Da Vinci Learning - now testing

German based childrens educational channel "Da Vince Learning" has joined "Trace TV" & "Travel XP" on test mode on Dialog TV.

This channel focuses on children/teens educational needs & has many of Discovery Kids programming too. Unlike in this region Discovery Kids is not a dedicated cartoon channel in other parts of the world.

It looks more channels will join the lineup soon as Dialog TV looks to fill up all it's blank slots in the near future.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Dialog TV as the days progress.

Web Site: http://www.davinci-learning.com/

Trace Urban & Travel XP on test

With effect from last night Dialog TV have begun testing music channel TRACE URBAN (Ch. 42) & travel channel TRAVEL XP (Ch. 66). Both these channels are HD by default, however Dialog is downgrading them to SD & relaying them. Trace TV which originates from France telecasts Urban Music & Travel XP which is head quartered in India telecast travel related programming mainly focusing on Asia & has many programmes based on Sri Lanka too. In time to come we will likely see the channels being upgraded to HD once they have secured some transponders.

Unlike the past we feel that these channels will be made available to lower level packages & will not be limited to the highest Gold package.

It great to see Dialog TV add some interesting channels as of late after some lacklustre performance over the years.

It seems that the rumor mill hasn't subsided either on the launch of "MTV Europe" on Dialog TV in the near future & it may just come true.

Please keep your eyes peeled since you never know what will show up on those test slots.

Websites: Travel XP - http://www.travelxp.tv/

                 Trace TV - http://www.trace.tv/en/tv/urban

Panicking or Preparing

The last few days we have seen a spate of extra channels being allocated to Dialog TV packages such as Diamond & Pearl. These two were possibly some of the cheapest packages on Dialog TV & were designed to contain a bare minimum of channels.

In case you wondering why there was a sudden change of heart, it's because competition has decided on a launch date. We know that Dialog have dreaded this day for the past few years & have been taking positive steps towards this day. The recent addition of channels, conversion to MPEG4, as well as the allocation of all channels to the Gold Package instead of the creation of a super rich Vibranium Package (Vibranium is the metal used by Captain America on his shield :) ) were all indications that Dialog was preparing for the competition, however the recent allocation of channels to the lower packages suggest a bit of panicking too.

To be fair it should be said that the competition is most likely to include Indian feeds for channels for which we have traditionally enjoyed Asian feeds. Also we don't see too many reductions in the HD area because competition is not looking into HD at the moment.

Dialog indeed has an edge over the competition, in terms of Asian feeds, HD & channels that competition lacks. If Dialog can get Fox Movies Premium it will help them. These advantages that Dialog has over the competition is not hard for this competitor to achieve. Being touted as Asia's largest DTH provider it will be a simple task. Unless Dialog does something drastic, competition might just eat into Dialog's share of the market. Maybe not immediately but in the foreseeable future.