Macau Cable TV goes all out with HDTV

By
Joao Santos Filipe

Macau Cable TV is encouraging clients to change decoders, also known as boxes, from Standard Definition (SD) to the newer High Definition (HD) technology. This change is not only driven by the better quality provided by the HD service but also because it is becoming more and more difficult to acquire SD decoders in the market.
“As a Macau Cable TV client I received a phone call with a promotion to replace my current boxes to HD. The telephone operator explained that the factory producing the SD boxes offered by Macau Cable TV to clients had closed down and so in the future they would not be unable to replace it with the same technology”, a client of the company, who preferred not to be named, explained to Business Daily.
“I was also told that if repair to the SD boxes is necessary they might not be able to solve the problem and so I would have to buy or rent the HD decoder in the future”, the same client added. According to this person, the company is offering a discount replacement of one box at a cost of around MOP700.
Phasing out
Contacted by Business Daily, the Operation Director of Macau Cable TV, Ricky Tam Mong Peng, confirmed that Standard Definition technology is becoming more difficult to access. However, he denied that the situation has been caused by the closing down of the provider of SD decoders.
“We’re encouraging our clients to use HD boxes because the quality of the service is much better and because there are some channels, mainly sports and American channels, that can only be viewed if our clients have HD boxes”, Mr. Tam explained. “However, if our clients have problems with their SD boxes it may be difficult for us to repair them or replace them with the same technology”, he said.
“The problem with SD boxes is that the technology is becoming old and more difficult to find. However, if our clients want to install SD boxes we can provide them. But it doesn’t make much sense because they will pay the same price for the HD service; but by installing SD boxes they will have less image quality”, Ricky Tam said.
“The HD image is much better and the technology is much more implemented now. For instance, in Hong Kong channels are using HD, while SD is fading out. We want to offer the best service to our clients and that’s why we are implementing this promotion”, he explained.