At the launch of Time Broadband’s IPTV service yesterday, Amit Dev, CTO and Director of Operations told me that they’ve deployed H.264 AVC technology for compression, which allows them to stream at around 1 mbps, picture of quality as good as DTH or CAS does at around 3mbps. Looking at a laptop placed in a kiosk at the venue, I noticed that the stock ticker was hazy, so I’m not entirely convinced. Time Broadband calls its IPTV services ‘MY TIME’, and the current offering (as per the release) includes over 100 TV channels (Free To Air and Pay), 10 Feature Films on VoD, 10 hours of Music, 10 hours of network games, 10 hours of chat and browsing and 100 TV to TV SMS. I spoke to Tushar Shah, Co-Founder and Director (Commercials) about TIME Broadband’s plans going forward:

How do you intend push user adoption of IPTV, since for most people, CAS and DTH are the only two options?
IPTV is a distinct service – there’s a lot more than just VoD and Cable channels. There are niche and international that many users will be willing to pay for. Once the user tries it out, he’ll realize the difference in the features. We intend to put up four IPTV booths in Delhi by the end of 2007, and are in talks with multiplexes. We’re not considering online advertising. In terms of content, we’re offering freebies like Internet on TV free, ten games free, Video Telephony and Time Shift TV to push adoption.
Which content providers have you tied up with?
We’re looking to provide the standard bouquet and beyond. We’ve got Star on board and some news channels. We’re also talking to Zee and Sony. We are in negotiations with top business houses and content aggregators. (Ed: Earlier, Sujata Dev, CEO had mentioned that TIME Broadband has tied up with IMI, Time Media, Film Producers Guild, Globecast, and has signed MOU’s with several others. They’re waiting for clarity on IPTV policy)
How are you planning to price your content?
We’re on a revenue share model. I’m the content aggregator and technology provider. The pricing of content will depend on the telecom operator, and that entirely depends on the policy. And we don’t grudge them that because telcos will spend multiples of what we spend in setting up the delivery infrastructure.
What DRM technology are you using?
We’re using the Verimatrix software by Siemens, which has clone detection to prevent pilferage. We’re also watermarking the content, so if anyone does ever manage to steal the content, we’ll know which box they stole it from. We are also using macrovision so the content cannot be filmed using a camera.
Is this a self funded venture, or have you received funding?
We’ve been funded. We have an angel investor from UAE – Clarion Shipping who are in shipping, logistics and IT. We took Rs.25 crores from them and have diluted 33% equity so far.
Are you looking to dilute more equity?
Well, we’re targeting 50 cities right now. We’ll think about it when we need to look at 150 cities.