THE launch of the world鈥檚 first digital terrestrial television service in
December could set British households fighting over their telephone lines.
The set-top decoders that will be needed to receive digital transmissions
from British Digital Broadcasting, the BBC and other terrestrial broadcasters
will employ a French pay mechanism called Mediaguard. When a viewer wants to buy
access to a programme, Mediaguard automatically dials a 鈥渃ustomer management
centre鈥�, run by BT, which sends back a code authorising reception of the
programme. But if someone is already using the phone when a viewer wants to buy
a programme, arguments could ensue.
Such conflicts should not happen with Sky Digital, Rupert Murdoch鈥檚 UK
digital satellite service, which is undergoing pre-launch trials. Sky Digital
will use a conditional access system called VideoGuard that gives immediate
authorisation to viewers wanting to buy a programme. VideoGuard, made by Murdoch
subsidiary NDS, stores the pay commands, waiting until the small hours to dial
out to debit the subscriber鈥檚 account.
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John Egan, director of operations for British Digital Broadcasting, claims
the Mediaguard system could be adapted to store and dial later if the preferred
instant dialling method causes problems.