Those were the days, the days when watching your own TV was Royal. Classic times, when movies were telecasted once in a week. The mythological shows were everyone's favorite. Making sure that no single episode should be missed. The time when changing channel wasn't that easy. When TV was only a "tele" "vision" (only limited channel views).
Gone are the days of those Idiot Box (Idiot Box is a slang for television), requiring efforts. Its the time of digital TV. The time in which Royal not only means big & costly. The Royal means digital, the quality, the feature and the applications. Watching "Interactive" TV is Royal now. Having 100 TV channels is not the only thing people want today. You have 100+ channels, Music, Games and a lot more. You not only watch your TV, you now even have the Triple play options. Triple play, the technology which enables voice, data and video on your TV. What does that mean? That means you can access internet on the TV and a lot more. You use Web cams and do video conferencing through your Digital TV now.
IPTV is making all this possible, it is making television Interactive. It has Shopping, Classifieds, Play-Pause-Rewind LIVE TV and many other options for interactive TVs. Its the time when missing an episode does not mean end of the world. You no more rush to watch your favorite show. You smartly go back to the time and watch the missed show using Time Shift features. Shopping or window shopping, whatever it is you can do all on your TV. Just use your TV Remote and buy what you want. A lot more than 500 Movies are there in the video libraries (Video on Demand). iControl IPTV, MyWay IPTV and Airtel IPTV are three big IPTV players in India. Though iControl IPTV wins the race with its better features and facilities. FTTH is the latest buzz today, making the interaction more faster. And iControl wins here too, as it recently launched FTTH in Jaipur.
The Digital TV is making television as good and fun as it was in the golden era. Who thought of pausing the LIVE TV in the Golden Era. All that we missed in our idiot box, is now present in the Digital TV. Its the Smart TV Era – The Digital TV Era .
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
200 Free TV channels – The game changer
DTH television service is spreading like fire in the country. Cable TV is vanishing in thin air. People today want the quality along with quantity. Yes! DTH is providing them all that they want. We have a good number of DTH service providers today - Dish TV, TataSky, Airtel and lots more. I don't think I need to name them, we all are aware of them. I talked about them in my previous posts too. So what is it that we are here to talk about? Its DD Direct Plus.
Well DD Direct Plus or lets say DoorDarshan Direct Plus is the country's only Free To Air (FTA) direct to home (DTH) service run by Prasar Bharati that provides satellite channels and audio programming. They are currently providing only 59 FTA channels, most of which are DoorDarshan's own. Also the All India Radio channels are included in the package. At present DD Direct reaches 6 million homes, while private DTH operators cater to 14-16 million homes. Officials expect its reach to expand to 30 million homes within months of launching the new product. What is it that will give it a 30 million home connection? Its the new package. Wondering what this new package got? Its the upcoming Free 200 channels that DD Direct is planning to launch in the end of this year. The idea behind this initiative is to make the DTH service more viewer friendly and adequate dose of popular entertainment channels will make it more attractive.
The recent news about this service really brought a shock to most private DTH Service providers. Paying a huge amount of security and other charges along with daily monthly rent for getting more than 100 digital channels looks costly when you have such a great offer, where you pay only for the set top box (STB).Obviously you will opt for the free one. India is a place where a simple "SALE" tag attracts a lot of audience and when you get something for FREE then you can imagine what an amount of customers DD Direct will get. [POLL] Would you continue paying private DTH for the same channels that you are getting for free?
Well looking at the other side of the coin, the question that arises is that will the payed channels let their channels be telecasted for free? Will they agree with Doordarshan? DD Direct must be having a plan for making these paid channels go with them. I guess yes! I read HT report on this, saying :
Some other things that DD Direct need to have in order to attract its customers are a good collection of applications. With Tatasky, dish TV etc having gaming applications and lot more to offer , DD Direct too need to get solution or lets say some good applications.
Don't know whether it will be possible or not for DD to bring 200 Free channels. All we can do is wait for the year to end and check it out what happens. Keeping my fingers crossed and waiting for this Game changer.
