Communications Act, 2009
Regulations setting out Minimum Technical Standards for Set-Top Box Decoders, 2013
General Notice 475 of 2013
- Published in Government Gazette 5357 on 6 December 2013
- Commenced on 6 December 2013
- [This is the version of this document at 15 November 2017.]
- [Note: The version of this legislation as at 15 November 2017 was revised and consolidated by the Legal Assistance Centre and the Government of the Republic of Namibia. All subsequent amendments have been researched and applied by Laws.Africa for NamibLII.]
1. Definitions
In these regulations, a word or expression to which a meaning is assigned in the Act has the same meaning, and unless the context otherwise indicates-“the Regulations” means the Regulations Setting out Minimum Technical Standards for Set-Top Box Decoders.“Act” means the Communications Act, 2009 (Act No. 8 of 2009).“Minimum technical standards” means, for the purposes hereof, those set of standards that specifies the minimum technical requirements that are mandatory for set-top box decoders as prescribed in these regulations“Set-Top Box Decoder” means an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to an analogue television set and an external source of signal, turning the source signal into content a form that can then be displayed on the television screen or other display device.2. Applicability
These regulations shall be applicable to-3. Spectrum
The Set-Top Box decoder shall operate within the VHF and UHF television broadcasting bands as set out in the table below, using 8 MHz channel spacing in accordance with the International Telecommunications Union GE06 plan (International Telecommunications Union Final Acts of the Regional Radiocommunication Conference for Planning of the digital terrestrial broadcasting service in parts of Regions 1 and 3, in the Frequency Bands 174-230 MHz and 470-862 MHz (RRC-06) – Geneva 15 May – 16 June 2006).| Band | Frequency range MHz | |
|---|---|---|
| VHF | VHF III | 174 to 230 |
| UHF | UHF IV | 470 to 582 |
| UHF V | 582 to 694 | |
4. System features
The Set-Top Box decoder shall operate according to the system features as shown in the table below in accordance with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute.| Description | Minimum standard |
|---|---|
| System Standard | Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) – Terrestrial and Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) – Terrestrial 2. |
| (The following references are indispensable for the application of this document. For undated reference, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies:(ETSI TS 101 154, Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Specification for the use of Video and Audio Coding in Broadcasting Applications based on the MPEG-2 Transport Stream; ETSI EN 300 743, Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Subtitling systems; ETSI ETR 162, Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Allocation of Service Information (SI) codes for DVB systems) | |
| Video Decoding | Moving Pictures Experts Group 2 and Moving Pictures Experts Group 4 |
| Video Resolution | Standard Definition |
| Conditional Access | No Conditional Access Module to be embedded |
| Video Profile | Moving Pictures Experts Group -4 MP@L3Phase Alternating Line I/B/G modulator |
| Over-The-Air (OTA) Download | Yes |
| Memory | 8 MB RAM, 16 MB Flash |
| Audio | Mono and Stereo |
5. Software features
6. Hardware features
The Set-Top Box decoder should be manufactured in accordance with all hardware features as shown in the table below.| Description | Minimum standard |
|---|---|
| Power Supply | Internal 160 – 264V AC and 47-63 HZ or External AC to DC adaptor Over/under voltage protectionOverheating protection |
| Connections | IEC 60169-2RF IN – Female RF OUT – MaleAudio/Video RCA or HDMI Serial/USB for software upgrade Ethernet Port |
| Exterior | Standby functionality Volume (V+ & V-)Channel Change (Ch+ & Ch-)One tri-colour LED indication required Channel ScanMenu with accept functionality |
7. Accessories
8. Warranty and support
9. Non-Compliance with Minimum Technical Standards
10. Amendment of Minimum Technical Standards
The Authority may amend these minimum technical standards from time to time.History of this document
15 November 2017 this version
Consolidation
06 December 2013
Commenced