The only Free Direct to Home service of India, Doordarshan’s DD Free Dish has drifted away from its old platform to an upgraded one on the midnight of January 9. This migration will result in the number of TV Channels taking them from the existing 59 to 64 and the number of Radio Channels from 22 to 24 respectively, an official statement notes.
If the users of the DD Free Dish are interested in migrating to this new platform of the service, the subscribers will have to edit the Transponder Parameter by tweaking the Symbol Rate to 28500 Ksps instead of the earlier 27500 Ksps. This has also done in four transponders and the Set Top Box will have to be retuned or rescanned in order to receive the upgraded TV and Radio Channels.
By retuning or rescanning the Set Top Boxes using the official website of Doorshan, www.ddindia.gov.in, the users are subjected to receive further information. In case, the viewers of subscribers of DD Free Dish have not rescanned their Set Top Box, it will continue with 10 Channels for a time period of a week from the date of upgradation. Notably, of these ten channels, only one is informative showing the detailed procedure of returning the Set Top Boxes.
Regarding this, Prasar Bharati CEO, Jawhar Sircar said that the pub caster has to strengthen its DTH platform, Free Dish in order to survive in the competitive market. Back in November last year, he announced that Free Dish will be growing to 112 television channels in the coming months. Notably, Doordarshan has held 19 e-auctions for Free Dish as on 12 December and it is a position that could be surprising for many in the industry.
DD sources also reveal that while Free Dish could be encrypted to keep a tab on the number of subscribers, it will yet remain free.
