Digital TV to offer Star India's Asli HD Channels

Reliance Digital TV (formerly known as Big TV) has tied up with Star India to show its bouquet of 5 Asli HD channels like Star Plus, Star Movies HD, Movies Now HD, Nat Geo HD and iConcerts HD. This is an addition to its existing bouquet of 250 channels available in full high-definition quality.

The channels will have a resolution of 2 million pixels on each frame (2 megapixels), which is five times clearer than a regular DTH broadcast. Sanjay Behl, CEO, Reliance Digital TV said, "Reliance Digital TV has always been a front-runner in innovation in the DTH industry. It has been our continuous endeavour to enhance our subscribers' viewing experience."

The subscribers can watch the HD channels by taking the ‘Ultra Sharp 2 pack’ at Rs 75 (plus taxes) per month. Alternatively, the channels are available on a-la-carte basis at Rs 30 per month.

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Reliance Digital TV adds iKids Interactive Service

Expanding its portfolio of interactive services, Reliance Digital TV (former Big TV) has introduced an educational service for pre-schoolers.

Available to subscribers for Rs 25 per month, its focus will be on developmental games like - Find the Number, Math Tree, Play Ball and Under the Sea. These simple games will help kids to identify numbers, pictures, shapes and alphabets.

Sanjay Behl, CEO, Reliance Digital TV, said, "With the launch of iKids, we are delighted to give our subscribers an 'edutainment' experience that makes learning fun for kids."

Digital TV's other interactive services include iAstro, iCricket, iCare, iConcerts, iNteractive, iMall, iGames and iCooking.

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Big TV to Have More HD Content

Reliance Communications is focusing on Big TV to drive its revenue and plans on focusing on satisfying the end users desire for quality content.

The company plans on give its subscribers a variety of new international HD content. Below are the key highlights from a video interview.

• Reliance BIG TV in talks for Rs 150cr HD content acquisition
• Big TV to invest an additional Rs 350 crores in the next 4 years in content acquisition
• Reliance Digital TV in advanced talks with comedy central, BBC and CNN for non film HD content
• The Company expects DTH segment to drive business

You can watch the video below:

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Big TV to Offer Live Music Concerts in High Definition

Reliance Big TV is set to introduce a new live music service at the click of a button on its Subscriber Video on Demand (SVoD) platform.

The DTH operator in association with Transmedia is bringing iConcerts, featuring over 1000 premium concerts (Santana, Dire Straits, Usher, Lady Gaga etc.) and live performances from variety of genres in standard and high definition format.

This makes Big TV the only operator to introduce this music service in India.

Sanjay Behl, CEO, Reliance Big TV said, "Big TV subscribers will now be able to enjoy high-quality international concerts at the click of a button. Introduction of iConcerts is yet another step in enriching our bouquet of offerings for the Indian market."

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Big TV Launches DD Sports HD for CWG

After recently launching 13 channels during the festive season of Ganesha, Big TV has launched 7 new channels yet again.

This time with the Common Wealth Games on, the company has chosen to launch DD Sports HD ( an HD version of DD Sports), Saakshi TV channel (a Telugu News channel), Subhavartha TV ( a Telugu Religious channel), Aaseervatham TV ( a Malayalam Religious channel), Ruposhi Bangla (a Bangla Entertainment Channel) and DY 365 (a North East News channel). Pushing the total number of channels available to around 240 channels.

But unfortunately unlike other service providers big tv was charging a fee of Rs 28 for the DD Sports HD channel that is a free to air channel. Some complaints have been found on the India Broadband forum about the cost of DD Sports HD. It now seems that the company has decided to air the channel free of cost, further news is awaited.

But in a bid to broaden their subscriber base, Reliance Big TV has reduced its connection cost for a new customer to Rs 990 without a monthly subscription fee, with free installation and a Set Top Box (STB).

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Big TV Gears up for Ganesh, Adds 13 New Channels

Expanding its offering, Reliance BIG TV has added 13 new channels to its bouquet to take the total number to 245.

Big TV has added channels like Star Plus HD (high definition), NGC Wild, NGC Adventure, NGC Music, UFX, HM TV, Mahaa TV, Day & Night News, ETV Bihar, Polimer TV, Saam TV, Chardikla Time and Nepal One.

Umesh Rao, senior vice-president, Big TV, said, "We have added 13 new channels on the platform and going forward we plan to add significant momentum through relevant and differentiated content on Reliance Big TV."

Big TV is gearing up for Ganesh Chaturthi, starting from September 11, with several promotional activities. Recently the company tied up with Samsung to offer high-definition digital video recorder free on purchase of Samsung LED TV range.

The DTH firm will carry out in-store promotions through 450-plus outlets in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, and places where the festival is celebrated, and Big TV also plans to have kiosks near popular pandals housing idols of Ganesh.

During the campaign the company will offer trade promotion programmes or incentives to distributors and retailers, to boost its retail presence by 20%.

Read more » Big TV Gears up for Ganesh, Adds 13 New Channels

Big TV Offers Free HD DVR with Samsung LED TVs

In its bid to promote the new high-definition digital video recorder (HD DVR), Reliance Big TV has joined hands with Samsung India, to provide this new service free on purchase of Samsung LED TV range.

Customers can also avail of two months of free silver pack subscription along with one HD channel without any installation or activation fee. The offer is available across India till September 15, 2010.

While recently Big TV also slashed the price of the HD DVR offering to Rs 4990 from the earlier launch price of Rs 7490 in May.

Speaking on the new offer, Umesh Rao, senior vice president, Reliance BIG TV said, "Our partnership with Samsung will take the television viewing experience to its next level. With HD transmission and digital video recording capability from Reliance BIG TV set top box, Samsung LED TV customers are set for a veritable treat in their living rooms."

Read more » Big TV Offers Free HD DVR with Samsung LED TVs