Category: Software

NEW DELHI: Local cable operators (LCOs) are demanding the creation of a separate Cable Television Regulatory Authority of India to deal with issues relating to broadcasting on the ground that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) comprising experts in telecom is ill-equipped to deal with their issues.

The LCOs have suggested that all cable TV operators should become members of the Council of Cable TV of India which should be given recognition and representation by the Government on all relevant platforms.

Attempting to form a united stand on common issues, the LCOs have said that the issuance of licences should move away from the post offices to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry as this would ensure no unruly elements come into the business. They have also blamed the post offices for refusing to issue licences to LCOs after registering them.

The LCOs protested against the Trai‘s Tariff Order for digital addressable cable which had fixed a revenue share of Rs 45 from the basic service tier, saying that it was highly unjust since they were already getting Rs 82 under the Cas-mandated system.

The LCOs were attending a two-day conference of cable TV operators from different parts of the country.

The National Conference of Indian Broadcasting and CATV Industry had been organised by the All India Aavishkaar Dish Antennae Sangh with the aim to apprise the LCOs from all over the country with the latest developments in digitisation and to also form a united stand on common issues.

Dr A K Rastogi, president of the Sangh, said that all channels should flash the rates of encrypted (pay channels) clearly so that the viewer and the LCO is aware of the rate to ensure transparency.

Senior consultant V C Khare lashed out at Trai for not having coming out with a clear-cut rate card for pay TV under DAS.

He also regretted that while the amended Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act referred to right of way for LCOs and said they can use electricity poles, there was nothing about this in the Rules issued under the Act.

Khare also said it was surprising that cable TV was not listed on the Central Government list when broadcasting was a central and not state subject.

Rastogi stressed the need to train cable TV technicians, and the announced training by the Broadcasting Engineering Consultants (India) Ltd. (BECIL) had not yielded any tangible results. He urged all LCOs to hold meetings with their subscribers and Resident Welfare Associations to apprise them about the need for installing set-top boxes (STBs).

He said both Mumbai and Delhi now had adequate STBs to go digital, but the state governments in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu were not keen on going digital. This may create impediments in the first phase of digitisation slated for 1 November.

LCOs should form district-level committees to ensure speedy implementation of digitisation, Rastogi added.

He called for an exemption of import duty on new STBs and a tax holiday for at least ten years for all work relating to digitisation.

The cable TV should be recognised as an information infrastructure industry, Rastogi added.

MUMBAI: Digital cable TV seems to be winning over direct-to-home (DTH) in this first round of digitisation covering the four metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.

The share of DTH in total digital cable TV homes has slipped in Mumbai and Kolkata as consumers of analogue cable convert to digital ahead of the 1 November digitisation deadline.

This is the finding of a study conducted by TAM Media Research to capture the changing digitisation scenario in the four metropolitan cities.
 
According to the study, the share of DTH in total digital TV homes in Mumbai dropped to 34 per cent in June 2012 from 38 per cent in January 2012 and in Kolkata to 29 per cent from 48 per cent.

The share of digital cable TV homes has remained flat in Delhi (40 per cent) and Chennai (26 per cent). The fall in the proportion of DTH homes in Kolkata was steep as the share of digital cable TV homes rose by a sharp 18 per cent in the eastern city.

Among digital TV homes, DTH was a dominant platform in Delhi (with 60 per cent share) and Chennai (with 74 per cent share). DTH‘s share in Mumbai was 34 per cent and in Kolkata 30 per cent. This scenario is likely to change.

The study suggests that most of the cable TV homes which are still hooked on to analogue cable TV prefer or would prefer to continue with the services of their local cable operator when they shift to digital cable TV services. The study reveals that the percentage of analogue homes which intend to shift to digital cable TV is overwhelming led by Mumbai (92 per cent), Kolkata (89 per cent), Chennai (84 per cent) and Delhi (81 per cent).

The four metros selected for the study are the cities chosen by the government for phasing out analogue cable TV services. All television homes are now mandated to shift to digital TV, either via DTH connections or through digital set-top boxes (STBs) provided by local cable operators (LCOs) by 1 November.

The government had to extend the deadline by four months as majority of homes have still not shifted to either of the digital platforms.

According to the monthly study based on a sample size of 4,600 homes, Mumbai leads in terms of digital penetration with 33 per cent of the homes having digital TV connections (as of June 2012), followed by Kolkata (25 per cent), Delhi (24 per cent) and Chennai (20 per cent).

The Information and Broadcasting ministry stated in early August that Mumbai looked the most prepared with 50 per cent of cable TV homes already having digital STB installations. But Delhi and Kolkata seemed to be struggling with the rate of STB installations around 25 per cent while Chennai lagged way behind.
 
According to the TAM study, digitisation in Mumbai and Kolkata was across all SECs (socio-economic classifications) but the interest was less in SEC D&E homes in Delhi and Chennai.

Among the multi TV homes in all metro cities, the digital TV penetration is high. The share of digital connections in multi TV homes was the highest in Mumbai (about 52 per cent), followed by Chennai (about 48 per cent), Kolkata (40 per cent) and Delhi (35 per cent).

