Multi-Choice TV (MCTV) is a
television service provider in
Barbados. It is a
Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS) or
DVB-C
Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable (DVB-C) is the DVB European consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital television over cable. This system transmits an MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 family digital audio/digital video stream, using a QAM ...
wireless microwave-based broadcast subscription television provider. They offer a variety of packages which can be considered as comparatively priced to similar providers throughout the world.
History
The service began operating on December 14, 1987, under the name Subscription Television (STV), which had very few channels offered. The main channels were
CNN,
ESPN, and
Lifetime Television, with an occasional option of
pay per view (PPV) being offered for local special events and the occasional international PPV sports broadcast. In 1996 it was upgraded to include a new platform called Multi-Choice TV which was an
analog
Analog or analogue may refer to:
Computing and electronics
* Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable
** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals
*** Analog electronics, circuits which use analo ...
wireless microwave broadcast offering many more channels (e.g. the
BBC, Canada's
CBC and
TBN), eventually reaching
bandwidth capacity and having to upgrade the service to a
digital
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits.
Technology and computing Hardware
*Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals
**Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
broadcast system. Multi-Choice TV have not fully converted all of its subscribers yet. The system relies on
line-of-sight propagation
Line-of-sight propagation is a characteristic of electromagnetic radiation or acoustic wave propagation which means waves travel in a direct path from the source to the receiver. Electromagnetic transmission includes light emissions travelin ...
so total island wide coverage has proved to be a problem and the provider is looking into alternatives. A recent press release has indicated their interest in a partnership with the local
telco LIME.
The service uses a
Yagi antenna to receive the encrypted broadcast, which in turn is then decrypted by the provider's set top box. The provider now has the problem of signal theft by pirates using modified DVB-C compatible receivers and PCI cards with the most popular being the "Dreambox" manufactured in
Germany to decode their signal which is based on
Nagravision which is a conditional access control system developed by the
Kudelski Group. In order to prevent such activity in August, 2006 the
Government of Barbados stiffened the local Barbadian copyright laws, in addition to a strengthening of the laws on cable TV piracy. The CBC provider is planning for further circumvention of the Dream boxes in 2009.
In 2014, MCTV announced that it would begin carrying new channels such as MovieCity Action (now Star Action), MovieCity Hollywood (now Star Hits),
AMC,
KTLA
KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...
,
WGN, Disney, and the
NBC Sports Network. They also introduced 20 HD channels, such as
ABC,
NBC,
CBS &
FOX
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
and also released new PVR boxes. MCTV also introduced a new slogan, ''MCTV the Right Choice''.
Multi-Choice TV also competes against the
US-based
direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service provider
DirecTV in Barbados. The service uses the
NTSC television format.
See also
*
Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
*
Communications in Barbados
References
External links
Cable channels lineup- List of cable service channels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Multi-Choice Tv (Barbados)
Television companies of Barbados
Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation
Mass media in Barbados
Microwave transmission
Pay television