Well DD Direct Plus or lets say DoorDarshan Direct Plus is the country's only Free To Air (FTA) direct to home (DTH) service run by Prasar Bharati that provides satellite channels and audio programming. They are currently providing only 59 FTA channels, most of which are DoorDarshan's own. Also the All India Radio channels are included in the package. At present DD Direct reaches 6 million homes, while private DTH operators cater to 14-16 million homes. Officials expect its reach to expand to 30 million homes within months of launching the new product. What is it that will give it a 30 million home connection? Its the new package. Wondering what this new package got? Its the upcoming Free 200 channels that DD Direct is planning to launch in the end of this year. The idea behind this initiative is to make the DTH service more viewer friendly and adequate dose of popular entertainment channels will make it more attractive.
The recent news about this service really brought a shock to most private DTH Service providers. Paying a huge amount of security and other charges along with daily monthly rent for getting more than 100 digital channels looks costly when you have such a great offer, where you pay only for the set top box (STB).Obviously you will opt for the free one. India is a place where a simple "SALE" tag attracts a lot of audience and when you get something for FREE then you can imagine what an amount of customers DD Direct will get. [POLL] Would you continue paying private DTH for the same channels that you are getting for free?
Well looking at the other side of the coin, the question that arises is that will the payed channels let their channels be telecasted for free? Will they agree with Doordarshan? DD Direct must be having a plan for making these paid channels go with them. I guess yes! I read HT report on this, saying :
The moot question is whether some pay channels will be willing to turn free to take advantage of the huge viewership DD Direct expects to offer, making up in advertising rates what they lose from subscriptions. Officials said they offered another incentive: the carriage fee — annual price of beaming a channel — Doordarshan charges is lower than private operators. "If DD Direct can put together a good combination, it will have a good market," said Uday Shankar, CEO Star India. "But I doubt pay channels will shift."
Some other things that DD Direct need to have in order to attract its customers are a good collection of applications. With Tatasky, dish TV etc having gaming applications and lot more to offer , DD Direct too need to get solution or lets say some good applications.
Don't know whether it will be possible or not for DD to bring 200 Free channels. All we can do is wait for the year to end and check it out what happens. Keeping my fingers crossed and waiting for this Game changer.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
IPTV- HOW IT WORKS
"IPTV" is a recent buzzword emerged only a few years ago. In a nutshell, it means the delivery of television over Internet Protocol networks. But for the telecommunication industry, IPTV means much more. IPTV is an "entirely new multimedia experience" extending the borders of conventional "broadcast" television; it is an integrated, 'all-embracing' media platform offering a bundle of diverse content and communication services from a single provider over a single network to a single user device – all with a single payment.
Regardless of the service provider, IPTV is a vertically organized and closely controlled system. It is invariably managed by a single service provider that controls all elements of the value chain: content provision, content packaging, distribution, reception, relationship with the user and payments. The service provider is responsible for the end-to-end quality of the services. It often makes use of proprietary technology solutions. Several broadcasters, telcos and consumer-electronics manufacturers have joined forces in order to explore possible synergies between IPTV and DTT (Direct Terrestrial Television).
Three areas of possible synergies may be considered: complementary coverage, common sets of services and common set-top boxes. Whereas DTT is generally designed to cover the whole national territory, it is probably not viable to implement BTV services over a whole territory, as the number of DSLAMs required would be very large (and therefore expensive). On the other hand, reception of DTT services indoors without external aerials may require excessive transmission power. In such cases, BTV could help and provide the same channels (plus any value-added services), so that both television platforms can be considered complementary.
A common set-top box for both DTT and IPTV has been developed by several manufacturers in order to enable this “synergetic” scenario to materialize. It would be advantageous if both DTT and BTV would provide similar television services of comparable service quality.
