Japan digital TV technology eyed for PHL

The Japanese government has expressed its eagerness to provide the Philippines with digital television broadcast technology. Ambassador Toshinao Urabe said that Integrated Service Digital Broadcasting –Terrestrial (ISDB-T) —the digital TV standard used in Japan— can be expected to meet the the Philippines'needs when it makes eventual shift from analog to digital technology. “I believe it is the best suited system for the Philippines," Urabe said, adding that the technology is also reasonably priced for the Philippine market. The ISDB-T standard has already been positively received by the The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which recommended it over Europe's Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial 2 (DVB-T2) standard. Both technology standards have met government criteria, but it was noted that Japanese set top boxes cost just around $20 apiece —half the price of comparable DVB-T2 boxes. Furthermore, the Japanese standard also allows the transmission of digital signals to mobile phones. For its part, the Kapisanan ng mg Broadkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP), the association of Philippine broadcast networks, also lauded the Japanese standard for its ability to allow networks to flash data onto viewers' TV screens. According to the KBP, this feature could prove useful for weather forecasts and government announcements, as well as during emergency situations. “This system is done by the Japanese, in an island area, a volcano area, a disaster-prone area and I think it very well suited to the system here because you are also an island country," Urabe explained. The Philippines' adoption of digital technology might be up for discussion when President Benigno Aquino III meets with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in Japan later this month, but Urabe said that the Aquino administration has made no indication as to whether or not it will endorse the NTC's recommendation. “I think the administration is studying that issue," he said. — TJD, GMA News