The medium that played a big role in creating awareness about the requirement for shifting to digital was television itself. The other source was newspapers and friends.
 

MUMBAI: To leverage the social media to promote its recently launched mythological show ‘Ramayan‘, Zee TV has launched a Facebook app.

The channel has created a ‘virtual‘ temple on the Facebook page of its mythological show.
 
According to the channel, the virtual temple holds the promise of a few moments of daily spiritual solace for netizens. The imagery, the colors and the music used have a calming effect and can easily transport a devotee to a harmonious, divine space.

The temple is a re-creation of the Ram Durbar showcasing Lord Rama, Lakshman and Sita with Lord Hanuman. It has features like the user can ring the bell, light a diya, play a choice of aartis, shower flowers and smear haldi kumkum on the deities, break a coconut and rotate the aarti ki thali.
 
In the coming days, Zee TV has plans of creating a mobile application that will make the virtual temple available to smartphone users and let them interact with ‘Ramayan‘ through aartis and chaupaayis.

‘Ramayan‘ airs every Sunday at 11 am on Zee TV as well as Doordarshan.

MUMBAI: India will be a top 10 on-demand revenue market by 2017 with a size of $175 million, according to a new report from Digital TV Research.

On-demand TV revenues from movies and TV programmes (and excluding revenues from other sources such as sports and adult and also excluding SVOD packages) will reach $6 billion in 2017, up from $3.9 billion in 2011 and $2.3 billion in 2007.

The On-demand TV Revenue Forecasts report estimates that the US will contribute 30 per cent of the total with $1.8 billion in 2017. US provided 46 per cent of the 2007 total, according to the report.
 
Italy will be in second placed by 2017, doubling its revenues from its 2007 total. China ($550 million) will be third by 2017, rising from only $30 million in 2007.

From the $3.7 billion extra on-demand revenues to be added between 2007 and 2017, $1.2 billion will come from the Asia Pacific region and $1.0 billion from Western Europe. The US alone will add $750 million, followed by China ($520 million) and Italy ($327 million).

Digital cable will generate $2.74 billion in 2017 (or 46 per cent of the total), up from $1.61 billion recorded in 2011. The US will provide $944 million in 2017, with China second with $418 million.
 
DTH/DBS will remain the second largest contributor, with $1.7 billion in 2017. The US ($610 million) will again remain the leader. The UK will take second place, with $193 million.

IPTV on-demand revenues will overtake DTT in 2012 to become the third largest on-demand revenues platform. IPTV on-demand revenues will reach $946 million by 2017. `DTT on-demand revenues are mainly confined to Western Europe, especially Italy ($572 million by 2017).

By region, the US and Western Europe will still supply two-thirds of global on-demand TV revenues by 2017, although this proportion is down from three quarters in 2011. However, on-demand TV revenues will increase by 145 per cent in the Asia Pacific region over the same period to reach $1.38 billion in 2017. China will provide a lot of this growth, the study said.
 

NEW DELHI: The sunset date of 30 June for the first phase has been deferred to 31 October because it had been found that only 3.9 million digital set top boxes (STBs) had been installed in the four metros by June against a requirement of 13.3 million, according to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni.

Since more than 9.4 million people did not have STBs by the end of June 2012, this could have rendered their television screens blank causing serious inconvenience to consumers on a mass scale.
 
The decision to delay the digitsation delay in the four metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai was also influenced by the governments of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal who had demanded modification of the dates ‘in public interest’, Soni told Parliament.

Modifying the date of digitisation in the four metros will not impact the direct-to-home industry (DTH) in any way, she added.

In a statement issued on 20 June, the Ministry had admitted that the orders of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Tariff & Interconnection, and on the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations and the Consumer Complaint Redressal Regulations had not yet been substantially implemented.
 
“The assessment of these ground realities compels the I&B Ministry to set a new deadline. It is, however, imperative that the modified target deadline is set with strict benchmarks to ensure that no complacency sets in in the system and the new target date is achieved collectively by all the stakeholders,” it added.

The Task Force comprising all stakeholders constituted by the Ministry in April 2011 had been monitoring the progress made by various stakeholders towards digitisation. The task force has also undertaken field visits and interacted with local stakeholders. Discussions have been regularly held with broadcasters, multi-system operators (MSOs), local cable operators (LCOs), while the I&B Ministry has been in regular contact with the concerned state governments on this issue.

Meanwhile, matters are pending before the Mumbai and Delhi High Courts and Tdsat either seeking deferment, or against the deferment.

MUMBAI: OTT subscription service Netflix has announced it will offer streaming of TV shows and movies for one low monthly price in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland before the end of 2012.

Upon launch, broadband Internet users in the Nordic countries can subscribe to Netflix and instantly watch a wide array of Hollywood, local and global TV shows and movies.
 
Netflix gives people a choice to enjoy what they want to watch from its broad selection, when they want to watch it, where they want to watch it for one low monthly price over a wide-range of Internet-connected devices. These devices include PCs, Macs, Smart TVs, game consoles, Blu-ray disc players, smartphones and tablets.

