(20 June 2006 9:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra's Dishtv has expressed serious intent to increase its channel offerings on the direct-to-home (DTH) platform. The company has selected Scopus Video Networks, a provider of digital video networking products, to support this expansion.

The technology will help Dishtv pack up 28 channels per transponder, eight more than its current capacity. "We will be implementing this technology within a month. It is a better compression system without sacrificing the quality," Essel Group director technology Amitabh Kumar tells Indiantelevision.com.

Dishtv has seven transponders on NSS-6, offering a total of 130 channels. "We are building up the capability to offer more channels on our DTH platform," Kumar says.

Dishtv will use Scopus products to enhance its transponders' utilization and expand its already fast growing DTH market share throughout the Indian subcontinent. The decision to tie up with Scopus comes ahead of Tata Sky's DTH launch expected in July.

The deal brings to Dishtv's headend Scopus' full line of products including E-1200 encoders, IRD-2900 decoders, IVG-7100 intelligent video gateway (IVG) platforms and network management system software. Scopus is a Nasdaq-listed company.

Scopus' IVG platform will provide advanced video processing capabilities including joint transrating, grooming and bit rate shaping.

India is beginning its transition to digital TV in which the number of digital subscribers is expected to grow ten-fold within the next five years.

Says Kumar commented, "We operate in a complex web of multiple satellites and multiple carriers and the unique capabilities offered by Scopus' product line such as the Intelligent Video Gateway will help us optimize operations while minimizing cost and enhancing reliability in our operations. Scopus has also helped Dish TV achieve very high satellite utilization and bring down costs on a per channel basis."

Scopus VP sales Eitan Koter stated, "We are honoured and delighted to continue doing business with the Essel Group, India's leading media conglomerate. This achievement is a testimony to our on-going commitment to our customers' success. Scopus is the only vendor that offers a full product portfolio under one roof, enabling us to provide simple solutions to complex requirements such as the ones posed by Dishtv."