This figure shows the how IPTV systems are composed of content providers, distribution networks, viewing devices, and IPTV service operators-
The content providers include existing television networks, on demand content providers (content aggregators), and independent content provider companies. This example shows a distribution networks that uses many types of systems to transfer IP video packets from the content source to the viewing devices.
IPTV viewing devices include standard televisions (with adapters), multimedia computers, and multimedia mobile devices.
The IPTV system operator manages how customers can connect to the system which services they can receive.
Regardless of the service provider, IPTV is a vertically organized and closely controlled system. It is invariably managed by a single service provider that controls all elements of the value chain: content provision, content packaging, distribution, reception, relationship with the user and payments. The service provider is responsible for the end-to-end quality of the services. It often makes use of proprietary technology solutions. Several broadcasters, telcos and consumer-electronics manufacturers have joined forces in order to explore possible synergies between IPTV and DTT (Direct Terrestrial Television).
Three areas of possible synergies may be considered: complementary coverage, common sets of services and common set-top boxes. Whereas DTT is generally designed to cover the whole national territory, it is probably not viable to implement BTV services over a whole territory, as the number of DSLAMs required would be very large (and therefore expensive). On the other hand, reception of DTT services indoors without external aerials may require excessive transmission power. In such cases, BTV could help and provide the same channels (plus any value-added services), so that both television platforms can be considered complementary.
A common set-top box for both DTT and IPTV has been developed by several manufacturers in order to enable this “synergetic” scenario to materialize. It would be advantageous if both DTT and BTV would provide similar television services of comparable service quality.
This figure shows the how IPTV systems are composed of content providers, distribution networks, viewing devices, and IPTV service operators-
The content providers include existing television networks, on demand content providers (content aggregators), and independent content provider companies. This example shows a distribution networks that uses many types of systems to transfer IP video packets from the content source to the viewing devices.
IPTV viewing devices include standard televisions (with adapters), multimedia computers, and multimedia mobile devices.
The IPTV system operator manages how customers can connect to the system which services they can receive.
The viewing devices or adapters convert digital television signals into a form that can be controlled and viewed by users. Broadband access providers supply the high-speed data connection that can transfer the digital video television signals. Service providers identify and control the connections between the viewing devices and the content providers (media sources). Media content providers create information that people want to view or obtain.
Media Content Providers
IPTV content sources can range from live TV networks (such as CNN) to niche on-demand content from micro-producers. IPTV systems can delivery an unlimited number of channels as each television set only require one TV channel connection which can be linked to any other TV source the IPTV operator can provide.
IPTV Service Providers
IPTV service providers obtain the rights to transmit media programming to their customers. While IPTV service providers may focus on provide TV services in geographic areas (such as where they own or control TV distribution rights), IPTV service providers can technically provide programming anywhere in the world they can reach customers through a broadband data connection.
IP Distribution Systems
IP distribution systems transfer media programs from the content sources to viewing devices. There are many types of systems that can distribute IP data packets which include telecom, wireless, cable TV systems, power companies (data over power line), and competitive access providers (such as new optical networks).
IPTV Viewing Devices
IPTV viewing devices can receive media in IP form and convert it into media that can be viewed by the user. IP viewing devices range from standard televisions that use IP set top boxes to convert IP video signals into a format that can be viewed on a standard television to mobile telephones with digital video viewing capabilities
Monday, February 1, 2010
BSNL WITH AKSH OPTIFIBRE BRINGING FTTH IN INDIA
Lets have a brief description of FTTH before talking about its presence in India.
FTTH, or Fiber To The Home, refers to fiber optic cable that replaces the standard copper wire of the local Telco. FTTH is desirable because it can carry high-speed broadband services integrating voice, data and video, and runs directly to the junction box at the home or building.
Traditional copper telephone wires carry analog signals generated by telephone equipment, including fax machines. The Internet utilizes a backbone of fiber optic cables capable of delivering incredible bandwidth. This inherent ability makes the Internet a prime source for advancing network technologies that can be brought to the home or business. Most subscribers, however, log on to this network through copper lines with limited capacity. This creates a bottleneck for advancing technologies that increasingly require greater bandwidth. FTTH bridges this gap.