Focussing on TV and movies, Netflix has been streaming to millions of US members since 2007, adding Canada in 2010, Latin America in 2011 and the UK and Ireland in early 2012. Using the unique Netflix recommendation engine, each member is presented a personalised list of TV and film titles to enjoy from the Netflix library.
 
People in the Nordics interested in becoming Netflix members can go to www.netflix.com to sign up to receive an e-mail alert when Netflix has launched. Further details about the service, including pricing, content and supported devices, will be announced closer to launch.
 

MUMBAI: Visual Computing Labs (VCL), a division of Tata Elxsi Ltd. and a leading player in animation and visual effects, has delivered as many as 1062 visual effects shots in YRF‘s latest Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif-starrer.

The film moves between Dublin, Mardin and Cuba. Its fast paced action sequences required a lot of VFX work to seamlessly integrate into the film. In Dublin especially, the action called for tram accidents and Salman Khan running along the roof of an out of control tram.
 
Naturally, the tram and most of the streets had to be recreated in CGI to permit these daring stunts. In the rest of the action sequences too, cars and airplanes, explosions and fires were all enhanced or recreated in CGI by the artistes.

VCL delivered these shots using cutting edge VFX technology and a customised pipeline designed for the complexity of these shots. Up to 60 skilled technical artistes were deployed by VCL for this project, which was completed in a record six and a half month period. The entire duration of CG/VFX in the film spans over 30 minutes.
 
Tata Elxsi COO S Nagarajan said, “This project has helped us showcase VCL‘s cutting edge capabilities in the VFX domain and we are confident that this film will become a benchmark in mainstream cinema for providing viewers with a world-class experience.”

“We are very excited about the release of this blockbuster film. The thrilling action sequences have been innovatively shot across continents and breathtaking locations” said VCL creative director Pankaj Khandpur. “VCL has contributed in making several action and stunt sequences in the movie even more thrilling and exciting for the audience,” he added.

This film marks VCL‘s 24th collaboration with Yash Raj Films.

MUMBAI: UK pay TV service provider Sky has unveiled an update to the popular Sky+ app for iPad which allows Sky TV customers to use their iPad as a remote control.

Sky customers will be able to take even more control of their main TV experience through the app, using it to change channels as well as pause, play and rewind TV with a swipe or tap of their fingers on the screen of their iPad.

Sky customers can also now manage their planner through the iPad app, allowing them to add and delete recordings they have stored on their Sky+HD set-top box without interrupting viewing on the main TV.

Other key features of the enhanced app include a redesigned TV Guide, with new genre tabs allowing Sky customers to discover their favourite content even more easily. The updated app also offers improved search and navigation, with an emphasis on providing an even more intuitive user experience.

The enhancements to the Sky+ app for iPad follow on from the launch of a new Sky TV Guide earlier in the year, which delivered a new Sky Guide to millions of customers with a Sky+HD box. To access the full functionality of the Sky+ app for iPad, Sky customers need to have the new look Sky Guide on their Sky+HD box and to make sure it‘s connected to the same WiFi network as their iPad.

Sky brand director, TV products Luke Bradley Jones commented, “The Sky+ app has proved hugely popular, with millions of Sky customers embracing the convenience of being able to set recordings of their favourite shows while they are on the move. We‘re now taking the Sky+ experience one step further, handing our customers even more control over their planner – not to mention being able to use the app to change channel and play, pause and rewind their favourite TV.”

MUMBAI: Airtel digital TV, the DTH service from Bharti Airtel, has added ‘Asianet Movies’, the newly launched round-the-clock movie channel from Asianet Communications, to its portfolio.

‘Asianet Movies’ will be available to customers on channel No 598 and will be part of the free Malayalam top-up. With this, Airtel digital TV has augmented its Malayalam channel count to 15 and total channel count to 300.

The a la carte pricing of the channel is Rs 5.

The movie channel telecasts super hits, classics and evergreen movies in addition to the most recent films. The channel also presents the new beats in film industry, star chats and other movie-related programmes.

MUMBAI: DirecTV, one of the world’s leading providers of digital television entertainment services, has said it will carry Al Jazeera-owned sports network beIN Sport beginning with its inaugural telecast today.

DirecTV customers now have access to coverage of the top soccer leagues and tournaments from Europe and South America, including Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, France’s Ligue Un, South American World Cup Qualifiers and Copa America 2015, among others.

The English-language version of beIN Sport will be offered in HD and SD as part of the DirecTV Sports Pack. The network will also provide an entirely differentiated Spanish-language channel, beIN Sport “En Espa?ol”, which will be available on DirecTV Más in SD.

In addition to its linear TV network, select beIN Sport content will be available online for DirecTV customers.

“DirecTV recognises the passion of its international sports fans. No other channel will have our games, our leagues or our matches. beIN Sport’s exclusive rights means we are the ultimate destination for the avid fan to the general sports enthusiast who want to see professional international sports action,” said beIN Sport MD Yousef Al Obaidly.