OBOB.TV English #2

We present the review of our June publications.

Equipment news

New Receivers for Tricolor TV

New STB, DTS 53 and DTS 54, intended for the reception of Tricolor TVs services recently appeared on the market What is special about DTS 53/54 is that they are produced not by GS Group (Tricolor TV’s technological partner), but by an unknown manufacture, presumably from China. Firstly they appeared in some regional SAT-TV shops and later — in NLE stores (the partner of GS Group and Tricolor TV) all over the country. These STBs are intended exclusively for the reception of the package Extra with the annual 2000 rub. Extra is practically equal to the package Edinyj but with the addition of 3 children channels. However DTS 53/54 don’t support HEVC and therefore can’t decode TV channels that Tricolor TV broadcasts in this format. Besides it is doubtful that these STBs allow the reception of any broadcasting beside Tricolor TV’s.

The retail cost of DTS 53/54 is set as 3500 rub, that is substantially lower than the price of the GS receivers. It includes a smart card with monthly prepaid Extra package. So the entry price is low but it seems to be a doubtful bargain because of STBs’ limited functionality. If DTS 53/54 were equipped with some analog output they could be used with obsolete TV’s , but the they have only HDMI on board. They say that DTS line was initially intended for Bangladesh DTH platform but they were not required by the project and were moved to Russia.

The line of GS STBs is also enriched by two models. The first one is GS C592 which is better equipped version of C591. Both of STBs are clients, i.e. can work only being paired with the server ( for example B531M). Compared to C591, C 592, additionally equipped with Wi-Fi and HEVC decoder.

The second model is GS B533 M. It is equipped with 16 GB of inner storage what is twice that of GS B533. Besides, it is based on more sophisticated circuit technology and therefore is more reliable.

In any case, today the main service attracting new subscribers to DTH platforms is UHD. But Tricolor TV offer only an expensive model GS A230 for UHD reception which is of low demand between subscribers. If NTV-Plus release UHD-capable STB for more affordable price this platform could leave Tricolor TV behind in terms of subscriber base increasing.

12 Millions 4К TVs are Sold in Europe Last Year

According to statistics published by Dataxis, the sales of 4 K TVs are rapidly growing. The number one in terms of 4kTV purchases is Germany ( 2 mln) It is followed by Great Britain, France with 1,7 mln is on the third place, the forth is Russia (1,4 mln) and the last in the top five is Italy. As far as Ukraine is concerned it ranks eight with 50 000 TVs

When it comes to the TV sales in total, the top 3 looks as following : Russia ( 8 mln) Germany ( 6,8 mln) and Great Britain (6,5 mln).

Dataxis forcasts that this year 4K TV sales will be twice as much compared to 2016 year. STBs Supported 4K Reception

Golden Interstar Hypro. Brand Golden Interstar used to be popular in Russia but lately this brand decrease in popularity in Russia. It seemed that the appearance of the Golden Interstar Hypro could revive the interest to this brand . But as it is equipped only with a slot for Conax smart-card it does not allow to legally receive any Russian DTH service. Golden Interstar Hypro is Android 5.1 based, it is equipped with Wi-Fi, HDMI 2.0 and has some other interesting functions

https://youtu.be/5AMZKuzVB8o

Gi ET11000 4K. Russian Company Galaxy Innovation that used to be the representative of Golden Interstar in Russia launched Gi ET 11000 4K. This STB was introduced at CSTB 2017 and is currently sold by a number of companies at a price more than 10 thousand rub.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfEuXgBdgvk

GigaBlue 4K. GigaBlue UHD Quad 4K was introduced at ANGA COM 2017 It is one of the most sophisticated 4K receivers. It includes card- slots 2 CI Plus slots, 2 USD3.0 supports DVB-T/T2/C reception with possibility to install DVB-S2X tuner and multicolor display on the front panel. Unfortunately this receiver will hardly appear on Russian market.

