Category: Software

BANGALORE: In a bid to grow the number of subscribers from the south, and more specifically from Karnataka, Dish TV today announced a slew of subscription packs that will allow a subscriber to ‘mix and match’ the channels that he or she wants to view and optimise the payout for the DTH service from Dish TV.

The DTH player will also be announcing an Oonam special offer for Kerala tomorrow, said Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor.

Among the four southern states, Karnataka with 30 districts, is unique because Dish TV’s insights from a study indicate that almost every 200 kilometers or so, the language spoken and the consumed content changes. In the other three southern states, it is the local language along one other language content that is consumed.
  
Karnataka shares a border with Maharashtra in the north and northwest and hence in a number of districts, Marathi is consumed along with Kannada.

In the eastern part of the state, Telugu is consumed in a number of districts that share a boundary with that state, while southern Karnataka shares boundaries with Tamil Nadu and Kerala where Tamil and Malayalam respectively are also consumed. In a number of districts Urdu is also consumed along with Kannada.

According to Dish TV estimates, the current number of DTH subscribers in India are to almost double and grow at the rate of 10 million per year over this fiscal and the next one. The player had earlier announced that it was targeting 2.5 million new subscriptions for the current fiscal.

Currently, the South contributes 22 per cent and Karnataka is about 7 per cent to Dish TV’s subscription base of 7.66 million. Dish TV hopes to grow the numbers from the South to 25 per cent, with an appropriate contribution to the growth from Karnataka. 
 
To that effect, Dishthv has launched 11 different packs with the subscriber having the freedom within each pack to pick between sports and the required regional languages. To attract new subscribers, it is adding additional regional channels within the pack.

It is also offering special packs for cities such as Bangalore, Mangalore and Mysore that consume cosmopolitan content, as well as extra charges of Rs 160 per television for each additional television set in a household.

Dish TV plans to add three customer oriented services across India – that of calling up the customer on receipt of an SMS from the customer; arranging to pick up the monthly subscription payment at the subscriber’s door on receiving an SMS from the subscriber; and it plans to open 80 hubs across India, 25 of them in South India, where the subscriber can walk in and take a replacement of a malfunctioning set top box. Besides the existing call center at Noida, Dish TV also plans to open up a multi-lingual call center in Chennai to service the requirements of the customers in the four southern states.

MUMBAI: Reliance Big TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) service provider under Reliance Communications, has added two new interactive services, iHolidays and iMall, to its existing bouquet of iServices.

Big TV has partnered with online travel portals Ezeego1.com for iHolidays and retail brand JPearls for the iMall service. With these new introductions, the total number of interactive services on Big TV now sum up to seven.
 
Reliance Big TV SVP Umesh Rao said, “Going forward, we plan to build significant momentum in the VAS space. We are committed to bringing in enriched and differentiated content to delight our subscribers.”

With iHolidays, subscribers will be able to search, view and book their holiday packages, the best deals on international and domestic hotels at affordable and discounted prices. 
 
Ezeego1.com COO Neelu Singh added, “We believe that Big TV with its high number of subscribers is the perfect vehicle to promote our offers and enhance our distribution channel.”
With iMall, customers can go to the dedicated shopping channel and get a unique shopping experience with wide variety of products offered at special prices exclusive for Big TV subscribers.

MUMBAI: Dish TV has selected STMicroelectronics (ST), a global supplier of set-top box (STB) ICs, to power its latest digital set-top boxes.

The new standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) STBs of Dish TV will have ST’s highly integrated System-on-Chip (SoC) STB decoder ICs.

The offering enables Dish TV to deliver innovative services with a cost-effective solution. 
 
Dish TV MD Jawahar Goel said, “Our new digital STV benefit from ST’s highly featured and flexible SoC ICs to provide an ideal platform for us to deliver innovative value-added services to our customers.”

“This represents an important design win for ST, demonstrating our ability to deliver customised solutions and emphasising our commitment to support strategic and fast-growing markets through resources such as our Greater Noida research and development center, which is now our largest outside Europe,” said ST EVP and p – Greater China and South Asia Francois Guibert.  
 
