03-23-2010, 12:30 PM
High Definition Television (HDTV) service is poised to take off in India in the second half of 2010 driven by a series of sporting events including the Commonwealth Games and Football World Cup, among others.
Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators such as Dish TV, Tata Sky and Bharti Airtel are gearing up to offer HD channels on their platforms in the next few months.
Sun Direct launched its HD service recently, while the state-owned Doordarshan's HD channel will take off with the Commonwealth Games in October.
Dish TV will launch HD service in the June quarter, said the company's Chief Operating Officer, Mr Salil Kapoor on the sidelines of India Satellite Forum 2010. The event was organised by the Cable and Satellite Broadcast Association of Asia.
Higher resolution
HD is a digital broadcasting system with higher resolution, enhanced picture and sound quality compared with the regular television service that operates on standard definition (SD) formats.
“We will launch our HD service definitely before the Commonwealth Games,” said Mr Sugato Banerjee, Chief Marketing Officer of Bharti Airtel's DTH operations.
The launch of the premium HD service is expected to help the DTH operators boost their average revenue per subscriber.
Catalyse TV industry
The media industry believes that launch of HD service ahead of the Commonwealth Games will catalyse the Indian television industry in the same way the Asian Games did way back in 1982, when Doordarshan went colour.
Recently, Discovery Communications launched its HD channel — Discovery HD in India on the Sun Direct platform.
More households
“India currently has about 3 lakh HD-ready households, which will go up to 30 lakh by the year-end,” said Mr R.K.Arnold, Secretary, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
However, cost could be an impediment for the uptake of HD service, he said.
India currently has some 19 million digital homes, which is just about 10 per cent penetration. By 2018, digital penetration should be 42 per cent, Mr Arnold said.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators such as Dish TV, Tata Sky and Bharti Airtel are gearing up to offer HD channels on their platforms in the next few months.
Sun Direct launched its HD service recently, while the state-owned Doordarshan's HD channel will take off with the Commonwealth Games in October.
Dish TV will launch HD service in the June quarter, said the company's Chief Operating Officer, Mr Salil Kapoor on the sidelines of India Satellite Forum 2010. The event was organised by the Cable and Satellite Broadcast Association of Asia.
Higher resolution
HD is a digital broadcasting system with higher resolution, enhanced picture and sound quality compared with the regular television service that operates on standard definition (SD) formats.
“We will launch our HD service definitely before the Commonwealth Games,” said Mr Sugato Banerjee, Chief Marketing Officer of Bharti Airtel's DTH operations.
The launch of the premium HD service is expected to help the DTH operators boost their average revenue per subscriber.
Catalyse TV industry
The media industry believes that launch of HD service ahead of the Commonwealth Games will catalyse the Indian television industry in the same way the Asian Games did way back in 1982, when Doordarshan went colour.
Recently, Discovery Communications launched its HD channel — Discovery HD in India on the Sun Direct platform.
More households
“India currently has about 3 lakh HD-ready households, which will go up to 30 lakh by the year-end,” said Mr R.K.Arnold, Secretary, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
However, cost could be an impediment for the uptake of HD service, he said.
India currently has some 19 million digital homes, which is just about 10 per cent penetration. By 2018, digital penetration should be 42 per cent, Mr Arnold said.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
