Prior to the last decade,
television in Indonesia consisted of only the government channel, Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI). In 1988, the first private television station began broadcasting, Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia (RCTI) which over the last 10 years has been joined by Indosiar, Surya Citra Televisi (SCTV), ANTeve, Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia (TPI), Global TV, TV 7, Lativi, Trans TV and Bali TV. Metro TV features frequent news broadcasting and foreign programming. Thus, Indonesian viewers have one government station and a good selection of private television stations to view programming on.
Programming on the government channel is dominated by documentaries, music, culture and the news, with no advertising and only a small amount of foreign programming. The private TV channels offer a wide range of local and foreign programming, with LOTS of commercial interruptions.
Since the economic crisis hit in 1997, the stations have seen significant cuts in advertising revenue, which has resulting in a cutback in broadcasting hours as well as less new programming. Re-runs are rampant! For night owls that love to watch late night TV, the cut back in broadcasting hours at many stations have curbed late night viewing habits.
Some differences between TV in Indonesia and at home:
* Subtitles on foreign programs can help you to learn Bahasa Indonesia, though be forewarned ... the translations are often incorrect.
* News broadcasting is in its infancy on the private stations - but the quality is steadily improving.
* Most commercials are in the Indonesian language.
* 10 to 20-year-old movies and old series predominate programming, providing nostalgic viewing.
* Chinese martial arts, Indian films and Latin American soap operas are popular with Indonesian viewers. These foreign films have Indonesian subtitles or have been dubbed in Indonesian or English.
* Government ceremonies and speeches may pre-empt regularly scheduled programming.
News Programming
In the past, news was only broadcast from the government's television station, TVRI. Fortunately now private television stations also broadcast their own news programs; the best of these are Liputan 6 on SCTV and Seputar Indonesia on RCTI, both in Bahasa Indonesia. Metro TV runs news programming on the hour and is considered by many to be Indonesia's CNN. All of the private stations have early morning news programs as well. Check the Jakarta Post's TV Today column for current news schedules.
Nowadays, private TV stations are seen to have more comprehensive local news coverage than the government station with much less censorship of current events. The professional qualities of these news shows are still in an early stage as news shows are a relatively new venture for private TV stations.
TV Systems
In Indonesia, television broadcasts utilize the PAL system, 250 volts and 50 cycles. International brands of televisions are available for purchase in Indonesia, Japanese and Korean brands dominate the market. The lag in availability of new models and technologies from the country of origin is only about six months. If you choose to bring your TV from home, and it does not use the PAL system, it will not be able to receive local TV broadcasts.
TV compatibility depends on 1) electricity (here it's 220 V), and 2) television broadcast system (here it's PAL). Video Compact Disc and DVD machines are available for purchase in Indonesia.
Video Tapes, Laser Discs, Video Compact Discs and Digital Versatile Discs
During your stay in Indonesia you may want to watch videos tapes that you've brought with you from home. If they are recorded using another TV system (for example, NTSC or SECAM), you would have to purchase a multi-system TV and a multi-system video player in order to view them as well as receive local broadcasts. Multi-system equipment can be purchased in Indonesia or in your home country.
In the past, the predominant video format used in Indonesia was Betamax. In the early 1990s, the government cracked down on uncensored and illegally duplicated videos (especially the widely available pornography) and most of the video stores were closed. Some expatriate organizations, and a few local businesses still rent videos in the VHS format ... and subsequently the illegal movies just moved to VCD format.
Video rental has now been mostly replaced with the more up-to-date technology of VCDs and DVDs. Video disc and DVD rental stores can be found throughout most cities in Indonesia. Depending on the rental store you frequent, you can find a wide selection of foreign family, action, drama, comedy, mystery and Mandarin-language films.
Many recent box office smashes are available on VCD for around Rp 45-55,000. These are legal copies. The movies are usually released in Indonesia on VCD about 4 months after they are released in the movie theaters in the US. Some golden oldies, classics and popular stage shows are also available in VCD format. Illegal copies of VCDs are available for a very cheap price, if you don't wish to rent. The quality of the recording, however, is not very good and with time usage may ruin your VCD machine!
