I&B Ministry
I&B minister seeks appointment with PM on CAS
NEW DELHI:Just in case if it interests you all in the industry, India’s information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is reported to have sought an appointment with Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee tomorrow after returning from a trip overseas. The agenda: in all probability conditional access system (CAS).
According to government officials today (23 May), Prasad has sought an appointment with the PM and is likely to update him on CAS and the steps that his ministry has taken to ensure a smooth implementation.
If the meeting takes place, considering the PM is keeping a busy schedule these days, many issues, under cloud of doubts, may get cleared. One of them being that the Bharatiya Janata Party, to which Prasad and the PM belong, is said to have been upset with CAS implementation.
Moreover, this rumored development, which was hotly denied by the party spokesperson yesterday at a press conference, took place when Prasad was out of the country, away to Cannes pitching, along with the industry, for India being the favoured destination for film shooting and other such things on a global platform.
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati sets EPG standards for DD Free Dish platform
New specs define 7-day guide, LCN mapping, and device compatibility.
MUMBAI: Your TV guide just got a backstage pass structured, scheduled, and far more in sync. Prasar Bharati has released detailed technical specifications for Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) services on DD Free Dish, laying down a standardised framework for how channels and programme information are organised and delivered. At the core of the update is a defined EPG data structure, covering genre-based categorisation, scheduling formats, and Logical Channel Numbering (LCN). The aim is simple: make navigation less guesswork and more guided experience across the platform’s over 40 million households.
The specifications also introduce a seven-day programme guide window for each channel, alongside clear rules for channel grouping and LCN mapping effectively deciding not just what you watch, but how easily you find it.
On the technical front, the document outlines requirements for Program Specific Information (PSI) and Service Information (SI), including descriptor usage across tables such as PAT, BAT and NIT. It further details service lists and network linkage parameters, giving OEMs and developers a clearer blueprint for integration.
Importantly, the framework is designed to work seamlessly with television sets equipped with in-built satellite tuners, enabling users to access DD Free Dish directly without additional hardware, an incremental but meaningful step towards simplifying access.
The platform will continue to operate on GSAT-15 transponders, using MPEG-4 compression and DVB-S2 transmission standards, ensuring continuity even as the interface evolves.
While largely technical, the move signals a broader push towards standardisation and user-friendly discovery in India’s free-to-air ecosystem because sometimes, the real upgrade isn’t what’s on screen, but how easily you get there.
