Come Home to DTH

8/9/2019 Come Home to DTH

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Come home to DTH23 October 2004

Direct-to-home offers more channels to viewers, better reception and freedom from

cable operators. Tanmoy Mitra reports

Over 1.5 lakh subscribers across India already have Direct-to-Home (DTH), a viabletechnology option for consumers dissatisfied with the service dished out by cable TV

operators. The Subash Chandra-promoted ASC Enterprises LTD, has invested Rs200crore for expansion of the DTH service in India.,

His son, Punit Goenka, CEO, ASC, has seen his company being awarded the first DTH

licence in India, and has joined hands with Chandra's better-known ZEE Telefilms to

launch India's first KU-band DTH service, Dish TV.

Currently Dish TV is the sole DTH provider in India, transmitting over 100 channelsfrom its platform, covering the most popular channels. After signing an agreement with

BT Broadcast Services (BTBS), in August 2004, which will help European and Americanbroadcasters to tap the Indian market, ASC is broadcasting a host of internationalchannels. This service is also providing value-added services that include radio channels,

teletext, dual audio for channels, parental control and electronic programme guide (EPG).

What is DTH?

Direct-to-Home (DTH) is a wireless digital audio / video service delivered to a consumerthrough satellite. DTH transmission is received directly on the consumer's TV set through

a small dish antenna unlike with a regular cable connection. The encrypted transmission

is decoded by a 'set-top box' (STB).

A DTH connection offers immense opportunity to both broadcasters and viewers as iteliminates the local cable operator and puts the broadcaster directly in touch with the

consumer. Besides transmitting numerous channels over a single platform, the technology

allows the broadcaster to introduce a large number of interactive applications likebroadband Internet connections, gaming, and video-on-demand in the television market.

A user can scan up to 700 channels.

Will DTH work in India?

About five years back the estimated cost of a DTH-transmitted bouquet of channelswould have been Rs700 and with the addition of value-added services like gaming,

internet, the cost would have been higher. Moreover, to receive this technology, a user

had to buy a set top box that costs between Rs7,000 and Rs12,000.

But today, with the government pushing for this technology, the situation is different.Prices of the dish and the set-top box have crashed and the overall investment in putting

up a DTH infrastructure has dropped considerably.

A few years ago, a DTH platform would have required an investment of between Rs2,000

and Rs2,500 crore (Rs20-25 billion). Now, a similar infrastructure would cost Rs250


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crore (Rs2.5 billion). Consumers will enjoy better tariffs with the prices of STBs coming

down to Rs4, 000 and a monthly package of Rs300 for being able to view 100 or more

channels.

The failure of CAS

The increase in monthly rentals, high cost STBs and technical complications are amongthe main reasons associated with the failure of the conditional access system (CAS).

Under CAS the STB is attached to individual TV sets that directly link the TV to thesoftware installed at the cable operator's control room. The software is programmed to

accept only signals from those channels, which the viewer has subscribed for.

DTH scores over CAS

Unlike CAS, the DTH technology can reach the remotest of areas since it is a wirelesstechnology and digital signals are received directly by the DTH dish from the satellite.

There are four players in the field as of today ASC Enterprises with Dish TV, theTata-Star combine's Space TV, NSTPL (a group company of Dr J K Jain-promoted Jain

Studios Ltd) and Prasar Bharati. Of the four, only Dish is up and transmitting at themoment.

Doordarshan, the public broadcasting terrestrial channel run by Prasar Bharati, is

planning to launch its direct-to-home service, DD Direct Plus, by November. DD Direct

Plus is a unique service, as Doordarshan would not be charging any subscription fee fromthe viewers, making it the first free-to-air DTH service in the world.

.

The government's cable and broadcast regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

(TRAI), has issued a draft on interconnection agreement, which bans exclusiveprogramming to direct-to-home (DTH) satellite. Under the agreement all broadcasters,

DTH operators and multi-system operators (MSOs) are required to deliver all channels totheir viewers. This will ensure subscribers have access to all channels regardless of the

satellite or cable TV supplier they subscribe to.

DTH is becoming the technology that will drive the future ofbroadcasting industry in India. In a country of more than 1 billion

people, it is no surprise that global broadcasters have set their

eyes on the world's largest open market for DTH satellitetelevision services. According to a survey conducted by Star TV,

there will be around 2 million DTH subscribers in India in three years.

DTH may bring with it a direct war of technology


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Debashis Chaudhuri

New Delhi, Jan 28: The opening up of the direct-to-home (DTH) television service isexpected to lead to a technology war between `open architecture system' and `proprietary

system'.

The open architecture system means technology similar to the cellular phones currently invogue in the country. In this case, DTH subscribers would have to make a one-timeinvestment in the hardware. The consumer's preference on the service would depend on

the access card (akin to a SIM card), which will be provided by the operator.