DVD (digital versatile discs) are also now becoming more available. The hardware is still relatively expensive compared to VCD players and discs are more expensive as well. However, picture quality is far supreme to LD or VCD. Most DVD hardware available in Indonesia has been programmed to play all region software. Original recording DVDs cost about Rp 200-300,000 each.
Despite the government's intentions to stamp out pornography by banning videos, the programming is also widely available to the general public at your local VCD rental store. Many small rental stores carry uncensored soft porn movies mixed with the titles or other display, usually categorized under Mystery Suspense. The rental store's only concession to the censors is to black out the near naked bodies on the disc jackets. The soft porn films are mixed in with the true mystery/suspense titles. Be familiar with the store and watch your kids as they browse to avoid surprises.
The hard-core X and XXX rated movies are usually not displayed but are offered to regular customers or those customers the owners know well. This is highly illegal and if caught, the authorities could charge the rental store as well as the renter.
Cable TV
Within limited areas in Jakarta, primarily in middle and upper class housing complexes, apartment and commercial complexes cable television is available through Kabelvision, Astro and Indovision. If you're lucky enough to be in an area in which the fibre option and coaxial cable has already been laid, you can subscribe and have access to many major international channels in your home without having to make the expensive purchase of a satellite receiver equipment. The programming is current, features international channels and includes news, music, movies, documentary, cartoon, sports, family entertainment and local channels.
Another advantage of a cable television subscription is that their multimedia cable may be able to provide broadband Internet access in your home. Check with the companies to see what they offer. Foreign programming dominates the cable TV channels in Indonesia, though there are some efforts being made to introduce local content (Indonesian programming) as well.
Cable TV is also available in Surabaya. Two firms offer cable TV and broadband connections in major hotels in Bali.
Our thanks to Indahwati for this spreadsheet of
Service Comparisons between Indonesian Cable Companies (pdf 62 KB)Satellite Pay Television
If you are not residing in an area with access to cable TV services, the only way to receive international channel broadcasts is through installing a satellite dish outside your home. If the home you are interested in moving into does not have a satellite dish, negotiate with the landlord to have one installed. Most better apartment complexes and housing estates offer satellite pay television (or cable TV) services to their residents.
Direct Broadcast Satellite/Pay Television has been offered since 1994 through Indovision. Indovision sells the decoder, receiver and satellite dish along with installation (approx. Rp 6 million). The decoder is enabled with a viewing card. The cost of the monthly subscription depends on the number of movie channels you subscribe to in addition to the basic package. Another DTH (Direct to Home) industry players are Indonusa.
Previously, satellite transmission were dependent on the Palapa satellite, which required large 9-10 feet satellite dishes. You could receive broadcasts from Malaysia, Australia and the Philippines in addition to Indovision programming. Currently, however, Indovision uses the Cakrawarta satellite, which requires a much smaller satellite dish of only 80 cm. You can not, however receive transmissions from neighboring countries via the Cakrawarta satellite.
TV Tax
Every television owner is required to pay a television tax to the foundation that runs the government television station. The money collected is intended to take the place of revenue from advertising, since TVRI is not allowed to air commercials.
A collector will come to your home and ask you to pay a monthly amount based on the size of your television. If you are at all uncertain as to the legitimacy of this person, check his documents or ask your Kepala RT (Neighborhood Chief) if this is the correct person to whom you should be paying the tax.
This collector will issue you a TV tax book and a tax stamp is affixed for every month you pay the tax. You may prefer to pay for one year in advance so that you don't have to worry about the monthly collection of the TV tax.
The tax is small (Rp 6,000/month for a 21" TV) and is calculated per TV. The collectors know how many TVs you have by how many antennas they can see from the street in the front of your house.
If you are not approached and asked to pay the tax, don't worry about it. You can start paying it once they 'find' you! After paying they may adhere a sticker to your front gate, so the entire neighborhood will know that you've paid!
TV Coverage outside Jakarta
While the government television station, TVRI is accessible throughout most of Indonesia, most of the private television stations have limited broadcast areas. This has led to a proliferation of satellite dishes in rural areas - not so that the residents can watch international broadcasts, but so that they can watch Indonesian television programming.
Most multinational firms with camps in remote locations utilize a satellite dish to receive local or international broadcasts, which are then routed to the individual homes or dormitories via cable.
