In conjunction with Tech4Community Festival, IMDA is organizing the first Digital TV (DTV) Carnival at Our Tampines Hub on 28 and 29 April 2018 to educate the public on the ease of switching to DTV. Singapore will cease analogue TV broadcast on 31 December 2018.
Starting 1 January 2019, free-to-air TV programmes will only be shown in digital format. Viewers who currently see the “Analogue” channel logo below on the top-right hand corner of their TV screens will need to switch over to DTV.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is offering a DTV Starter Kit to all Singaporean HDB households which do not subscribe to Pay-TV, thus helping these households continue to enjoy local free-to-air TV programmes after analogue TV signals are switched off on 31 December 2018.
Each DTV Starter Kit will allow eligible households to either redeem an indoor antenna and digital set-top box for free (including free delivery and installation), or enjoy $100 off selected DTV equipment at participating electronics stores including Best Denki, Courts, Gain City and Harvey Norman.
Eligible households will receive a letter explaining how the DTV Starter Kit can be used. Letters will be sent out in batches from April to June 2018. Redemption of the DTV Starter Kit will end on 31 December 2018.
With DTV, viewers will enjoy a better free-to-air viewing experience with high definition pictures and sound, alongside interactive features such as multi-language subtitles and electronic programme guides. DTV also allows viewers with Toggle Red Button-registered TV sets to access Mediacorp TV shows, Toggle Original content and Catch-Up TV. Singapore’s switch to DTV also frees up scarce radio frequency spectrum, which will be used to provide better quality and higher mobile broadband speeds, ultimately improving end-user experience.
IMDA will be running a series of DTV Carnivals and Mobile DTV Service Counters in the heartlands to educate the public on the benefits of DTV and ways in which they can redeem their DTV Starter Kit.
IMDA will also be releasing instructional videos on social media platforms, where members of the public can refer to the step-by-step instructions to complete their installation of the relevant DTV equipment.
IMDA encourages households to make the switch to DTV early to enjoy its benefits. More information is available at www.digitaltv.sg. Connecting to DTV
There are two methods to switch over to DTV:
? Method 1 – Connect the existing TV to a digital set-top box and indoor antenna: Households do not need to buy a new TV set.
? Method 2 – Upgrade to a TV with a built-in DVB-T2 digital tuner (IDTV) and connect it to an indoor antenna. Residents living in landed property with their own rooftop ultra-high frequency (UHF) antenna can connect it directly to a digital set-top box or IDTV to receive DTV.
Note: No action is required for households with an existing StarHub or Singtel Pay TV subscription as Mediacorp’s free-to-air TV channels are already delivered in digital format through these Pay TV services.
The public can look out for information brochures, videos and posters in major retail outlets for information on how they can switch over to DTV. To enable ground staff from retail outlets to better help consumers purchase the correct DTV equipment, IMDA has also worked with Nanyang Polytechnic – Singapore Institute of Retail Studies to conduct training workshops for sales staff. These workshops will train retailers on how to advise consumers to buy the right DTV equipment. Consumers can also identify DVB-T2 compatible equipment, receivers or TV sets through the following DTV consumer labels issued by IMDA.