Thread: Row brews over DTH set-top boxes

Row brews over DTH set-top boxes

A row appears to be brewing between major direct-to-home service providers over interoperability of set-top boxes (that allow consumers to shift from one DTH company to another without changing the STB) that could jeopardise consumer interest.

Reliance Big TV Ltd has complained against an established DTH operator alleging that not only are the company's STBs not compliant with the latest technology but that the company was trying to block out bringing the revised norms.

Operators like Tata Sky and Dish TV use MPEG-2 which comply with BIS standards but have been accused by Big TV of using an 'obsolete' format. Big TV is using MPEG-4 format, a technology that will substantially improve video quality and save over 30% transmission bandwidth allowing more channels to be telecast.

Big TV — eying the competition's subscriber base — has complained to the I&B ministry that while its STBs can support a consumer who wants to switch to Tata Sky or Dish TV, the reverse is not possible. It has also asked the government to revise BIS norms and implement TRAI's guidelines.

TRAI's guidelines suggest a revision of BIS standards and that they be made applicable to those subscribers who are enrolled six months after the revision of standards. It has said that the existing subscribers need not change their STBs.

This looks like a very high brotherly attitude given by the trai and every time reliance enters a new field, they always bring controversy together with them. I wonder this issue solves up quick.