The new digital STBs featuring ST’s highly integrated SDTV and HDTV SoCs are now rolling out to Dish TV subscribers throughout India, Dish TV said.

The STi5189 decoder in Dish TV’s SD equipment is suitable for interactive DVR-capable and hybrid STBs. It supports DVB-S satellite broadcasting and industry-standard middleware and browsers, integrates an audio subsystem supporting Dolby Digital 5.1 and MP3 decoding, and supports all major conditional-access security standards. There is also an interface to off-chip Flash memory, which allows a PVR-type time-shift feature without requiring a hard-disk drive.

The STi7111 at the heart of Dish TV’s new HD STBs supports H.264, VC1, MPEG2 and numerous other video standards, and is designed to minimise energy consumption while maintaining system performance. HD video is output through the embedded HDMI 1.3 interface at up to 1080p resolution, while the embedded Ethernet port enables integration within home networks. A PCI interface is also provided.
 

MUMBAI: UTV News Ltd. has rebranded its website as UTVMoney.com, a move aimed at pushing its online finance property after completing the makeover of its English business news channel Bloomberg UTV.

The change in name from BloombergUTV.com will also mean acting as a credibility manager for stock market “tippers”. The new website will be powered by ‘real time’ stock market data.
 
Bloomberg UTV business head Deepak Lamba said, “In a world where there are just too many tips with no way to tell good from bad, this new website acts as a credibility manager for “celebrity tippers” who make predictions on several TV channels. UTVMoney.com will also allow users to offer regular tips and build their individual reputations in a space which is ruled by a handful.”

Bloomberg UTV has recently appointed Pankaj Khanna as business development head for its digital arm, and this is the first initiative driven by him for the division.
 
Lamba added, “The benefit to the user will be to make a confident choice. Today users are inundated with tips that they get from TV, radio, newspapers, magazines or even from their friends. We feel this is self-defeating as the user now is as clueless as he would be without any recommendation at all. This is the need gap that our new website seeks to fill.”

The site will keep historical track of the predictions that the tippers make and will use this track record to demonstrate which consultant has been consistently good or bad on which stocks.
 

MUMBAI: US broadcaster Discovery has launched a mobile channel on Flo TV.

Flo TV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, will, thus, be the only mobile service that allows consumers to watch Discovery liveand on the go.
  
Discovery Mobile Channel on Flo TV will offer consumers full-length programming of popular series such as Discovery Channel’s Cash Cab, Deadliest Catch, Dirty Jobs and Man vs.
Wild and programming events like Shark Week. The channel also will spotlight compelling series from Discovery Communications portfolio of networks, including Animal Planet’s River Monsters and Whale Wars, and Science Channel’s How It’s Made and Through The Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.

Discovery content will also be available on demand when FLO TV launches its on-demand feature later this year. 
 
Discovery senior VP digital media distribution Rebecca Glashow says, “From Discovery Channel to Animal Planet and across all our brands, Discovery Communications delivers the highest quality, most compelling non-fiction content available anywhere in the world. The Flo TV offering expands our reach by tapping new audiences for our networks and further engaging our loyal viewers who want to watch our award-winning series on the go, whether on their mobile handsets, in cars or on personal devices.”
Flo TV will offer a 24/7 mobile viewing of the highly anticipated Shark Week from 1-7 August. Shark Week was the most popular entertainment special event channel on Flo TV last year.
 

NEW DELHI: Dish TV, the leading direct-to-home (DTH) service provider has added a new innovative value added service (Vas) ‘Traffic Active’ to its offering.

Traffic Active offers live traffic update enabling drivers to actually know which route to follow to a particular destination and which one to avoid.

The company said that Traffic Active has also been nominated for the AFDESI International iTV Awards 2010 for best interactive production in the news and information category. It is powered by TheTrafficPeople.net, a leading traffic update portal and Mapmyindia.com, India’s leading map provider.
 
“Dish TVs Traffic Active service offer commuter’s real time information on traffic situation and helps them to avoid traffic snarls,” said Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor. 
 
