GS Group launches first DTH service in Bangladesh

On April 28, 2016, the GS Group launched RealVU – the first DTH operator in Bangladesh.

The project is implemented in partnership with the Bengali multi-sector conglomerate, Beximco. GS Group acts as a supplier and integrator of its in-house hardware and software solutions for the operator’s functioning in accordance with the modern standards of digital television.

Previously, viewers only had access to services of Bengali analogue terrestrial and cable TV, as well as the ability to illegally hook up to Indian DTH operators.

Currently, the DTH platform RealVU offers more than 100 TV channels in SD and HD quality. Packages available to viewers include international channels in English, popular Indian channels and channels with local Bangladeshi content. The digital TV set-top boxes developed by GS Group offer such functions as PVR and time-shift, along with an EPG.

“The GS Group’s international broadcast projects are a bright example of Russian high technologies successfully entering the global market. RealVU, the first DTH operator in Bangladesh will bring mass accessibility to high-quality digital television service in a country that has 165 million plus population currently being forced to watch low-rated terrestrial and cable TV or to illegally connect to foreign operators. We expect to engage significant audience in the first year of operating due to GS Group’s vast expertise in managing national broadcast projects, solid cooperation with a local partner, diversified content that meets viewers demands, and a high level of service, ” said Sergey Dolgopolsky, PR, GR and IR director, Foreign Broadcasting Projects Department, GS Group.

RealVU is the second international broadcast project that was launched with direct involvement of GS Group. From 2012 to 2016, the holding company successfully implemented the project of creating One TV, Cambodia’s first national-level DTT operator. GS Group intends to focus on launching digital broadcast projects in other promising markets.

Malawi goes digital with DVB-T2

Following the analogue switch off being implemented in phases in Malawi, the government launched the Malawi Digital Television at Mzuzu on April 23.

The government through the Ministry of Information, Tourism and Civic Education is encouraging all television viewers to acquire the Malawi Digital Television DVB-T2 decoder also known as Kiliye Kiliye. In order to promote sales of the digital receivers, prices of the set-top boxes have been slashed from K15,000 to K13,500 (around EUR21).

Analogue switch-off will be completed on June 30, 2016, after which date only digital broadcasts will be available to viewers in the country. Malawi is the fifth country on the African continent to complete digital switch-over, the others being Mauritius, Tanzania, Namibia and Mozambique.

There is a total of 18 channels available including Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Luso, God News Broadcasting Services (GBS), Timveni, Luntha, Channel for All Africa (CAN), Calvary (CFC), Times, Hope, Zodiak, Joy, Matindi, Ufulu, Beta, Ufulu, Angaliba, African Bible College (ABC) and Laura Televisions.

Ukraine drops DTT channels

The Ukrainian DTT platform operator Zeonbud has withdrawn the channels Vintage TV and Business from its offer for non-payment of fees.

Satkurier and Mediananny reports that this is not the first time it has taken such a step against the two channels, taking them, along with another channel named Dobro TV, off the air in April 2015.

However, the operator has been warned by the regulator to consult with it before taking such steps.

It is also noted than Zeonbud has in the past reduced the fees owed by some channels, halving, for instance, those owed by Inter’s NTN, albeit after legal action.

It has also reduced the fees charged to StarLightMedia, 1+1 Media and Channel 5.

Vintage TV and Business can still be received via DTH as unencrypted services on Astra 4A at 4.8 degrees East.

ER Telecom secures new asset

The Russian cable operator ER Telecom has secured permission to buy 100% of the St Petersburg-based company Vest Koll.

According to Kommersant, Vest Koll attracted interest from several other prospective buyers, including Rostelecom and Megafon, but that that from ER Telecom was the strongest.

It adds that Vest Koll was established in 1996 and was most recently owned by the Cyprus-registered Wintergate Holdings Ltd.

The company currently has 350,000 B2C and 25,000 B2B customers.

Ziggo adds Chromecast and Airplay to Horizon Go

Dutch cable operator Ziggo is adding Chromecast and Airplay to its Horizon Go app enabling users to stream live channels directly to their TV set.

Horizon Go is available as a TV Everywhere service on all WiFi and 3G and 4G networks in the country on smartphones and tablets. Depending on the contract, Ziggo customers can access up to 100 channels on the app, which is available from the Apple Appstore and the Google Play Store for use on iOS and Android devices.

However, the Replay TV function is not available to Chromecast and Airplay due to rights issues. Last August, Ziggo added Replay TV to the app, making it possible for viewers to restart a programme from the beginning as well as go back in time seven days in order to catch up on a programme.

Also, UPC’s MyPrime VOD service is not yet available for streaming, again due to rights issues.

Liberty Global’s Unitymedia already offers Horizon Go with streaming via Chromecast and Airplay.

AIRTEL PAY TV SUBS AT ITS HIGHEST PEAK

619,000 new subscribers in the first quarter of the year. This is the new record, never attained in 20 quarters by the Indian DTH provider. It has also moved into positive EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) territory for the first time.

 
The DHT industry is constantly expanding. Motivated by the government, they have to stick to the deadline for implementation of digital addressable system (DAS) in Phase III. Bharti Airtel is also following this track in its activities.

 
In the quarter to March 31st Airtel Digital TV added 619,000 new subs, over the full year it added 1.65 million net new subs, and takes its total to 11.72 million subscribers. The previous full year saw it add 1.06 million. This shows a monthly growth of 0.1 per cent, i.e, from 0.7 to 0.8 percent.

 
To recall, Airtel Digital offers viewers more than 500 channels, including 42 HD channels.

ZTE trials AndroidTV STB at Tokushima Cable

ZTE AndroidTV STB B800S2 seizes the high-end market in Japan

SHENZHEN, China — ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, today announced that is has successfully demonstrated a live test of its AndroidTV set-top box (STB) B800S2 on Tokushima TV’s network. The TV station plans to put the B800S2 STB into large scale commercial use in June 2016. The director of the system integrator, Kunai, praised the ZTE AndroidTV STB for its successful support for cabletv tokushima’s Internet TV (IPTV) multicast 60P service.

The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications plans to popularize 4K TV in Japan before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games. The 4K service is growing rapidly in Japan and is becoming the main area of development for cable TV and satellite TV operators.

At the 2015 4K forum held in Japan, ZTE’s AndroidTV STB B800S2 attracted the attention of 40 CATV operators. The B800S2 uses a 64-bit system architecture and integrates an industry-leading super dual-core central processing unit (CPU), with a dynamic microscopic image processing scanner (DMIPS) value up to 12,000. Its 3D GPU supports ultra-high definition (UHD) 4K (3840×2160@60 frames per second (fps) 10-Bit colour) providing users with an excellent video experience. In terms of software, the B800S2 uses the latest AndroidTV™ operating system (OS), which provides a brand-new user interface, supports apps in the Google ecosystem and integrates with the Google Play app store. In particular, the B800S2’s new function, HDMI IN, can help cable TV (CATV) operators to reuse CATV STBs to effectively interconnect CATV and IPTV and develop an interactive 4K TV service with low costs.

The UHD 4K is the next development trend of the TV industry and has already become the new mainstream technology after the 1080P HD. To meet market demand, ZTE’s timely launch of the B800S2 further consolidates its leading position in the global smart STB market