[Satellite TODAY Insider 12-07-11] Ericsson has supplied Indian DTH operator Tata Sky with an advanced TV on-demand system that enables its subscribers to access unlimited movies on-demand and catch-up TV. Tata Sky, which has around 8 million subscribers in the vibrant Indian DTH market, is deploying Ericsson’s Media Delivery Network (MDN), a media-centric solution for the distribution, delivery and content management of linear and non-linear TV. Ericsson announced the deployment Dec. 5.

    Tata Sky has been one of the fastest growing DTH operators in recent years and competes with the likes of DishTV and Bharti Airtel in the Indian pay-TV market, which has some of the fastest growing DTH operators around. Staffan Pehrson, Vice President and Head of Solution Area TV, Ericsson, told Satellite Today Insider this was a significant deal for the company. “The deployment is one of the first in the world to be based on Ericsson’s MDN. It further builds on the relationship between Ericsson and Tata Sky, following the provision of an Ericsson headend system for the launch of HD services last year,” he said.

    Ericsson sees good prospects in the next 12 months in the DTH market. “The outlook for the year ahead is positive. The growth in the number of HD channels available to viewers means there is a continual need for greater efficiency in the delivery of content, and Ericsson is well positioned to deliver the solutions that meet these needs. Additionally, operators recognize that consumer behavior is changing and that they are demanding more flexible television services,” Pehrson said. “They are faced with the need to leverage their platforms for the delivery of content to the main screen with platforms, networks and technology that can provide truly blended multi-screen TV consumer experiences over multi-platform delivery.”

    The company is also hoping to bring new solutions to its satellite customers during the next year. Pehrson said, “New solutions will be released in response to the demands and needs of our customers, and we work closely with them to identify their exact requirements in delivering next-generation TV experiences to their consumers. For example, in satellite-based content acquisition (DSNG), our latest solution, Voyager II, is responding to the desire for greater efficiency in video compression (MPEG-4 AVC) whilst wanting to support features like 10 bit precision and 4:2:2 mode sampling for the higest quality. We expect to see the industry discuss higher spatial resolutions for TV as CE vendors announce 4K flat screens and the next-generation compression algorithm High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) becomes more visible before its likely standardization in 2013.”