The document discusses various television transmission technologies including direct-to-home (DTH) systems, digital cable, internet protocol television (IPTV), and mobile apps for viewing television. It provides details on how DTH systems work by transmitting signals directly from satellites to receivers, the components involved, and growth of DTH in India. It also compares digital cable and DTH, describes technologies like headend in the sky (HITS) and IPTV, and discusses options for viewing television through devices like Fire TV sticks and mobile applications.

1. Television Transmission Technologies
1
Dr. Rajeev Ghode
Head, Department of New Media, International School of Broadcasting (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni, Pune. (India)

2. Topics
covered
Introduction to DTH
Components of DTH
Headend in the Sky (HITS)
Digital Cable
Comparison - Digital Cable & DTH
Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)
Fire sticks
Mobile applications for viewing television
2Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #2

3. Introduction to DTH
• DTH stands for DIRECT-TO-HOME television.
• The reception of satellite programmers with a personal
dish in an individual home.
• DTH does away with the need for the local cable operator
and puts the broadcaster directly in touch with
consumer.
• DTH service is the one in which a large number of
channels are digitally compressed, encrypted, uplinked
and beamed down over a territory from a very high
power satellite.
Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #3

4. DTH in India
• 1996 : DTH services were first proposed in India
• The operators were required to setup earth
stations in INDIA within 12 month for getting
license of broadcasting
• Dish TV is the first DTH Operator in India started
operation in Oct 2003.
• Prasar Bharati launched DD Direct Plus (DD Free
Dish) in December 2004
• As on 30 September 2017, there were
66.99 million active pay DTH subscribers in the
country.
4Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #4

5. Components of DTH
Programming
Centers
Transmission
Station
Satellite
Dish
Receiving
Station
5Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #5

6. Basic DTH Network Concept
• Transmission Station
– The transmission station also known as earth station is
used to uplink the contents.
– TV channels would be transmitted from the satellite to
a small dish antenna mounted on the window or
rooftop of the subscriber's home.
• Receive Terminal
– Receive type solid offset antenna
– Interface cables
– Set top box
6Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #6

7. Process of Transmission
77Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #7

8. Satellite
• Geostationary satellites play an important role for DTH systems.
• Geostationary satellites are positioned at an exact height above the earth
(about 36000 Km).
8Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #8

9. Communication Channel and Bandwidth
• The amount of information depends upon the
size of bandwidth.
• For DTH system communication channel is air and
Band-Width is:
• Ku Band Uplink: 13.75 to 14.5 GHz
• Ku Band Down links:
– 10.95 to 11.20 GHz
– 11.45 to 11.70 GHz
– 12.50 to 12.75 GHz
9Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #9

10. Receiving Terminal Equipment
• Antenna
– Antenna size considerations
– Antenna mounts
– Low Noise Blocker
– Polarization
– Dish material and construction
• Set Top Box
– Input voltage range: 90-250V AC
– Frequency connectors: 50Hz ± 5%
10Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #10

11. DTH Application
• DTH transmission eliminates the intervening role of a local cable
operator since a user is directly connected to the DTH service.
• Digital Transmission - higher resolution picture and better audio
quality
• To view pay & free-to-air TV channels of various DTH platform on
your home TV.
• Doordarshan free-to-air services providing 40 TV channels with no
subscription fees is an attractive preposition to people in urban and
rural areas. These channels comprises of DD channels and popular
channels of news, sports, information, entertainment etc.
• One can scan the entire globe and watch TV channels of several
DTH platforms visible to the dish terminals.
11Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #11

12. DD Free Dish
• Dish Antenna of diameter 60 to 90 cm
• 80 SDTV channels along with 32 Radio channels.
• 152 SDTV channels along with 80 Radio Channels with
MPEG-4 Compression
• DD Free Dish is available in Ku-Band on GSAT-15 (at
93.5°E) having MPEG-2 Channel
• no monthly subscription fee
• A separate DTH service in C-Band with a bouquet of 10
channels has also been provided by Doordarshan
exclusively for Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Dish size
is 120 cm diameter)
12Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #12

13. Growth of DTH
0.06 0.18 0.75
1.925
4.8
9.8
15
20.9
26.1
30.4
33.8
36.2
37.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Year
Subscribers(Millions)
13Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #13

14. DTH Benefits
• Cost effective communication, information and
entertainment to all.
• Small size terminals can provide up to 4000 TV
channels and 2000 radio channels through a click of a
button and thus brings world’s latest information,
news, and entertainment to your home.
• DTH services bypasses mediators and thus content
provider comes with customer directly.
• DTH services are transparent providing digital quality
video, audio, radio, and IP to all at equal prices and
other benefits with reliability.
14Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #14

15. Headend in The Sky (HITS)
• HITS is a multichannel downlinking, distribution and transmission
technology that enables all pay channels to be downlinked at a
central facility and then again be uploaded by the HITS operators
to its satellite after the encryption of channels.
• These signals are then downlinked by various Multi System
Operators (“MSOs”) and Local Cable Operators (“LCOs”) using a
single satellite antenna and sent to the customers/subscribers, who
can view these pay channels by using their set-top box.
• HITS services are allowed in both CBand1 and Ku-Band2 and
uplinking is permitted to both Indian as well as foreign satellites.
• The licensed HITS operator is allowed to directly contract with
various broadcasters for buying their content.
1515Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #15