And what we can expect ? In the end of the year a new NTV Plus receiver with UHD support is awaited, but no details is disclosed so far. Besides, as we heard, SkyWay is going to release full-fledged 4K receiver. But there’s no telling whether Tricolor TV is going to complement his expensive 4K receiver with a new one, at more affordable price. Probably it will clear up this autumn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOEXmi_blGc

New Tariffs Plans and Campaigns Hold by DTH platforms

MTC TV has Archived the Basic Package Plan

At the middle of June the MTC TV’s basic package plan valued at 1200 rub/year was unexpectedly moved to the Archive. It was substituted with another rate with monthly price of 140 rub. The OBOB.TV reporter made an attempt to clear up what does it all mean. The MTS TV representative got commented it his way : in spite of the fact the plan was archived it can still be chosen by the subscribers. So the reason for moving the plan to archive remains unclear so far

The Changes in Tricolor TV Tariff Plans

The list of the tariff plans, available to Tricolor TV’s subscriber supplemented with two new items. They are named Extra and Edinuj Ultra HD. One of them considered to be “a main” and another is “a basic”. Both plans supplement rather than substitute the existing plans.

As a result Tricolor TV offers today the package Edinnuj for 1200 rub /year with 3 modifications : Edinnuj Multi Light ( 1500 rub/year) , Edinnuj Multi (2000 rub/year) and Edinnuj Ultra HD (2000 rub/year). As far as Extra is concerned it is almost the same as Edinnuj bit with the addition of 3 children channels.

The most recent changes concerns the terms of payment for the package Edinnuj . The changes relate to the owners of obsolete STB’s that does not support H.264 decoding. Beginning from 19.06.2017 they can extend the subscription only for 3 months. In high probability it means that after 19.09/2017 the subscription will be terminated and since next year the broadcasting in MPEG-2 will be stopped.

NTV Plus Campaign

NTV Plus releases new proposal that seems to deserve attention. It is named “Vsyo vklyucheno!” (All inclusive!) . The proposal aims to attract new subscribers and has 2 versions “Vsyo vklyucheno 549” and “Vsyo vklyucheno 999”.

To sign up for the service one should find an NTV Plus subsidiary in their region, pay 1000 rub and get a set of receiving equipment. The installation is made at subscriber’s expense. Depending on a region it can cost from 1000 to 2500 rub.

Those who choose “Vsyo vklyucheno 549” will sign up for 4 packages at a total price 549 rub/month .

“Vsyo vklyucheno 999” gives additional access to 5 more thematic packages at a total price 999 rub/month.

So, within the framework of this proposal NTV Plus is going to cover most part of initial expenses but hope to recompense it due to the high monthly fee.

News of European Broadcasters

EuroNews the first Russian-speaking channel that broadcasts from Hot Bird is undergone considerable changes . It has already launched separate broadcasting of different language versions and today the channel is close to changing its name. This is probably due to the fact that 25 % of the company stocks are acquired by American NBC News. There are plans to include some content from American reporters to the channel’s program and to rename it Euronews NBC. Today the Russian version of Euronews is daily broadcasted at Rossiya K.

A German broadcaster ZDF who currently simulcasts «ZDF», «ZDFinfo» and «ZDFneo» in SD and HD formats from ASTRA (19,2 E) announced that he is not planning to end the simulcast at least till 2020 year. At the same time the broadcaster has already started shooting in UHD format.

One More Russian FTA Sport Channel is Close to Falling Apart

“Match TV” channel, according to the record, published in the Internet is under financial difficulties and is going to make redundant most of its reporters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k5kNgRvmd4

None of FTA sport TV channels in Russia was a success so far. Let’s go through the history of FTA sport broadcasting in Russia:

1 “7TV” channel lost the rights on broadcasting of top sport event and was reformatted to the entertainment channel

2 “RTR Sport” channel which was conceived as a high-grade state channel was also reformatted to the youth-sport channel «Rossiya 2» because of its huge losses

3 “Planeta –Sport”, which broadcasted from 13E Sat position was closed due to lack of demand from European cable operators

4 Even after being reformatted “Rossiya 2” could not tune the tide in their favor and handed over their terrestrial frequencies to “Match TV”. At the same time VGTRK got rid of all its sport channels.

An Opinion about Unclear Future of Local Terrestrial Channels

Due to the digital transition lots of regional broadcasters lose the opportunity of terrestrial broadcasting. It mostly concerns the broadcasters who share terrestrial frequencies with federal channels, using some time slots in their local schedules. The future of such broadcasters is vague. State authorities recommend them to move to local cable networks or to the Internet. But in this case they stand to lose a part of their audience and most of their advert. Furthermore is not easy for them to establish contacts with cable operators on favorable terms. The best solution for regional channels would be to start local terrestrial multiplexes together with other interested broadcasters. But it is not allowed by the state — may be because it could ruin the advert market in DTT domain,  or because of the plans to pass terrestrial frequencies on to mobile operators in the future.