Fiber optic cables are made of glass fiber that can carry data at speeds exceeding 2.5 gigabits per second (gbps). FTTH services commonly offer a fleet of plans with differing speeds that are price dependent. At the lower end of the scale, a service plan might offer speeds of 10 megabits per second (mbps), while typical DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) service running on existing copper lines is 1.5 mbps. A more expensive FTTH plan might offer data transfer speeds of over 100 mbps —- that's about 66 times faster than typical DSL.
This was a briefing about FTTH, now talking about FTTH in India.
BSNL and Aksh Optifibre unveiled the country's first Fiber to the Home (FTTH) technology, which will enable faster Internet connectivity and quality TV viewing experience. This will help their IPTV- iControl IPTV in providing the best quality video to viewers.
This launch will enable Aksh and BSNL to provide multiplay services with high definition content to its customers. The technology will further allow iControl IPTV customers to experience speed of 100 MBS on their Internet connections. This technology will replace 'last mile connectivity' with optical fiber cables.
Currently, 'last mile' connections between homes and telephone exchanges are almost entirely copper-based.This launch will bring India on the same technological plane as advanced countries like China, Singapore, Japan and UK. Aksh Optifibre Ltd Managing Director Mr. Kailash Choudhari said the launch will allow end-users who have invested in High Definition televisions to enjoy the benefits of their investment in the latest technology.
Well for me FTTH in India, that too BSNL providing it is really a good news. New technology, good quality and faster speed of internet access. India is pacing up and is bringing all the technology that a developed nation need. Hope the technology development pace grow like this and more. Thanks BSNL & Aksh for providing this new technology.
FTTH, or Fiber To The Home, refers to fiber optic cable that replaces the standard copper wire of the local Telco. FTTH is desirable because it can carry high-speed broadband services integrating voice, data and video, and runs directly to the junction box at the home or building.
Traditional copper telephone wires carry analog signals generated by telephone equipment, including fax machines. The Internet utilizes a backbone of fiber optic cables capable of delivering incredible bandwidth. This inherent ability makes the Internet a prime source for advancing network technologies that can be brought to the home or business. Most subscribers, however, log on to this network through copper lines with limited capacity. This creates a bottleneck for advancing technologies that increasingly require greater bandwidth. FTTH bridges this gap.
Fiber optic cables are made of glass fiber that can carry data at speeds exceeding 2.5 gigabits per second (gbps). FTTH services commonly offer a fleet of plans with differing speeds that are price dependent. At the lower end of the scale, a service plan might offer speeds of 10 megabits per second (mbps), while typical DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) service running on existing copper lines is 1.5 mbps. A more expensive FTTH plan might offer data transfer speeds of over 100 mbps —- that's about 66 times faster than typical DSL.
This was a briefing about FTTH, now talking about FTTH in India.
BSNL and Aksh Optifibre unveiled the country's first Fiber to the Home (FTTH) technology, which will enable faster Internet connectivity and quality TV viewing experience. This will help their IPTV- iControl IPTV in providing the best quality video to viewers.
This launch will enable Aksh and BSNL to provide multiplay services with high definition content to its customers. The technology will further allow iControl IPTV customers to experience speed of 100 MBS on their Internet connections. This technology will replace 'last mile connectivity' with optical fiber cables.
Currently, 'last mile' connections between homes and telephone exchanges are almost entirely copper-based.This launch will bring India on the same technological plane as advanced countries like China, Singapore, Japan and UK. Aksh Optifibre Ltd Managing Director Mr. Kailash Choudhari said the launch will allow end-users who have invested in High Definition televisions to enjoy the benefits of their investment in the latest technology.
Well for me FTTH in India, that too BSNL providing it is really a good news. New technology, good quality and faster speed of internet access. India is pacing up and is bringing all the technology that a developed nation need. Hope the technology development pace grow like this and more. Thanks BSNL & Aksh for providing this new technology.
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