Reddy briefs parliamentary committee on DD Direct Plus

NEW DELHI: Some Indian policy makers today took note of the modern technology involved in broadcasting and suggested set-top boxes should be cost-effective for Doordarshan's KU-band DTH television service to be successful.

Members of Parliament of the Consultative Committee attached to the information and broadcasting ministry today were briefed by minister Jaipal Reddy on DD Direct Plus.

While assuring the panel members that all precautions would be taken in terms of content as DD Direct Plus is not an encrypted DTH service, Reddy said they would be provided all related information so the subject can be studied thoroughly by them.

The members were informed that satellite earth station for uplinking the KU-band service has been set up at Todapur in Delhi and that DD has leased four transponders on NSS-6 satellite for beaming this service to those areas especially where cable and terrestrial TV have failed to make an impact. According to the minister, DD has already installed 5,700 dish antennas in the identified states, including the hilly terrain of northeastern part of the country.

On the occasion, Prasar Bharati made a presentation before the consultative committee members on the DTH service.

Those who attended the meeting included cine star-turned-politician Dharmendra, Usha Verma, Kirip Chaliha, Sudhakar Reddy, media baron Vijay Darda, Nirmala Deshpande and Hannan Mollah.