A technological development reported in the US yesterday is likely to technologically damn the Government’s digital television regime.
The US Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory has announced that it can squeeze a high-definition digital television signal into a standard six megahertz band. And standard analog TV receivers will be able to receive the broadcast as usual.
The announcement was reported in TechWeb an on-line technology newsletter.
The squeezing was done by an encoding algorithm that uses the nooks and crannies of the old channel, much the way colour was squeezed into the old black and white space.
The development has three implications for the Australian digital regime which began on January 1.
Digitisation meant digital signals could be sent using existing spectrum between the analog signals. In effect additional space was created. The question was how to use it.
The ABC and SBS wanted four standard-definition digital signals – say, sport, education, drama and news). But the Government opted for the regime proposed by the commercial networks requiring one high-definition digital signal – in effect one program per network as now, but of cinema quality.
The high-definition requirement burnt up so much of the spectrum that multi-channelling standard definition digital was not possible. Multi-channelling was adopted in Europe. If it had been adopted in Australia the five networks (three commercial, the ABC and SBS) could have put out four program streams each on wide format with no ghosting or snowing.
The new development will put pressure on the Government to reopen its ban on multi-channelling because the ABC and SBS could meet the legislative requirement for high definition digital and still have spectrum to spare.
The commercial networks have opposed multi-channelling – they prefer their audiences and advertisements to be compacted into one program stream because it is cheaper and reaps the same revenue because advertisers pay per viewer.
Secondly, the new development means people will not have to buy new sets to pick up the high-definition broadcast. It means even more spectrum becomes available because the networks can met the legislative requirement to broadcast a signal that can be picked up by current sets until 2006. Thirdly, the new compressed high-definition can be broadcast on current equipment.
The present regime shuts out new players until 2006. The Los Alamos development would technically allow for more and make the present regime a technological ananchronism.
The office of Communications Minister Senator Alston said they were unaware of the development and would not be able to comment until later.