GECs
Sahara mulls IPTV for residential complexes
NEW DELHI: The buzzword today is IPTV. Telecom companies like Reliance Infocomm have already expressed their intention to get into the arena. Now it is the turn of Sahara Group to announce its grandiose plans, albeit restricted to the company’s own residential complexes at this stage.
Speaking at the first session of day two at Convergence India, Sahara India Media and Entertainment VP for engineering and operations R S Chauhan said, “Sahara is building state of the art residential complexes in 217 locations in India. We aim at providing a better lifestyle through our complexes and we are considering IPTV as one of the many premium services we shall offer.”
The session on Broadcast technologies/ Digital Entertainment was chaired by Chauhan. The other panelists comprised Harmonic Inc regional sales director Tat Ng, Conax R&D manager B W Nicolaysen, Motorola senior director advanced tech or broadband Dr Ajay Luthra and Irdeto Access business development manager Rahul Nehra.
Motorola’s DR Luthra made a strong case for the latest Mpeg 4 standard, saying that it gave better quality at half the price of Mpeg 2. The standard, he said, would go a long way in reducing bandwidth demands for bandwidth intensive applications such as VOD and NVod.
Irdeto’s Nehra spoke about encryption, especially for IPTV. Nehra said that from a consumer’s point of view, he wanted the entire universe of content, with no latency while switching channels, to be transparent and have friendly billing mechanisms. Also, consumers could choose from a number of service providers.
Making a strong case for the need for encryption throughout the life cycle of content whether it be real time or time delayed, Nehra quoted the CII – KPMG report saying, “The Indian broadcast industry loses around $ 8 billion a year to piracy.”
GECs
Samsung TV Plus launches Kings of Comedy channel
New free FAST channel brings iconic Hindi comedy shows to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners.
MUMBAI: Samsung TV Plus has just turned up the laughter volume and it’s completely free. The leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service in India has launched Kings of Comedy, a premium comedy channel featuring some of the country’s most beloved primetime shows. Available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus, the channel delivers back-to-back hits including Comedy Nights with Kapil, Khatra Khatra Khatra, and Comedy Nights Bachao, with no login or subscription required.
The launch marks a milestone for free streaming in India, offering audiences a dedicated comedy destination directly from their Samsung TV home screen. It arrives as Samsung TV Plus India celebrates its 5th anniversary, during which the service has grown its monthly active users by 42 per cent and more than doubled its total viewing hours. The platform now offers over 180 free channels across 14 languages.
Samsung TV Plus India general manager and head of business development Kunal Mehta said, “Comedy is the heartbeat of Hindi entertainment, and Kings of Comedy brings together the shows Indians already love, completely free on their Samsung TV. Our focus remains the same take the content people know and make it effortless to access.”
Globally, Samsung TV Plus has surpassed 100 million monthly active users across more than 4,500 channels, solidifying its position as one of the world’s leading free streaming services.
Kings of Comedy is now available on all compatible Samsung Smart TVs. For viewers seeking non-stop laughter without any cost, this new channel delivers a royal treat proving that sometimes the best entertainment really does come with no strings (or subscriptions) attached.
