DishTV, a direct-to-home (DTH) satellite operator in India, has selected Ericsson to improve its satellite bandwidth efficiency, increase channel capacity and offer more choice to its subscribers in HD and SD, Ericsson announced June 16.
    The head-end upgrade will to provide new HD services to DishTV’s 7 million subscribers, including access to SD channels without the need to swap existing MPEG-2 set-top boxes.
    DishTV will use Ericsson’s EN8100 MPEG-2 and EN8190 MPEG-4 AVC encoders, and is launching a combined SD MPEG-2 and HD MPEG-4 AVC system in the same transponder space.
    “We evaluated all the options available to us and the advantages of the Ericsson system over other solutions were clear … This [deal] presents significant savings and will further enhance the consumer experience. We are pleased to partner with Ericsson, who has significant experience in this field, for this important upgrade,” said Rajiv Khattar, President of DishTv Projects, in a statement.