The cost of digital receivers for the Irish digital terrestrial television (DTT) market will ultimately be determined by manufacturers, retailers, RTÉ and the commercial DTT operator.
The Broadcasting (Amendment) Act, 2007 provides for the development of digital terrestrial television in Ireland and for the closure of the national analogue TV network. The Act requires RTÉ to provide a free to air national digital terrestrial television system with capacity to carry RTÉ, TG4 and TV3.
Under the Act, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) is required to provide for commercial DTT services. The BCI is currently negotiating a contract with Boxer DTT Limited, a consortium operated by Communicorp and Swedish company Boxer TV-Access.
The cost of receivers on the Irish market will depend on a number of factors. These factors include:
1. The receiver specification,
2. The type of receiver and,
3. For commercial digital terrestrial service providers the way in which their service package is bundled.
In providing for the launch of DTT services, RTÉ and Boxer DTT Limited have jointly developed specifications for set top boxes for the Irish market.
The agreed specifications are based on the NorDig receiver specification. This ties the Irish market to bigger European markets. This means that Ireland can take advantage of economies of scale provided by these larger markets and this will help reduce the cost of receivers to the consumer.
In terms of digital receivers, there are three main types of digital terrestrial receivers produced. These are:
1. Set top boxes;
2. Personal Video Recorders;
3. Integrated Digital Television Sets.
Set top boxes are the most basic and least expensive form of receiver. They are connected to an existing television set and convert the digital signal to analogue so that it can be viewed on the TV screen.
Personal video recorders are also connected to television sets and work like a sophisticated video recorder. They allow viewers to record, pause and delay programmes and are expected to be more expensive than a basic set top box.
An integrated digital television set has the set top box receiver built into the television itself so no external device is needed to receive the digital terrestrial television service. The cost of an integrated television is expected to be more expensive than the cost of personal video recorders and considerably more expensive than the cost of a set top box.