India Adopts DVB-T Standard for Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting
1998
Mentioned:
B.K. De, Helmut Stein
Summary
The Government of India officially adopted DVB-T as its digital terrestrial television broadcasting standard following a unanimous recommendation by a core group formed in November 1998. Initial services will cover Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai, and Chennai in a phased rollout, with a pilot scheme planned for Delhi by end of 1999.
The DVB Project Office is pleased to announce that the Government of India has decided to adopt DVB-T for digital terrestrial broadcasting in India. The decision follows the unanimous recommendation by a core group that was formed in November of 1998 for the selection of a suitable DTTB standard. It was responsible for analysing the available results of comparative tests between contending systems, their applicability to the Indian environment and for suggesting an appropriate choice for the Indian nation. The core group consisted of members drawn from government organisations, research institutes, broadcasting and consumer organisations as well as related manufacturing and support industries.
The recommendation was made against the background of broadcasting planning requirements for India and the implicit need for sharing the vast existing analogue infrastructure which will minimise the cost of the implementation of digital operations. Other factors influencing the recommendation included the priorities for India:
* Signal coverage requirements,
*Technology maturity
* Standardisation,
* Systems interoperability
* Ability to support mobile services.
The system also had to provide maximum flexibility and indeed the ability to facilitate future options as they arise.
Mr.B.K.De the Engineer-in-Chief of DD1 Doordarshan, who is the Chairman of the
core group stated "DVB-T best fits our requirements". He also indicated that Doordarshan intends to implement digital services at the earliest opportunity but the introduction will be in a phased manner. Services are being proposed as a multiplex of five to six services including data services to provide coverage to the four metropolitan areas of Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai and Chennai.
A pilot scheme to assist the planning process is to be initiated in Delhi through the research department of AIR and Doordarshan by the end of 1999.
Helmut Stein, Chairman of the DVB Communications Module, remarked "This decision will have significant longer term benefits for consumers everywhere, because in addition to the future service possibilities that this technology brings, receivers would be substantially cheaper as a result of economy of scale effects".