“The application currently provides the information on Delhi traffic, which will be expanded to Mumbai, Bangalore and other cities in the next phase. The service provides a complete traffic update on each area of Delhi – congestion points etc. The data is updated every five minutes on the ticker and the red dots on the route map signify congestion points,” Kapoor added.

Traffic Active is under the umbrella of Dish active services on LCN 126. Other Vas services offered by Dish TV are – ICICI Active, Monster Jobs Active, Shaadi Active, Travel Active, Mobile Active, Cinema Active, Astro Active and Bhakti.
 

MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has set sights on 31 December 2013 as the sunset date for a complete shift from analogue to digital cable, a target that most industry observers feel is impossible to meet in the wake of massive fund requirements and current chaos in the sector.

Making this ‘sunset date‘ announcement for the first time, Trai chairman JS Sarma said: “Digitalisation will happen in a phased manner, and we are looking at a complete switchover from analogue to digital by December 2013. It is an ambitious but achievable target.”

Digitisation would first be prescribed for metros and then move on to urban towns before spreading out to rural centres across the country.
  
Trai is also expected to file the final consultation paper on digitalisation by next week.

“We are forward looking and proactive on regulation on digitalisation. All the industry players have welcomed the regulation by Trai on digitalisation and we are expecting to release the final consultation paper on the same by next week,” Sarma said, while addressing the CII Digital Media Conference today via video conferencing.

Den Networks promoter and chairman Sameer Manchanda welcomed the announcement, saying that digitalisation and broadband are the two big issues the government should focus on. “If it (digitalisation) happens, it will be great for the country and viewers,” Manchanda said.

When asked if the timeframe is achievable, Manchanda said that “the intent is at least there and that is what counts.”

Digicable Network India MD and CEO Jagjit Singh Kohli, however, feels that the target is highly optimistic.

“I do not think it (digitalisation) will happen before 2017. The industry can‘t cope up without any proper plan or incentivisation. Whatever they (government) have done so far is really disappointing,” Kohli said.

Kohli also feels there is no good business model for digitisation. “Trai has capped cable TV pricing at Rs 250 in non-Cas areas while there is a forebearance on digital addressable platforms,” he elaborated. 
 
Earlier this month, Trai issued a new tariff order for addressable systems, including digital cable, DTH and IPTV, where it capped the a la carte pricing of channels at 35 per cent of the corresponding price for analogue cable.

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Appelate Tribunal (Tdsat) today restrained Star Den from representing itself as an agent of TV18 with effect from 13 August.

Tdsat Chairperson Justice SB Sinha and members GD Gaiha and PK Rastogi gave their interim order in the case filed by Television18 India Ltd against Star Den Services.

Earlier in the morning in a cross petition filed by Star Den, Tdsat refused to give any interim relief.

TV18 had approached Tdsat requesting an order restraining Star Den Media Services from distributing and marketing its channels.
 
In its petition, TV18 requested Tdsat to direct Star Den to remove all marketing content – such as bouquets, advertisements and information about the broadcasting group‘s channels – from its website. TV18 also asked the tribunal to direct Star Den to clear its dues.

Earlier this week, Tdsat had issued notice to Star Den on the petition. TV18 had on 13 July issued notice to Star Den terminating their channel distribution contracts.

The Tribunal had also given a time of two weeks for filing a reply to Star Den, a 50:50 joint venture between Star India and Den Networks for distribution of TV channels.

According to the broadcaster, which airs channels like CNN-IBN, IBN7, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC TV18, Star Den has breached the terms of their agreement and was treating its channels in a discriminatory manner.

“From the rates and the revenue allocation percentage attributable to Fox International Channels (FIC), it is evident that the same are discriminatory vis-a-vis said channels of the petitioner,” TV18 said.

Fox International Channels, owned by Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corp, were added to the Star Den bouquet from 1 April 2010. 
 
TV 18 said that addition of FIC‘s channel in Star Den‘s bouquet was in violation of their agreement. As per the terms and conditions, Star Den was to inform TV18 on addition of any new channels in its bouquet.