On the other hand, proprietary technology implies that hardware for DTH is made to the

specification of one particular operator, which can only accept the access card providedby that particular party. In case a subscriber wishes to shift to other similar services he

would have to invest in new hardware again.

Experts feel that in case DTH is allowed with proprietary technology then it would mean

either blocking of entry of competitors or, making it imperative for the government toissue licencesto the operators providing the service at a later stage.

Experts state that in case the communications ministry decides to lift the ban on

marketing and distribution of DTH equipment then it may have to reflect on this issue of

what type of technology the operator can use.The hardware for DTH -- set-top-converteror integrated receiver decoder (IRD) -- would be priced around Rs 40,000 if it is not

subsidised.

Keeping the subscribers in mind the government at a later stage would not be in aposition to deny the subscriber a licence under the Broadcasting Act, experts added.

Though it is not a good idea to block any form of technology from entering the country, it

may be desirable on the part of the government to spell out a clear-cut policy guideline on

DTH, experts added. This may prevent the possibility of a monopoly in DTH services.

The crucial issues include, uplinking and foreign equity. Some of the private playersinterested in the services feel that if the foreign equity specification is notmentioned now,

it is unlikely that very many players would be interested in investing in the country. As

the DTH hardware is not produced in the country it would be necessary for most playersto go for a technology tie-up with foreign players.

The uplinking issue, according to legal experts, has implications for the country'ssecurity. In order to put such a service under an Indian law, it should be made mandatory

for all operators to uplink from the country, feel experts.

The union information and broadcasting ministry had earlier said that the governmentwas keen to allow private and ultimately foreign players to uplink from the country.

However, before that it has to make sure that the infrastructure is adequate for them to do

so.


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So far the government has only allowed 80-per cent Indian owned channels to uplink

from the country through Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL). In the second phase, the

government wants to allow foreign investment in setting up infrastructure for uplinkingfrom the country.

Will the real DTH please stand up?03/01/2007

Many TV viewers in India's top four cities saw some of their favorite channels going off air on New Year's eve. Starting Janviewers in parts of four Indian metro cities--Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai--will have to choose between DTH (direCAS (conditional access system) if they want to continue viewing pay channels. Under the new regime, viewers will be abto-air (FTA) channels through the installed cable connection, but the signals of the paid channels will now be encoded.

Conditional Access is being rolled out in a phased manner in these cities since it' a grand logistical exercise. The regulatormandated that in CAS-notified areas, cable operators should convert signals from analog to digital by midnight of Decembillegal for cable operators in the CAS-notified areas to beam pay channels to consumers who have not bought settop boxe

For the uninitiated reader, this article fromRediffexplains the two terms.

CAS stands for conditional access system, which is a digital mode of transmitting TV channels trough a settop box (STB). signals are encrypted and viewers need to buy a settop box to receive and decrypt the signal. The STB is required to watc

channels, not free-to-air channels.

DTH stands for Direct-To-Home television. DTH is defined as the reception of satellite programs with a personal dish in an

Every cable TV home in these four metro cities will have to choose from one of the following three options.

1. Go in for a DTH system2. Take a CAS system from the cable operator3. Go for neither and be content with the FTA channels

The battle between DTH service providers and cable operators is on, considering a very large majority of consumers will g2. The competition is intense because once the choice is made between DTH and CAS, it will be a long shot to expect the

to switch.

With the marketing machinery of service providers in full swing, the consumer is left confused about pricing and options. Sand DTH require upfront expenditure in equipment like settop boxes (STBs), the general impression is that this new regimproposition. Choosing between CAS and DTH is complicated and the shortage of STBs in the market is adding to the woe
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A marketing flier I received from my local cable operator describes its CAS service as the real DTH! No need to get confusoperator's DTH stands for Digital To Home! So will the real DTH please stand up?

The answer to what is better between CAS and DTH depends on various factors. But DTH scores in terms of quality and vservices. The quality of CAS is largely dependent on your cable operator. The track record of local Cablewallah in mattersand customer service is dismal.

The prices of STBs and DTH equipment vary between US$25 and US$50. The minimum monthly charge for the FTA chan(US$1.7) + taxes. Every pay channel will cost Rs5 (US$0.10) + taxes, with the option to choose from various channel bund

India has around 110 million TV-owning homes, out of which roughly 65 million are cable and satellite TV homes. There aoffering DTH services viz-a-vizDish TV,Tata Sky and DD Direct Plus. Reliance's Blue Magic is likely to launch DTH servicIncidentally, CAS has been in force in Chennai since 2003.

But not everybody is complaining about the pay channels going off air. The timing of the blackout of popular pay channels be a boon for parents of children whose annual exams are fast approaching.

Did I hear somebody say that TV is also an educational medium?
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Come Home to DTH