Sun Direct is an Indian
direct broadcast satellite
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
service provider. Sun Direct was launched in December 2007. It transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in India. Sun Direct uses
MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a group of international standards for the compression of digital audio and visual data, multimedia systems, and file storage formats. It was originally introduced in late 1998 as a group of audio and video coding formats and related tec ...
digital compression, transmitting HD Channels on
GSAT-15
GSAT-15 is an Indian communication satellite similar to GSAT-10 to augment the capacity of transponders to provide more bandwidth for Direct-to-Home television and VSAT services. It was successfully launched on 10 November 2015 at 21:34:07 U ...
at 93.5°E and SD Channels on
MEASAT-3
MEASAT-3 was a Malaysian communications satellite which was successfully launched on 11 December 2006 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
In March 2003, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia ordered a Boeing 601HP satellite, givi ...
at 91.5°E. Sun Direct currently offers total 465 channels and services, along with many other active services. It is the first and No.1 service provider to launch HD Counterpart.
History
Sun Direct is a joint venture between the Astro Group of
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and the
Sun Group of India . Sun Group entered into an MoU with the Astro group on 27 January 1997, when
Aircel
Aircel Ltd. was an Indian mobile network operator headquartered in Mumbai that offered voice and 2G and 3G data services. Maxis Communications held a 74% stake and Sindya Securities and Investments held the remaining 26%. Aircel was founde ...
was not in existence, but since the government of India did not allow the use of KU band
transponders
In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''.
In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...
for DTH services the project was put on hold, the firm said in a statement. After the DTH policy was announced by the government in December 2007, Astro picked up a 20% stake in Sun Direct TV, the stake was valued at approximately $115 million. Sun Direct TV was registered on 16 February 2005. However, the failed launch of Sun Direct
INSAT 4C resulted in Sun Direct lack of transponders, delaying the launch. The service was finally launched on 18 Jan 2008 after availability of transponders from
INSAT 4B.
Sun Direct spread rapidly all over the country owing to lowest pricing of any DTH services in India. In December 2009, Sun Direct was launched in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, country's financial capital and announced its pan India launch. By 2009 it became the leading DTH provider with 3 million subscribers.
[Business : Sun Direct launches sD services](_blank)
The Hindu (9 April 2009). Retrieved on 17 January 2012. This makes it the second largest DTH service provider of India. In April 2010 Sun Direct became the No.1 DTH service provider of India with 5.8 million subscribers and soon launched its HD service in India.
INSAT-4B glitch and satellite change
On 7 July 2010 a power glitch in the
INSAT 4B satellite turned down the DTH system partly and SUN Direct announced that the service will be free till whole services are restored. The partial service was restored on
INSAT 4B Sun Direct with 193 channels and meantime SUN Direct is now transmitting 173 channels on
MEASAT-3
MEASAT-3 was a Malaysian communications satellite which was successfully launched on 11 December 2006 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
In March 2003, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia ordered a Boeing 601HP satellite, givi ...
for uninterrupted transition of Sun Direct customers from
INSAT 4B at 93.5
°E.
[Insat 4B at 93.5°E](_blank)
LyngSat. Retrieved on 17 January 2012. to
MEASAT-3
MEASAT-3 was a Malaysian communications satellite which was successfully launched on 11 December 2006 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
In March 2003, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia ordered a Boeing 601HP satellite, givi ...
at 91.5
°E.
[Sun Direct on Measat 3 at 91.5°E](_blank)
LyngSat. Retrieved on 10 September 2017. Sun direct now uses 4 Measat-3 Transponders (TP's) and 3 INSAT-4B TP's to provide DTH services, and additionally through exclusive agreement with BIG TV, a DTH arm of Reliance ADAG group, Sun Direct Shares 2 TP's of BigTV (BIG TV holds 12 TP's in Measat-3), i.e. BIG TV allows Sun Direct to get signals of FTA channels to Sun Direct. Sun Direct stopped its Standard Definition Sun Direct TV services from INSAT-4B and moved its High Definition TV Services to INSAT-4B, Sun Direct now broadcasts its entire Standard Definition TV from Measat-3.
As of 2017, Sun Direct uses eight transponders equally split between MEASAT-3 and GSAT-15 with three being added the year itself. HD channels are being beamed from the four transponders on GSAT-15.
2021 power glitch
On 21 June 2021, several
transponders
In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''.
In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...
of
MEASAT-3
MEASAT-3 was a Malaysian communications satellite which was successfully launched on 11 December 2006 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
In March 2003, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia ordered a Boeing 601HP satellite, givi ...
went off due to dead solar panels. This resulted in over 150 channels on Sun Direct going off air, which prompted the company to shift many of the important channels to other transponders. All the channels resumed within a day as alternative transponders were provided by
MEASAT
MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd, formerly Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd is a Malaysian communications satellite operator, which owns and operates the MEASAT (Malaysia East Asia Satellite) and AFRICASAT spacecraft. The company provides sat ...
.
Subscriber base and market share
As of September 2021, Sun Direct is the fourth largest satellite television provider in India with a subscriber base of approximately 12.34 million and a market share of 17.91%.
See also
*
DD Free Dish
DD Free Dish (previously known as DD Direct Plus) is an Indian free-to-air satellite television provider. DD Free Dish DTH service is owned and operated by Public Service Broadcaster Prasar Bharati. It was launched in December, 2004. In March 2 ...
*
Airtel digital TV
Bharti Telemedia Limited, doing business as Airtel Digital TV, is an Indian direct-broadcast satellite service provider owned and operated by Bharti Airtel. Its satellite service, launched in October 2008, transmits digital satellite televisio ...
*
Dish TV
Dish, dishes or DISH may refer to:
Culinary
* Dish (food), something prepared to be eaten
* Dishware, plates and bowls for eating, cutting boards, silverware
Communications
* Dish antenna a type of antenna
* Dish Network, a satellite televis ...
*
Sun TV Network
Sun TV Network is an Indian mass media company headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is a part of Sun Group and is one of Asia's largest TV networks. Established on 14 April 1992 by Kalanithi Maran, it owns a variety of television c ...
*
TATA Sky
Tata Play (stylised as TΛTΛ PLΛY, formerly TΛTΛ , sky) is an Indian direct broadcast satellite (DTH) service provider using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A and GSAT-10 satellite. Incorporated in 2005; it ...
*
D2h
D, or d, is the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''dee'' (pronounced ), plural ''dees''.
History
Th ...
*
Zing Digital
Zing or ZING may refer to:
*Zing (model-checker), infrastructure for verification of concurrent software via model checking
* Zing (punctuation) or irony punctuation, invented by English printer Henry Denham in the 1580s
* Zing (quartet), the 2010 ...
*
Reliance Digital TV
Independent TV, formerly Reliance Big TV, was an Indian direct to home (DTH) television operator. It was a subsidiary of Reliance Communications till 2018 and later became part of Pantel Technologies & Veecon Media.
History
Independent TV ori ...
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Direct
High-definition television
Direct broadcast satellite services
Television networks in India
Indian brands
Companies based in Chennai
Telecommunications companies established in 2007
Mass media companies established in 2007
Sun Group
Indian companies established in 2007
2007 establishments in Tamil Nadu