“The FIC channels were added to the Star Den bouquet from 1 April and the respondent (Star Den) wrote to them on 7 April, seeking consent of the petitioner (TV18) on the same,” the broadcaster alleged.

Counsel for Star Den said it was prepared to put FIC channels in a different bouquet, but counsel for TV18 said his clients had “lost all faith” in the distributor.

TV18 further asserted that its distribution contracts with Star Den have already been terminated and the distributor was no longer its agent.

Network18 has formed a joint venture with South-based broadcaster Sun TV, dubbed Sun 18, to distribute its channels. Television Eighteen wants distribution of its channels through Sun18.

MUMBAI: Seans Media, an Aerolex Cablenet subsidiary and a digital cable TV service provider in Bangalore, has used Envivio‘s video head-end.

Compared to traditional MPEG-2, the Envivio head-end reduces the amount of bandwidth Seans Media needs to deliver each of its channels to subscribers, freeing capacity for the service to expand its HD and SD channel lineup.

“The Envivio head-end gives us a significant competitive advantage,” said Seans Media MD Pratap Wadhwa. “Increasing the number and variety of channels we offer is important for attracting and retaining subscribers.”
 
With the latest advancement, Seans Media is able to deliver each channel using as little as 1.6 Mbps without impacting video quality even for demanding content like live sports channels.

The all IP design of the Envivio system, along with the ability to directly ingest baseband video, eliminates the need for costly, quality-impacting interfaces.

The solution also provides Seans Media with the flexibility to adapt to future requirements. Envivio encoders support all three screens of consumer video—TVs, PCs and mobile devices—from a single platform with the ability to take multiple channels of content and encode them simultaneously to deliver multiple mobile TV profiles, multiple Internet TV profiles, or SD and HD IPTV profiles. 
 
“Seans Media has made an important investment in customer satisfaction, ensuring that they will deliver the variety of entertainment its customers want while ensuring outstanding picture quality for both its SD and HD channels. The Envivio head-end addresses their current goals while providing a solid foundation for the introduction of exciting new services in the future,” said Envivio president and CEO Julien Sign?s.

Envivio head-end solutions provide cable operators with the flexibility and capability they need to compete in an increasingly diverse marketplace. Advanced compression liberates bandwidth, enabling operators to increase the variety of HD and SD channels they deliver over their existing network infrastructure.
 

MUMBAI: Satellite broadcaster BSkyB will launch Europe‘s first 3D TV channel in the UK 1 October when it will offer movies, entertainment and sports programming in that format.

BSkyB, which has doubled the number of customers with Sky+ HD boxes in the last year to 1.31 million, said that it will launch a channel offering 3D movies, entertainment and sport.
 
The company that recently said that 3D TV could be a reality within several years, has stepped up its roll-out programme after a major boost in the numbers of subscribers to its Sky+ HD set-top boxes capable of broadcasting 3D services.

However, to watch 3D programming customers will also require a new “3D ready” TV set, which are expected to be on sale in the UK 1 October, and special glasses.

At a recent demonstration BSkyB used a Hyundai TV that costs ?2,500 though it hopes that ultimately 3D TV sets will not cost much more than a standard HD plasma TV.

BSkyB has made clear that its proposed 3D television service would be compatible with a range of ‘3D Ready’ televisions manufactured by LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony. 
 
BSkyB has also confirmed that it will launch a ‘pull’ video-on-demand service using the broadband capability in Sky+ HD boxes. Until now Sky has only been able to offer ‘push’ Video on Demand services such as the Sky Anytime service and the Sky+ personal video recorder.
The new ‘pull’ service aims to broaden consumer choice by allowing programmes to be watched on-demand in the way other services such as on cable operator Virgin Media‘s TV plartform that offers extensive libraries of shows.

Said Sky‘s customer group managing director Brian Sullivan, “3D is a genuinely ‘seeing is believing‘ experience and 1 October we will make our HD boxes work even harder for customers by launching Europe‘s first 3D TV channel.”