The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Local operators told to go for digital set top boxes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Local operators told to go for digital set top boxes

N. Anand

CHENNAI: Local Cable Operators (LCOs) have to go in for digital set top boxes (STBs), as 40 Tamil channels will be in operation by the end of 2008, putting a strain on the distribution system, Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Brijeshwar Singh has said.

Talking to The Hindu, Mr. Singh said: “With the provision of free colour television sets to the poor, these operators will be forced to offer all the Tamil channels and in better quality. Currently, the bouquet of channels offered by them is overcrowded with sports, music, news, religious and entertainment. The analog STBs, used by the LCOs, will become a bottleneck, and they have to follow the Kerala pattern of offering digital STBs not just in Chennai but throughout the State.”

“The Conditional Access System (CAS) was introduced in Chennai to provide customers with the choice of channels. However, it has failed. Out of the 60 channels offered by the LCOs, only 20 are clear. Moreover, the LCOs are providing connectivity to more than 3,500 users through a single node as against the limit of 1,500 connections,” he said.

Mr. Singh advised consumers to go in for digital STBs as all the channels will be clear. Arasu Cable has decided to provide digital STBs to the LCOs so that the quality of picture will be good, even in rural areas. Currently, there is no demand for STBs. However, the demand will pick up owing to the oversupply of channels.

Digital head-ends

Arasu Cable has decided to set up digital head-ends (control rooms) in Tiruvannamalai, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Thanjavur districts. These centres will cover the entire State and will be located within a range of 250-300 km.

Thanjavur has been selected instead of Tiruchi as it can provide feeds to Sivaganga and Pudukottai.

“We have already floated tenders, and around 20 firms have downloaded the forms. The pre-bid meeting will take place on February 29, and the bids will be opened on March 12. The broadcasters have expressed their desire to support us. We can provide the feed to LCOs or Multi-System Operators. We are not going to restrict the numbers, as we expect it to be market-driven,” Mr. Singh said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu