks.
It is a disgrace. Small wonder ordinary Australians are staying away. Indeed, until the Government changes the rules, Australians should boycott digital television (at $20,000 a set or $700 for a second-rate converter it will not be hard).