Going digital: tracing the transition to digital terrestrial television in Australia

• Rhonda Jolly
• Information and Research Service, Parliamentary Library

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Image: End of analogue TV, hugovk / flickr

29 November 2010The transition from analogue to digital TV is seen by many as long overdue in a broadcast industry which has often failed to keep pace with revolutionary changes in the telecommunications and information services industries.

•    Television has been an important political and cultural force in Australia since its introduction in the 1950s.
•    Analogue technology has been used to deliver television broadcasts—at first in black and white, and since the 1970s, in colour.
•    Analogue transmissions are scheduled to cease, however, in 2013. They will be replaced by digital technology.
•    Digital technology uses broadcasting spectrum more efficiently and offers audiences a significantly better viewing experience, delivering superior images, better audio quality and improved reception.
•    The development of digital television began internationally in the 1980s. In Australia, the road to digital conversion began in the late 1990s.
•    This paper traces that road, which has been complex, and arguably, strewn with mistakes and missed opportunities.
•    The paper discusses also the difficulties that have been encountered by policymakers in attempting to develop and implement a digital policy which satisfies broadcasters, grabs the imagination of consumers and encourages innovative use of digital technology that goes beyond a passive television experience.

Image: End of analogue TV, hugovk / flickr