Digital Migration TV sets expected on the market by year end

Television sets fully compliant with the Digital Broadcasting migration are expected on the market by the end of the year.

These would bear “Digital-Ghana” logos as approved by the Digital Broadcasting Migration Committee.

The committee after its stakeholder-engagements is hoping to finalize the detailed minimum specifications by the end of this month.

In an exclusive interview with JOY-BUSINESS, the Secretary, Edmund Fianko explained the target is to ensure TV sets are more user-friendly and reliable.

“There will be minimum specifications in terms of power requirements - that is what should be the minimum power when the receiver is in stand-by or fully active because you know we don't have the luxury of abundant energy in Ghana. There will also be mandatory connectors that every decoder must come with to ensure that every Ghanaian depending on his or her income level will have something to receive digital television” he said.

"The electronic programme guide for example will have to be specified especially in terms of how it would be displayed. Do we want to support even certain languages for example. There are even some countries that are choosing to use some colour codes so that if the LED indicator on the device turns to a particular colour, you call the service centre and report the colour you seeing they will be able to ascertain what the problem is likely to be to assist you with the problem, he added.

He further explains, manufacturers and importers alike would be required to subject their decoders and integrated TV sets to conformance tests sometime from October before licensed to use the logo.

“There will be independent test labs and we will open it up and invite laboratories that would be interested in participating in Ghana's conformance regime. The laboratories will be short-listed to ensure that manufacturers can easily locate a good test lab regardless of their location" he explained.

"We just want to have a standardized way of testing and reporting so that every body's test is the same irrespective of wherever they are done. This is to ensure the decision making for issuing the logos would be made easy and quick' he concluded.

Story by Emmanuel Agyei / Joy Business / Ghana