The flat antenna (circled in red) fixed to the roof rails of the car will track Dish TV’s satellite

Leaving for work when Tendulkar is not out on 91? Caught in traffic while your favourite soap on TV reaches a climax?

Don’t fret. Stay tuned while on the move. After direct-to-home, live satellite television has gone direct-to-car in Calcutta, offering 100-plus channels. The cost? Rs 1.53 lakh (plus installation charges).

“This will revolutionise rear-seat entertainment in Calcutta, since the need for better solutions to manage dead time in car travel is always growing,” feels Vinay Daga of Glix 2000. The Alipore car-detailing agency is the chosen partner alongside Silverline Distributors (for Sony) by Dish TV, which is introducing Dishtv on Wheels in town.

The system has been launched in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. How does it work? A special flat antenna (5.9 inches in height) fixed ergonomically on the roof rails of the car automatically tracks Dish TV’s satellite placed in orbit 36,000 km away. It then provides signal to the set-top-box (STB) through radio frequency cable. The STB is connected to the LCD screen through AV output, the same way as in DTH, except that the antenna is auto-tracking. All features of Dish TV are there in the direct-to-car format, complete with digital infotainment.

“One of the biggest sources of dead time is travel on road, particularly between home and work, and the Indian rear-seat entertainment and information market is growing at the rate of 50 per cent,” says Samir Juneja, the project head of Mobile DTH, Dishtv India Ltd.

Despite bearing a price tag of Rs 1.53 lakh-plus, the first-year target in Calcutta is “at least 1,000 car connections”.

“While our main target group would be leading businessmen who need live updates on the move, there is a growing segment of car-owners across the country ready to lap up any new auto add-on technology. We hope this is a hit also with kids who would love their favourite cartoon channels in the car,” adds Juneja.

The service provider from the Zee stable, which has a pan-India sales target of 10,000 direct-to-car connections in the first year, is confident that just like TV replaced radio with its audio-visual impact, live satellite TV will make a huge impact on wheels. The buoyancy also stems from the fact that regulation doesn’t allow news on terrestrial radio from private players, but allows news on satellite TV. Also, the number of chauffeur-driven cars in the country in general and Calcutta in particular is very high.

“As exclusive partner, we have been assured full marketing and technical support by Dish TV. We will invest in stocks and ensure proper installation. Sales will be generated through their marketing effort, word of mouth and through our database,” claims Daga.