ZIMPAPERS Television Network (ZTN) which was last year awarded a broadcasting licence along with other five stations, has welcomed yesterday’s digital switch-over and is ready to roll out programming.
Chief executive for the diversified media group Mr Pikirayi
Deketeke yesterday said the company would also consider providing set-top box
gadgets as a business route.
Speaking on the sidelines of the switch-over launch from
analogue to digital television transmission (DTT) by Information, Publicity ad
Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa in Magunje yesterday, Mr
Deketeke was upbeat about the development.
He was in the company of Zimpapers’ board chairman, Mr
Tommy Sithole. Minister Mutsvangwa commissioned the country’s DTT programme
under the Zimbabwe Digital Broadcasting Migration at a landmark ceremony.
Digital terrestrial television (DTT or DTTV) is a
technology for terrestrial television in which land-based television stations
broadcast television content by radio waves to TV sets in homes in a digital
format.
DTT is a major technological advance over the previous
analogue television, and has largely replaced analogue which had been in common
use since the middle of the 20th century.
Test broadcasts began in 1998 with the changeover to DTT,
also known as Analogue Switchoff (ASO) or Digital Switchover (DSO), beginning
in 2006 and is now complete in many countries.
“As we were given licence to function, we need to have
transmission so we are hoping that with the opening of more transmission sites,
we will be able then to get our content to go across the country.
“ZTN has been in the game for almost three years and
producing content online so they are quite prepared to meet the challenge,” he
said.
“As the Minister indicated, we might be looking at
supplying set-top boxes as a business line.”
Minister Mutsvangwa urged companies with free funds to
import the set-top boxes so that the digitisation process would be fully
completed.
At least 18 transmitters in Karoi, Mutorashanga, Chivhu,
Binga, Mudzi, Gokwe, Gweru, Kotwa, Gwanda, Kamativi, Kadoma, Harare, Chiredzi,
Chimanimani, Nyanga, Kenmaur, Mutare and Bulawayo have been completed and are
ready to offer digital terrestrial television (DTT) signals. Herald
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