Digital television in Malaysia

See digital television for more technical details, or DTV transition in the United States for specific information related to the analog-to-digital switchover

In Malaysia, digital television broadcasts, or DTV, can be received via cable, internet, satellite, or via free over-the-air (OTA) digital terrestrial television - much like analog television broadcasts have been. It began in the mid-1990s with the introduction of the Astro satellite television service, now followed by new paid television services in the 2000s, as well as the digitalisation of over-the-air TV which was expected to be complete by the mid-2010s before being shelved. This article discusses various platforms where DTV is applied in Malaysia, including Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) (DVB-S for satellite and DVB-T for over-the-air) and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV).

DTV systems

Satellite television

The DTV era in Malaysia began with the introduction of direct broadcast pay television service, Astro, in 1996 as part of commercialisation of space. Astro now transmits about 130 local and international TV channels in the MPEG-2 video format through the K_u band utilising the MEASAT satellite system's transponders, according to the DVB-S standard. Astro's transmission is especially susceptible to rain fade, and complaints of interruption during wet weather are not uncommon in Malaysia with a tropical climate. On December 2011, prime minister Najib Tun Razak announced that free satellite television, NJOI will be available to customer starting February 2012.

Digital terrestrial TV

Free-to-air

In 2005, the Ministry of Information announced their plan to digitalise nationwide free-to-air TV broadcasts led by Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). Trial broadcasts were undertaken, involving one thousand households in the Klang Valley from September 2006 till February 2007. According to the then-Deputy Minister of Information, Chia Kwang Chye, the trial received "very positive" feedback, i.e. "more than 60 percent said the quality of the signal ranged from good to very good. Over 88 percent said the picture quality improved, while 70 percent said the sound quality was better."

According to Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, it was anticipated that RTM would fully complete its digitalization in 2012 as part of its three-year restructuring process. It was anticipated that each household, once equipped with the necessary equipment (set-top box or iDTV set) would receive up to 19 channels, seven of which would fall under RTM and the rest for private broadcasters such as TV3, ntv7, 8TV and TV9. Thus far, besides simulcasting TV1 and TV2, RTM is currently airing RTMi, Muzik Aktif and Arena exclusively on the digital TV platform, transmitted at UHF channel 44, modulated at 64QAM, in test forms. RTM was also expected to launch regional channels for each state and/or territory in Malaysia; increasing to 20 television channels. Media Prima has started trials on March 2009.

Malaysia and all other ASEAN nations had selected DVB-T as the final DTV standard, and were expected to switch off analogue broadcasts completely by 2015. On June 2008, participants of the 6th ASEAN Digital Broadcast Meeting from seven south-east Asian countries (including Malaysia) agreed to finalise the specifications of the DTV set-top box for use within ASEAN, and also set up an ASEAN HD Centre to provide training on HDTV content to broadcasters in the region.

Despite a success of RTM's pilot trials, the digital terrestrial television transition faced many problems. These problems stemmed from the lesser enthusiasm of content providers toward the digitisation, with the exception of Les Copaque, and the need to improve the nation's Internet broadband infrastructure. However, after Abdullah Badawi resigned as Prime Minister and succeeded by Najib Tun Razak in 2008, the project by RTM was deferred indefinitely.

Future

Although Telekom Malaysia has been rumored to be builder for a digital terrestrial television infrastructure, TM wishes to improve the broadband infrastructure to increase Internet readiness for the country, which leads to UniFi.

Currently there are no plans to start the digital television transition and the free-to-air broadcasters will continue to broadcast entirely in analogue. However, it is also possible that RTM may be planning to switch to DVB-T2 some time in the future to replace DVB-T.

Analogue switch-off

Analogue TV broadcasts would have been shut down in stages, due to complete by 2015 as per recommendation from ASEAN. The DTT migration plan was divided into three phases:

1. Phase I (2007–2015)
   • Analogue TV & DTT co-exist
   • Analogue TV shut down in stages
   • Vacate other primary services (radar and LMS)
2. Phase II (2016–2020)
   • No analogue TV service
   • Vacate DTT service using channels 56 and above
   • Vacate LMS in band 477 MHz to 478 MHz
3. Phase III (2020-)
   • 100% DTT service using channels 5 to 12 and 21 to 54

Paid terrestrial TV

U Television, formerly MiTV, is scheduled to roll out broadcast services in the H.264 video format according to DVB-T, for better picture quality and more efficient frequency bandwidth usage, after having failed in an earlier venture with the IPTV-over-UHF system previously.

Broadband and IPTV

DETV, a new paid television provider owned by REDtone, provides television and video-on-demand services on the IPTV platform, targeting the Chinese audiences in Malaysia.

TM is expected to launch its IPTV services, branded as Hypp.TV in the fourth quarter of 2009, and has completed its trials with 1,000 selected households in Klang Valley, Penang and Kulim, Kedah.

Mobile TV

Mobile television was introduced in Malaysia with video streaming services by mobile telecommunications providers such as Maxis and DiGi, to users of mobile phones with 3G or similar technologies. Maxis TV now offers more than 20 channels to Maxis 3G subscribers who own compatible mobile phones. Yet, Maxis is expected to roll out broadcast mobile TV services based on DVB-H in the near future.

U Mobile also provides broadcast mobile TV to users of selected 3G phones, also based on DVB-H.

In October 2008, Astro launched Astro Mobile TV which currently provides 18 channels, all of which are mobile versions of existing Astro TV channels, including seven in-house channels. This service is only available to Maxis subscribers with compatible 2.5G or 3G handsets, and does not reprise its role from Maxis TV.

HDTV

RTM initiated its inaugural high-definition television (HDTV) trials in 2008, with the Beijing Olympic Games, of which RTM test-broadcasted the opening and closing ceremony, and several events on HD.

In late 2009, Astro launched Astro B.yond as a personal video recorder and a High-definition television service.

As of May 2012, there has been no word from Media Prima concerning HDTV.

See also

• Digital television transition

External links

General

• DVB - Malaysia
• Fulfilling Needs For Digital Media, .my Convergence (Jan 2008)
• Technical Standard for Free To Air Digital Terrestrial Receiver (Set-top-box) (MTSFB 001 : 2008)
• TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION FOR FREE TO AIR DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL TELEVISION RECEIVER (SET-TOP-BOX), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission

Providers

• Astro
• Astro Mobile TV
• Maxis TV
• U Mobile
• (Chinese)DETV
• TM IPTV