All households in Vietnam will have access to digital television by2020 under a programme recently approved by Prime Minister Nguyen TanDung.

Under the digital-television transitionproject, all households will have access to digital TV under differentforms by 2020. Terrestrial digital television will account for 45percent.

Digital television (DTV) is thetransmission of audio and video by digitally processed multiplexsignals, in contrast to the analogue channels and separate signals usedby analogue TV.

The transition involves content providers like TV networks, as well as cable television conversion to digital cable.

The project will also aim at setting up and developing a digitalterrestrial television market in an aim to attract society's sources,and create opportunities for the rearrangement of a nationwide system ofradios and televisions.

By 2015, about 80 percentof households with television sets will be able to watch digitaltelevision, with 55 percent using digital terrestrial television.

Also by 2015, transmission activities will use MPEG-2, a standard forthe generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information,and the MPEG – 4 standard, which involves a method of compression ofaudio and visual digital data.

The project also includes principles that ensure digital television channels are not interrupted.

Between 2012 and 2015, companies involved in the provision ofterrestrial digital television services nationwide and in somelocalities will be required to carry out and finish the creating ofterrestrial digital-television transition infrastructure in major citiesclassified in Group 1.

They will be responsible forbuilding technical infrastructure and then providing terrestrialdigital-television services for cities in Group 2 between 2013 and 2016.

Remaining localities will have access to digital television services at different times during the 2015-20 period-VNA