New Delhi Television Using MPEG-4 for DSNG

New Delhi Television Ltd. (NDTV) is the first broadcaster in the world to have successfully implemented DSNG systems incorporating MPEG-4 over satellite for live links back to the studio, according to Rahul Deshpande, Systems Manager at New Delhi Television Ltd. (NDTV).

"The system is based on leading encoding and decoding technology provided by Envivio and a unique graphical user interface designed by NDTV, which gives us immense freedom to route signals from our 15 satellite trucks and 11 news bureaus to our two broadcast news channels," Deshpande said. "The network, RF, truck, and related designs and integration were done in-house at NDTV, using other best-in-class components, including Swe-Dish Driveaway Antennae, Paradise Satellite Modems, and CPI HPAs, to cater to the tough environmental conditions prevalent in India. Additionally, the cost savings in terms of satellite bandwidth ensure that we recover capital costs within the first 18 months of deployment."

The system uses Envivio's 4Caster real-time, full D1 resolution MPEG-4 encoder and 4View real-time MPEG-4 decoder. Envivio says its open standard MPEG-4 solution can save broadcasters up to 50 percent on satellite bandwidth compared to MPEG-2 encoding. NDTV said that with this new DSNG truck deployment, it now has the largest fleet of DSNG vans in India.

More information on the system is available on Envivio web site and in the Envivio Press Release. NDTV is India's largest private producer of news, current affairs and entertainment television. In April this year it launch two 24-hour news channels, one in English and one in Hindi.