What’s Holding Back the Digital Cable Revolution?

The TV audience across the world can conveniently be divided into two broad categories; those who watch digital TV and those who do not.

With the US Government already having imposed a deadline on all operators to make a transition from analog to digital platform, other Governments are also expected to follow suite very soon. Even countries like China, Malaysia and India that were initially slow to adopt digital cable are now rapidly employing this technology. However there are yet some significant factors that are proving to be obstacles in the transition to digital cable.

Probably the biggest impediment is the lack of consumer awareness on this issue. Many consumers as of now are not fully aware about the advantages of digital cable and how they can obtain this service. There is also a perception among consumers that the cost of obtaining digital cable is high and therefore they lose interest. Many also feel that they would automatically start getting digital signal as soon as their cable operator shifts to this technology.

Despite the obvious advantages and intense competition, not all channels have gone digital yet. There are still many popular channels that are being broadcast in analog format. Probably their managements are yet pondering over the investment decision of the digital transition.

And then there is this issue of old analog TV sets not supporting digital signal. There are still millions of households across the world that are using very old TV sets that are based on analog technology and hence do not support digital cable signal. However in such cases, the problem can be resolved by installing a digital-to-analog converter box.

In view of the above factors, it appears that a complete acceptance of digital cable technology may still be a few years away.

By Jack albert