All Entries Tagged With: "Set-Top Box"
Cable operators facing set-top box shortage as digitisation deadline approaches near
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Five months before time runs out for homes across India’s top four metros to switch to digital transmission to continue watching cable television, operators are battling short supply of set-top boxes as well as ignorance among consumers. More than 60,000 set-top boxes need to be installed every day to enable an estimated 10 million homes across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata to meet the deadline mandated by the government. But with India going digital at the same time as Brazil, Russia, China and South Korea, among other countries, set-top box makers are finding it difficult »»»
Amagi brings new VAS revenues to MSOs
With digitisation of the cable TV industry in India soon reaching its sunset date, MSOs are making large capital expenditures to provide STBs (set top boxes) to their subscribers. However, with few significant revenue opportunities, VAS is becoming an important strategy by which operators increase their revenues and profits. VAS brings in multiple opportunities, some of them in the form of video-on-demand, video conferencing, local classifieds listing, TV-commerce, games, viewership measurement, and advertising. To begin with, approximately 50 MSOs across India have partnered with local television »»»
Digicable to spend Rs 225cr on settop boxes in Kolkata
Kolkata, Jan 13 (PTI) Leading Multi System Operator (MSO) Digicable today said they will invest Rs 225 crore to supply 1.5 million settop boxes to its subscribers in the city. “All cable operators have to mandatorily switch to digital technology or to send cable television signals through settop boxes (STB) from July in city. We are trying to offer a cheap solution to subscribers under our network,” Digicable VP Amit Nag said. Digicable managing director Jagjit S Kohli said the company was planning to offer STB at Rs 500 though the minimum price of a box is Rs 1700. “We have to »»»
Hathway Cable plans to invest Rs 1.75 bn in first phase of digitisation
MUMBAI: India’s leading multi-system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable & Datacom plans to invest Rs 1.75 billion in the first phase of digitisation even as it expects DTH to take away 10-15 per cent of its cable TV subscribers in the two lucrative markets of Delhi and Mumbai. Hathway has ordered 1.3 million digital set-top boxes (STBs) and signed a letter of intent for another 0.5 million STBs. “We estimate our subscriber universe to be 1.5 million (including 2nd TV) in Mumbai and Delhi. About 20 per cent of this will be second TV sets. We have a presence in Kolkata through our joint »»»
Den Networks, Hathway Cable & Datacom join hands for set-top box campaign
NEW DELHI: Cable TV companies Den Networks and Hathway Cable & Datacom will launch a joint media campaign beginning with Delhi this weekend, informing consumers about the need to install set-top boxes by June 30 as mandated by the government. The top two multi-system operators (MSOs) will also launch their set-top boxes at a promotional price of Rs 799, including installation charges and taxes, which is much lower than Rs 1,500-1,600 charged by the direct-to-home or DTH operators. As per initial estimates, the two companies are expected to spend Rs 20 crore on the campaign. Households in New »»»
Interoperability of STBs for DTH still a distant dream
NEW DELHI: None of the six private direct-to-home operators are providing interoperable set top boxes, despite license conditions at Articles 7.1 and 7.2 of the Guidelines are clear that these should be based on open architecture (non-proprietory). Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources said that the Guidelines wanted inter-operability to ensure technical compatibility and effective interoperability among different DTH service providers and conformity to the specifications as laid down by the Government from time to time. The STBs were not interoperable because all the DTH operators were »»»
Digital Cable TV Versus DTH: Which One To Go For & Why?
Till now it has been a no-brainer what you need to have for home entertainment. On the one hand, there is the Direct-to-home (DTH) service ensuring sharp picture and voice quality, giving you the power to choose the channels you want and even offering interactive elements such as video-on-demand and gaming. On the other hand, you have the analogue cable television with poor reception and a whole bundle of channels you never want but have to pay for. Indeed, there is another technology called IPTV where your broadband Internet service provider allows you to access television channels. But then, »»»
