Greater Jakarta Transitioned to Digital TV; These are 6 Differences between Digital and Analog TV

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government announced the implementation of the analog switch-off (ASO) on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, as scheduled. The full transition from analog television broadcasts to digital TV broadcasts will be carried out on Wednesday at 24:00 WIB (Western Indonesia Time). The domain includes 14 regencies/cities in the Greater Jakarta area, or Jabodetabek, that are considered ready to have a digital broadcast ecosystem.

Jabodetabek is registered to have received 473,308 Set Top Box (STB) units or 98.7 percent of the 479,307 STB target distribution for poor households registered in the region. 

Ahead of ASO at midnight, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) asserted several things. First, digital broadcasts are not subscription television, STB users do not have to pay a monthly fee. Second, digital TV broadcast is different from internet-based video-on-demand services. Digital broadcasts are free-to-air broadcasts.

Here are six differences between analog and digital broadcasts:

1. Analog TV uses old technology designed for sound, while digital broadcast uses technology for sound and data transmission.

2. Analog broadcasts catch the analog signal received by the antenna, while digital ones use digital systems.

3. Analog devices are dependent on the proximity of the television set to the transmitting tower. The picture and sound quality become better the closer the device is to the transmitter. In the digital system, the televisions do not need to be set near a transmitting tower to receive better-quality pictures and sound.

4. From a technical point of view, analog TV uses transmission with modulation to the frequency. In digital TV broadcasts, the data is created in digital code before it is transmitted.

5. Analog may still have interference or noise, while digital will have no disruption in quality and sound.

6. The cost of broadcasting required for analog is higher than the digital broadcast. 

ANTARA | Translator: Intern / Imaji Lasahido

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