I&B Ministry
I&B proposes weekly MSO meetings to sort out problems of registration
NEW DELHI: A meeting of representatives of all multi-system operators (MSOs) with senior officials of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) will be held every Tuesday commencing 6 May.
The Ministry has said these Open House Meetings (OHM) with Director (BP&L) in Room No.662 in the Ministry’s office will be conducted between 11 am and noon.
The main objective of these meetings will be to bring transparency and accountability in the MSO registration process; provide a forum for applicant MSOs to track status of their applications in the Ministry; and clarify MSO application process to prospective applicants.
The meetings are open to those applicants/MSOs who have already applied for MSO registration with the Ministry and those applicants/MSOs who wish to apply for MSO.
Only authorized representative of the MSOs will be allowed to participate in the OHM
Those wishing to participate should call or send an email on Mondays between 10.00 am to 3.00 pm to Under Secretary (DAS) Sonika Khattar at 011-23387774 or s.khattar@nic.in.
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.
