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Prasar Bharati to start high-definition TV
(HDTV) services
Taking its step towards making TV-viewing a better
experience for Indians , public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is soon
going to start high-definition TV (HDTV) services on an experimental
basis. The broadcaster plans to introduce HDTV in the country by
2010 when viewers would be able to watch the Commonwealth Games in
high-definition mode.
The Central government is looking at formulating a policy framework
to introduce and promote HDTV which provides TV viewing at a much
better resolution. Also, the government is considering stopping all
analogue broadcast before the Commonwealth Games in the Capital and
across the country by
2015.
HDTV is a digital television broadcasting system with greater
resolution than traditional television signals. It is digitally
broadcast and requires less bandwidth, if sufficient video
compression of content is
done.
The Planning Commission’s Working Group on Information and
Broadcasting report for the 11th Five Year Plan has stressed on the
importance of and the need to establish HDTV which enables delivery
of better quality pictures to viewers’ homes and is considered as an
important area in upcoming
technologies.
The Central government believes that HDTV format is fast catching up
globally and needs to be established for the telecast of the
Commonwealth Games in Delhi before 2010 and later across the
country.
However, information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry sources
point out that HDTV may not be financially viable and therefore
initially, Prasar Bharati is likely to start HDTV services on an
experimental basis. “The investments on production systems and
receiving equipment for HDTV signals is high,” added a senior Prasar
Bharati
official.
The government also wants to set a target date by which the analogue
broadcasting system would be completely stopped. The country’s
Capital, which is also the host of the 2010 Commonwealth Games,
would be the first city to switch to digital transmission through
conditional access system (CAS) by 2010 and the government wants the
entire country to switch to digital cable by
2015.
“Telecom regulator TRAI has submitted its recommendations to the
I&B ministry, under which the regulator has suggested that in
the first phase, cities which have over one million population be
digitised,”said a TRAI
official.
The regulator has already launched consultation paper
for emerging technologies like Internet Protocol Television (IPTV),
mobile television, HITS (head-end in the sky). As far as the
digitisation plans are concerned, the I&B ministry is running
behind schedule for launching the first phase.
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