Philippines will adopt ISDB-T Digital TV standard finalizing; INC channel already implemented First DTV 2012
A circular on the Philippine shift toward Japanese digital television standard will be out next month, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said Tuesday, following a meeting with broadcast giants GMA Network Inc. and ABS-CBN Corp.
There was no opposition from major players in the industry in the move to adopt Japan's Integrated Service Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial or ISDB-T standard, NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said.
"Nobody opposed the proposal to adopt the Japanese or ISDB-T standard. The industry was well represented..." Cabarios noted, saying industry players wanted to clarify some of the provisions in the circular.
"... We have to study their comments as any change in the definition might restrict or expand the meaning," he added.
NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba will issue the circular which sets off the process of creating a technical working group that will draft the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) starting in December.
On the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Brunei last month, President Benigno Aquino III met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, after which Aquino announced a decision that the Philippines was going for the Japanese digital TV standard.
The Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO) of the Department of Science and Technology was commissioned last year to draw a migration plan for the government to follow in deciding on the standard to adopt in shift toward digital TV in 2015.
ICTO cited the Japanese standard as the appropriate model compared with Europe's Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial 2 or DVB-T2 because of higher and complicated modulation techniques.
Apart from Japan, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venzuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Paraguay are using ISDB-T for digital TV standard.
First Digital TV in the Philippines (October 21, 2012)
With its partnership with the Japanese government through the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Digital Broadcasting Experts Group (DiBEG) and the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) in Japan.
It has developed a strong partnership with NET 25, the television station of Eagle Broadcasting Corporation in the digital transmission of the network's HD content. GEMNET is ready for HD with the purchase of HD equipment and cameras - Panasonic HVX200, HPX500 and HPX3000, and Sony EX series to name a few. This marks the first terrestrial high definition channel of the Philippines, namely GEM HD Since October 21, 2012
With report from GMA News
