myFreeview digital TV by MYTV has come and end of analog TV in Malaysia by 2018

If you have a television at your home in Malaysia and you are watching the free analog TV programmes (TV1, TV2, TV3, NTV7, 8TV, 9TV, ...) without subscribing to Astro satelite TV or HyppTV broadband TV, you must be aware that there will be no more analog signal broadcasting to your television from 2018 onwards.

In other words, your television will be unable to show any channel and will be pretty useless by 2018, unless you perform either one or more of the following actions:

• Get a MYTV digital terrestrial television (DTTV) decoder box (DVB-T2 receiver) to receive the myFreeview digital TV programmes using your existing UHF aerial and send the DTTV signal to your television via HTMI cable or other compatible signal cables.
• Buy a new television with built in DTTV decoder, certified by MCMC. This kind of television is called integrated digital television (IDTV) and will have a SIRIM approved DTTV sticker on it, which looks like the logo below. You can connect it directly to your existing UHF aerial to watch the TV programmes.

• Just forget about myFreeview and subscribe to alternatives such as Astro (including Astro NJOI) or HyppTV. 
• Buy an Internet TV box such as HiMedia to stream TV programmes using the Internet.

The existing free channels (TV1, TV2, TV3, NTV7, 8TV, 9TV, ...) are still free in myFreeview DTTV service. In future, there might be additional payable channels.

Under this DTTV initiative, the Malaysia government is giving away free decoder box to 2 million eligible families. The free decoder will be sent to them via Poslaju service.

The eligibility criteria for the free MYTV decoder box is:

• Must be registered BR1M beneficiary in 2016.
• Fall within the B40 income group.
• Address is within the initial DTTV broadcast coverage area.

In fact, you can click on this link to check for your eligibility to receive this free MYTV decoder box.

Another way of checking is by sending SMS to 15888 with the following content: "MYTV DEKODER ".

The benefits for you to use myFreeview include:

• Continue to watch the free TV channels after 2017.
• There will be more upcoming TV channels available.
• Better quality of picture and audio in digital format. HDTV is possible.
• Personal video recording functions using the MYTV decoder box sold in the market.

The benefits for the Malaysia government to switch over from analog to DTTV:

• The 700Mhz band currently occupied by the analog TV broadcasting will be freed up in 2018. This band can be reallocated for mobile LTE (4G & 5G) services.
• It is easier to track your TV watching behaviour and pattern using the digital box, perhaps for big data analysis.

The benefits for Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary in this initiative:

• His company Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd got the 15-years contract to operate MYTV.

You might be interested to...

• Click here for more information about myFreeview digital TV broadcast service.
• Click here for more information about Astro NJOI free satelite digital TV broadcast service.