 While
speaking to indiantelevision.com, Hinduja TMT INCableNet COO Rajiv
Vyas states that his team have completed the sophisticated installations
of CAS systems at the INMumbai headquarters in suburban Mumbai. Vyas
says: "Our franchisee last mile operators need not invest any
money in infrastructural upgradations except for making them two-way
compatible."
"Even viewers or consumers with lower capacity colour TV sets/B&W
TV sets will be able to access 100 plus channels without having
to change their TV set. We have tested our systems extensively and
have been able to provide crystal clear digital channels across
our networks - in fact the demo given by us to the IB ministry officials
was on an outdated 1974 vintage Bush-Baron TV set. Video on our
networks will not encounter any problems post 1 September,"
Vyas asserts, while stating that the INCableNet's fibre optic backbone
is completely two-way but the network will be one-way during the
initial stages of CAS.
The technology partners for INDigital include Nagravision (CAS),
Magnaquest (subscriber management system) and branded INDigi set
top boxes (STBs) have been imported from abroad. The latest state
of the art digital headend has been provided by Tandberg of Norway
at a total cost of $400,000 (purchase price excludes transport and
duty costs) and have been set up.
The Barco analog headend for the free to air channels has also
been installed. The company has installed the latest Sun Microsystems
and Compaq servers for the SMS systems. "There is full redundancy
and adequate back up systems," says Vyas.
INCableNet technical and services group president major general
CL Anand says: "Each RS slot will have eight to 10 channels
depending on the mix. At present, we have five RS slots for the
42 pay channels and 16 RS slots for the FTA channels. We can offer
upto 150 channels due to the compression of the digital and analog
channels between 48 Mhz and 860 Mhz."
 The
INDigi STBs are smart-card enabled and have value added features.
For instance, the LMO or viewer have to tune to the first transport
stream and the rest will be set automatically. At a later date,
the STBs will be upgraded automatically as they are empowered to
download the latest software - no hardware upgrading will be required.
INDigital will also provide features such as EPG (electronic programming
guide).
"The boxes can download the latest 2.48 version of the software
as soon as the power is switched on (something similar to Norton
anti-virus or other software downloads). This doesn't require a
two-way path. Later on when polling happens, then two-way stream
will come into play," Anand adds.
Vyas points out that polling will happen through the SMS system
and the call centre. "The STB isn't an analytical device. The
consumer profiling will happen at the SMS end."
Anand offers another insight by saying: "The INCablenet team
is in the advanced stages of integrating the STB remote control
and the TV remote control to provide consumers with a single remote
that will enable them to view both the pay and FTA channels."
When questioned about piracy-related issues, Anand says: "We
have chosen Nagravision because they have pretty robust systems.
However, we have a time-based agreement wherein Nagravision will
provide us with the latest firewalls at any given point of time.
In case of any eventuality, only the smart cards will be replaced
and not the STB hardware. If the systems are hacked, then we shall
bear the cost of providing consumers with new smart cards through
the LMO."
Talking about the zone-wise CAS implementation, Anand says that
they will offer three separate feeds in Mumbai city - FTA channels,
analog channels plus encrypted digital channels to South Mumbai
(the first zone where CAS will be implemented); the other areas
will get FTA analog channels, encrypted digital channels (for those
who own STBs) as well as pay channels in the analog form (present
system).
The CAS service to be provided by 'INDigital' from 1 September
would, within a short while, enhance its services to provide a value
added services package which would include broadband Internet, interactive
TV, content on demand and pay per view. This would be enabled by
Tsunami middleware provided by Nagravision and a MHP application.
 "Eventually,
we shall also be able to provide Internet to the viewers through
enhanced versions of STBs," says Anand. In2cable (India) Ltd.,
a wholly owned subsidiary of Hinduja TMT Limited (HTMT), is a "Category
A" (all India) ISP licence holder. It offers its broadband
services under an exclusive arrangement with its group company IndusInd
Media and Communications (IMC), using their existing cable network
across India.
In2cable currently provides multi-channel transmission services
to approximately 4 million subscribers under the brand name INCableNet.
In addition to Mumbai, IMC's network covers 11 major cities in northern,
southern and western India namely: Delhi, Agra, Hyderabad, Bangalore,
Ahmedabad, Nasik, Belgaum, Indore and Nagpur.
Also read:
LMOs - part of INCablenet's
CAS biz plan: Vyas
Content pull will
determine the success of CAS - Interview with Hinduja TMT group
director and CTO KV Seshasayee
INDigital also reworks
STB package; to offer 70 channels in FTA tier
INCableNet brands conditional
access service 'INDigital'
Hathway ready to meet CAS
deadline; invests Rs120-150m per city
Hathway installs and successfully
tests CA systems
|
