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HD-TV growth may slow after Games
The Beijing Olympics boosted interest in high-definition (HD) television services, but industry experts say the technology may not spread as quickly now without the Games to highlight its attractions.
HD services have been available since the end of last year, but the technology's superiority over analogue television was not fully on display until the Olympics, when TVB offered coverage of some events in high-definition format.
Siu Chiu-shun, managing director of TV production company Wellfit, said everyone could now distinguish between HD and regular television because of the extensive coverage of the Games.
"The contrast is almost like the old days of black-and-white TV versus colour TV. People won't turn back after they have seen the better one," Mr Siu said, citing industry statistics that found that 5,000 more HD set-top boxes were sold every day during the Olympics.
However, Alan Lee Pak-kuen, an audio and video entertainment expert, said the publicity surrounding HD could lose focus now that the Games had ended.
"The Beijing Olympics was a benchmark that forced broadcasters and HD product manufacturers to launch their services before summer," he said. "I can see no bigger event than the Games that can deliver a similar impact."
According to a government survey conducted at the end of last month, before the Olympics got under way, 15.6 per cent of the city's households - or about 351,000 families - have migrated to the digital platform. But over 75 per cent of the population is within the coverage area of digital broadcasting services.
Mr Lee said future growth would depend on the quality of TV programmes and that the broadcasters should take advantage of the superior picture quality in production.
"Audiences will turn to digital television when they find that the pictures they see on TV have better quality than those from DVDs," he said.
The price of set-top boxes, he said, had little room to fall but consumers might still be waiting for cheaper models of integrated digital TVs to come out after the next Lunar New Year. Mr Siu also said more TV programmes, including dramas and other variety shows, would be filmed using HD equipment, and HD TV commercials would become a trend.
The city hosts its first HD-dedicated exhibition at Cyberport on September 26-28. Organiser Asia HD Association said the event was expected to attract thousands of fans.