Two major consumer electronics industry groups today warned their members may slow their investment in digital television hardware development without federal government assistance.
Ron Henderson, general manager, Matsushita Australia, said electronics manufacturers did not hold a consistent view on the strength of digital TV sales in the Australian market across the industry. However, he said digital broadcasting penetration needed to strengthen before the industry would make further investment in digital receivers and equipment for advanced services such as interactive television.
"If I had to make decision on buying a piece of equipment for my factory to produce product, with the return on investment that we are getting out of digital, then we wouldn't be upgrading our factory," said Henderson.
He said electronics manufacturers had invested tens of millions of dollars in developing digital television sets for the Australian market and it was now time for the federal government to do its part.
The Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (AEEMA) and the Consumer Electronics Suppliers' Association (CESA) said federal government-funded terrestrial broadcasters, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), should drive consumer demand for digital television by offering extra channels.
The industry groups claim multi-channelling will drive consumer-demand for digital television in tandem with higher picture quality.
"You have to take the initial drivers in the market place us those to generate the initial growth and then move forward and develop the new business models to develop the new features and services," said Henderson.
