The head of China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft) said it plans to publish its HDTV specification in 2003. The plan also calls for ending analog TV broadcasts by 2010. Industry experts here predict the evolution of digital TV in China could generate a $12.5 billion market eventually.

Proponents of competing U.S. and European standards for digital TV broadcasts have been eyeing the potentially huge Chinese market for signs of which way the government might go on a transmission standard. Chinese officials have attempted to play the rivalry down the middle while seeking to develop a spec that best suits the sprawling country's technical requirements.

The government showcased its digital TV technology by broadcasting its 50th anniversary celebration last October. Since then, it has issued nationwide digital satellite TV, cable TV and digital studio standards. "Digital technology will be a revolutionary [advance for] China's TV and radio industry," said Haitao Zhang, vice minister of Sarft. "It's a new growth point for the industry."

The HDTV timetable being drafted by Sarft will contain a detailed evolution strategy for introducing digital TV services across China. The strategy covers production, broadcasting, terrestrial communications and transmission via broadcast, cable TV and satellite infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the government is making plans for frequency spectrum allocations and other technical requirements for HDTV broadcasting.

Lab established

China's State Planning and Development Committee authorized Sarft to establish a government terrestrial HDTV test laboratory. The lab will test transmission standards from Japan, North America and Europe and will draft the technical specifications for China's HDTV services. The test laboratory has the financial backing of the central government, a fact that's seen here as giving the project greater urgency.

Zhang said that all three formats will affect China's HDTV standard in different ways but that Sarft will focus on customizing its own systems to benefit China's digital TV network.

Sarft earlier formed an HDTV standards group, which has concluded the framework for the Chinese standard. The standards group is testing the three terrestrial formats developed for use in the major world markets and will submit the final test report to China's State Council in October. The report is expected to cover preparations for implementing the architecture for the Chinese digital TV standard.

After reviewing the Sarft report, the government is scheduled to issue the official standard in 2003.

An expert said the detailed preparations and investigations are essential to the success of the new standard. "The industry in our country still needs a period for preparation," he said.

Zhang agreed, adding, "We shall start our digital TV industry overall through the driving forces of satellite and cable TV."

China is setting up trial platforms for HDTV and standard-definition TV (SDTV). Some cities will begin receiving DTV broadcasts through cable and satellite networks. The State Planning and Development Committee selected Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen as sites for R&D as well as development of a manufacturing infrastructure.

Trial broadcasts

Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, will begin trial HDTV broadcasts later this year. Some state-supported companies there are developing chip sets for the Chinese HDTV standard. After completing the construction of a tower that will covers the areas around Canton and Hong Kong in southern China, the Shenzhen station will broadcast 12 hours of HDTV programming during the China High Technology Fair in November. It will follow up with two to three hours of HDTV programming during the national holidays here.

The Shenzhen station is slated to begin three to five hours a day of regular HDTV broadcasting beginning late in the year. By 2005, under the current plan, the Shenzhen station will halt analog broadcasting and will replace it with HDTV and SDTV programming.

The United States had planned to end analog broadcasts by 2006, but many observers believe the deadline will slip as a long-running dispute over a modulation scheme delays the rollout of services.

To reach its goals, Sarft is speeding the digitalization of its TV broadcast center and is enhancing the national cable TV network. The broadcast agency hopes to complete the transition to an all-digital infrastructure for all provincial TV and radio stations by 2005, officials said.

The digital cable TV network is expected to become a mainstay of China's HDTV industry. Sarft plans to implement networked program exchanges and communications. Currently, nearly 80 million Chinese households receive cable signals out of an estimated 326 million households with TVs. Sarft hopes to expand the total to 150 million households with cable by 2005 and 200 million by 2010.

Interactive network technologies and digital set-top boxes are expected to become mainstream consumer devices in China over the next decade, analysts said.