Digital TV partners with NDS for DTH service

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent | Mumbai
Bharti Airtel has launched its direct-to-home (DTH) service Digital TV based on a complete end-to-end system from technology partner NDS. The DTH operator has launched its service with VideoGuard conditional access, MediaHighway middleware and multi-lingual EPG.

NDS solutions enable Bharti Airtel to offer its subscribers advanced services to maximise viewer choice. Additionally, they provide the flexibility to allow the DTH operator to introduce future enhancements such as further interactive applications and digital video recorder (DVR) technology.

N. Arjun, executive director, Bharti Telemedia, said, "With Airtel Digital TV, we plan to deliver a magical in-home entertainment experience to TV-viewers. With the support of our technology partner NDS, we look forward to providing superior services to our DTH service customers."

Sue Taylor, senior Vice President and general manager, NDS Asia Pacific, said, "We are honoured to be part of this new frontier in Indian pay-TV and to assist Bharti Airtel in delivering the latest leading edge digital and interactive entertainment services to their subscribers."

At the end of October 2008, the subscriber base of Dish TV was 4.4 million, while Tata Sky had 2.7 million subscribers. Big TV in October announced that it had acquired 5,00,000 subscribers since its launch two months ago. Airtel entered the DTH market only about a month ago.

Direct DD Plus, a free-to-air DTH service launched in 2004 by public broadcaster Prasar Bharti, has an estimated subscriber base of about 6 million, the figure is based on the sale of set-top boxes and no survey has been done.