China planning new TV standard

China plans to unveil a digital TV standard and oust from the market any providers that fail to comply, state media reported. Wang Xiaojie, director of the technology department of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said the new standard for terrestrial digital TV transmission will be promoted for a year before it is fully implemented. After the grace period, broadcasting systems with other standards will be forced to embrace the new system. Terrestrial digital TV transmissions deliver signals to television sets and mobile televisions like those in buses and are designed to replace the analog system used by the majority of China's viewers. Between 2004 and 2005, the number of households with digital TV rose from 1 million to 4.13 million.