Chile Delays Decision on DTV Standard

Chile has “indefinitely postponed a decision on selecting a terrestrial DTV standard,” according to a report in El Mercurio online.

Socialist Party Deputy Marco Enríquez-Ominami blames the head of the Transport and Telecommunications Ministry, René Cortázar Sanz, for the delay. Enríquez-Ominami told the paper, “[Cortázar] has explained to me that the agreements that were reached have not been fulfilled and that a decision has been made to indefinitely postpone the decision.”

Enríquez-Ominami said it was unacceptable to postpone this decision three times.

Additional information on Chile’s process for picking a DTV standard is available on the DVB Worldwide — Chile Web page. The ATSC Forum Web site indicates broadcasters in Chile have recommended the ATSC standard.

Brazil developed its own DTV standard based on the Japanese ISDB-T standard. Uruguay has selected the DVB-T standard, while Mexico and Honduras picked the U.S. ATSC standard. However, like Chile, most countries in Central and South America have yet to select a final terrestrial DTV standard. DVB’s master spreadsheet of DVB deployment data on its Web site was last updated on Dec. 13, 2007.

Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.