A Change in Telly Technology

Heading into the 21st century, we're moving into an era dominated by technology. With rapid celerity in inventions and discoveries, the entire scenario of working things up has undergone a drastic change. Major changes are observed in all sectors and fields, with those seen in information and communication being the most prominent ones. Gone were the days when everyone had to rely on telegraph messaging and fax. It was with the innovators coming up with cathode ray tube and spending long hours in the lab to develop the first ever colour television, way back in 1928. However, telly took a long time to set its foot in India, when it was introduced in early '80s.

It was a historical moment when The Independence Day celebrations were relayed live for the first time ever, in 1982, marking the beginning of new generation of technology-related services This was followed by The Asian Games later in the same year. It was Doordarshan which then dished out famous soaps like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Hum Log, Buniyaad etc. Later came the mega epics Ramayana and Mahabharatha, which were regularly relayed on weekends. And which Indian of the previous decade can forget song programs like Rangoli and Chitrahaar, with the former kickstarting a host of Sunday special programs. Doordarshan has got its own little charm of leaving us nostalgic, and possibly craving for a moment of the days of yore. That apart, media started spreading its wings into a device which was more sophisticated than a single little box called radio which comprised of a simple LCR circuit. New careers began and a brand fresh world of advertising and journalism took birth.....

In the last decade, things started changing colours, when P.V Narasimha Rao-led-government launched a series of social and economic reforms, opening up trade and facilitating market growth. This was the era of a new system of Cable Television. Star Network launched in 1991 took the nation by storm by offering programs of different hues, comprising of a bunch of channels including Star Plus, Star Sports, Star Movies and Star World. Music channels like Music Television MTV and Channel [V] were launched soon after, aimed primarily at the pop culture of Indian youth and adolescents. Likewise, channels like Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and National Geographic were specialized channels focussing on knowledge and information for people of any age group. Emerging as contenders to the Rupert Murdoch-led-Star Television Group were Zee Network and Sony Entertainment Television India, which offer a wide bracket of channels categorized into entertainment, news, sports and music. Zee TV is considered as the first private owned television network in India. To the teeny weeny tottering kids we have Cartoon Network followed by Nickelodeon and Pogo with Disney relaying fresh channels like Toon Disney and Disney Kids. Cricket, a religion in India, is being devoted an exclusive channel Star Cricket which relays nothing but cricket. On regional lines, we have the US $ 4 billion Sun Network based in South India which offers television services in 5 languages- Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali. Another prominent player in this sector is the Eenadu TV network, which rolls out channels for many as 12 languages. And coming up more on the roster of regional Kannada channels are independent channels like TV9, Suvarna TV, Kasturi TV etc.




However, as technology developed, Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) system gained importance which intended satellite channel reception for home receptions, reducing the size of the dish used earlier yo a great extent and making it more simple and portable. DBS facilitates both analog and digital television and radio reception, is extended to other digital television services provided including interactive and video-on-demand services. The first entrant in this newest era of television viewing is Dish TV DTH, a service offered by Essel Group. Apart from broadcasting high-quality programmes from satellites to your home, it also offers complete control of what you watch and pay for. One can extract the true potential of television set yoked with high quality DVD sound. Also included is a special feature Electronic Program Guide which gives us the entire list of upcoming programme schedule and movie timings. Parental Lock, Games, Interactive TV and Movie On Demand are other interesting features which serve as a complete set of options for viewer's delight....!



And yes, if you always loved to grouse about the quality of transmission and picture clarity, you would have a difficult time coping up with the excellent, see-true quality offered by Dish TV. With nothing else dependent on the connection, you can afford not to worry about power-cuts in other areas which usually deprive us of cable connection. So many offers being offered for much lower prices than cable connections pose a serious threat for cable operators around. Of late, we also have Tata Sky which is vying with Dish TV DTH and making rapid strides in its bid to challenge the latter. The market has already shown a positive response and increasingly demanding for more. It's getting more implausible for viewers to opt for the old incessant cable connection. The simple cross-row grid of television antenna and cables are being replaced with a tiny-yet-much-efficient dish. It's time we upgrade ourselves with technology and wish for more. Wish Karo, Dish Karo.....