16. Headend in The Sky (HITS)
16Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #16

17. HITS and DTH
• HITS offers direct competition to the DTH operators.
• Unlike DTH, there will be sharing of revenue between
the broadcasters, HITS operator and the various cable
operators under the HITS system.
• The reception of signal is also expected to be better in
HITS as compared to DTH transmission.
• DTH operates only in Ku-Band, which is vulnerable to
rain and causes deterioration of signal, whereas HITS is
allowed to operate in both C-Band and Ku-Band.
• Since all channels can be transmitted across MSO/LCOs
using a single HITS satellite, the customer will be able
to enjoy a wide range of channels at a cheaper cost.
17Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #17

18. Digital Cable and DTH
Factor Digital Cable DTH
Channel carrying
capacity
Higher Channel carrying capacity Limited transponder capacity
Broadband Services
Added advantage of offering Broadband
services - high margin business
Cannot offer Broadband connection
Signal Quality Consistent Signal quality
Signals get disrupted during bad weather
conditions
Set-Top Cost, SAC
(Subscriber
Acquisition Cost)
Cheaper STB thus Lower SAC Higher STB cost to company thus higher SAC
Direct access to
final customer
Lower direct access to customer. Mainly
Secondary Subscribers through LCOs
Only direct subscribers. Primary access
Sharing With LCO Needs to share revenue with LCO No Sharing required
Branding
No Ad cost Required on account of
already established reach
Huge Ad spends.
Customer Service Not well oriented well oriented customer service
Structure
More Unorganized & Fragmented
Structure
Organized Structure, Few Players and Large
Industrial House
18Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #18

19. Internet Protocol TV: IPTV
• IPTV is a system where digital television service is delivered
to the subscriber through Internet protocol technology via
the medium of broadband or internet connection.
• in IPTV multiple TV sets can use a single subscription within
a home.
• watch whenever and wherever apart from Live TV Shows
• IPTV uses Internet protocol (IP) based network to deliver TV
channels to users’ set-top box
• IPTV has the ability to store the programming on servers at
transmitting end, allowing users to request the content
over the Internet at any time.
19Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #19

20. IPTV Services
• Video on Demand: Individual delivery of video content to a
subscriber. It allows users to watch any movie from the VoD server’s
media library.
• Near Video on Demand: It is a pay-per-view video service intended
for multiple users subscribed to nVoD service. The content
broadcasting schedule is compiled beforehand and subscribers can
look at the schedule and watch content according to their interest.
• Time-shifted TV: Time-shifted TV lets subscribers view live
broadcasts later so they can playback and resume at their
convenience. Rewind option is also provided for TV programs
• TV on Demand (TVoD): Selected TV channels are recorded so they
can be viewed whenever convenient.
• Live Television: with or without interactivity added to currently
broadcasted TV shows.
20Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #20

21. IPTV - Advantages
• 1 cable for Internet, TV and telephony (triple play)
• SD & HD Digital TV provides high quality
• works on both TV and PC
• interactivity is central: transmitting live news, RSS feeds, Video On
Demand (VOD), Music On Demand (MOD), info pages, ...
• easy integration of camera systems on the same network
• services, Programs can be fully adjustable per customer or
customer group
• remote access for monitoring and maintenance of the system
• live Pause, rewind, ...
• program Guide (EPG) provides a simple overview of the programs
on all TV channels
21Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #21

22. IPTV - Disadvantages
• No guarantee that you can watch all IPTV
channels without issues.
• If the channel provider's location is currently
heavy rain, you will not able to watch the channel
until the weather is cleared.
• Audio/video is not well synchronized (lip-sync
issue)
• Some channels might occasionally pause and
buffer, or it will keep on Loading when switching
channels
22Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #22

23. Fire TV Stick
• Connect Fire TV Stick to your HDTV and start streaming movies, TV shows and
songs from Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Netflix, Gaana and many more services.
Subscription fees may apply.
• Easy to setup and use: Pre-registered to your Amazon account so you can just plug
it in to your HDTV and enjoy favourite titles and personalized recommendations.
• Massive Selection: Get access to thousands of Bollywood, Hollywood and Regional
language movies and TV episodes, songs and games.
• Perfect with Amazon Prime: Amazon Prime members get unlimited access to
Amazon Prime Video, featuring thousands of Bollywood and regional blockbusters,
Hollywood movies, US TV shows, award winning Amazon Originals and kids' shows
at no additional cost.
• Voice Search that really works: Fire TV Stick comes with a voice remote. Simply
press the voice button and say the name of the Video title you want to watch and
start enjoying in seconds.
• Take your TV with you: Bring your favourite shows and movies with you when you
travel. Plug Fire TV stick into any TV's HDMI port, connect to Wi-Fi and continue
watching. Some content not available in all countries.
23Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #23

24. Mobile Apps Market
24Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Slide #24

25. Television Transmission Technologies – by Dr. Rajeev Ghode
International School of Broadcast Journalism (ISBJ), MIT ADT University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune. (India)
Thank You!