I hope everybody is enjoying the festive period with their family and loved ones. Since the long-awaited switch to digital television is inching towards reality today, many Thai people can consider it a well-timed gift for the New Year.
Digital TV means a new chapter has opened for the Thai broadcasting industry. After an auction, which took place yesterday and today, by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), the audience will have access to 24 new channels _ seven channels each for news, standard-definition (SD), high-definition (HD) and three children's channels.
I can assure you that digital television _ unlike the third-generation (3G) mobile service, hindered by a sluggish auction process _ will come into place quickly, and the service will be available very soon, not long after the New Year.
The process is fast and straightforward. After today's auction, the NBTC will announce the winners. Their operator's status will be confirmed within 15 days. After that, they are required to start broadcasting programmes within 30 days.
It's quite clear that people are still confused by the digital service. Many still don't know what digital television is. One of the most frequently asked questions I hear is "Do we have to buy a new TV set to receive the digital signal?"
The confusion is due to a poor public relations campaign from the regulator. Additionally, new broadcasting technology is not so easy to understand.
Despite these minor confusions, I think we will become familiar with digital TV quickly. We will certainly enjoy the new digital technology, which will allow us to watch TV with a clearer picture and better sound quality.
If we look back at 3G service, we had many questions about what it was and how we could use it. But before we knew it, 3G became a vital part of our everyday lives. It enabled us to connect to the internet, send emails and post messages on social media, wherever we were.
Digital TV is a technological update to TV broadcasting technology we can't resist. For those of you my age, you may remember a time when we had to change from black-and-white to colour TV.
Now a world without colour TV is unthinkable.
This new change for TV will be much easier than the change to colour with the help of technology. The switch to digital means you can keep your old TV set and just buy a set-top box to receive digital TV signals; or you can buy a new TV set that can receive the signals. But there's no need to rush. You should explore the available options before making a decision.
And if you have satellite and cable TV services, you may not have to do anything. Most operators such as TrueVisions, CTH, PSI and Grammy's GMM Z agreed to carry all, or almost all, of the 24 digital TV channels on their platforms and set-top boxes.
In my opinion, it's good to have more channels so that viewers can have more choices for both news and entertainment programmes. They can watch whatever programme they want to by just pushing the remote control button.
Needless to say, digital TV is a challenge to free TV stations like Channel 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and Thai PBS, as the new digital TV broadcasters will try every means to grab their viewers. They know that most televisions in the past could only offer their viewers 3-5 channels.
Today, we will find out the names of the new broadcasters for seven SD and seven HD channels. The new broadcasters are keen to jump on the bandwagon of digital TV, which they see as a huge opportunity to reach a new mass of consumers. I hope the new broadcasters will provide quality TV content to attract viewers.
It may not be difficult for the bidders to win the licences, but the real challenge is how to operate the stations and produce good content to attract _ and keep _ their new audience.
We are waiting for digital television with bated breath. Please, don't disappoint us.
Krissana Parnsoonthorn is deputy business editor, Bangkok Post.