New U.S. Ambassador to Chile to Push for Adoption of ATSC Standard in Chile

An article in the Santiago Times about Paul Simons, the next U.S. ambassador to Chile, outlining his agenda notes that Simons will be promoting the ATSC DTV standard over the DVB-T and Japanese ISDB standards. The article says he believes that ATSC “provides better image quality for high-definition television and also has a greater number of program options and an unlimited variety of new information services.”

The Santiago Times article is based on an article in the conservative Chilean daily El Mercurio, which based its story on testimony Simons submitted to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee as part of his confirmation process.

In addition to being promoted as less expensive and providing higher quality, the ATSC standard was touted as having the best range, making it ideal for people in isolated locations.