Quality standards issued for digital TV receivers USB Type-C chargers and more

New Delhi: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has released quality standards for three electronic gadgets, including digital television receivers, USB Type-C chargers, and video surveillance systems, according to the government on Monday (VSS).

According to the consumer affairs ministry, the first is the Indian standard IS 18112:2022 specification for digital television receivers with built-in satellite tuners.

"TVs manufactured as per this Indian standard would enable reception of free-to-air TV and radio channels just by connecting a dish antenna with LNB mounted on a suitable place, at rooftop/side wall of a building," it said.

This would facilitate the transmission of knowledge about government initiatives, schemes, the educational content of Doordarshan and the repository of Indian cultural programmes to reach and benefit a wide segment of the population in the country at large, it said in a statement.

At present, TV viewers in the country need to purchase a set-top box for viewing various paid and free channels. The viewer is required to use a set-top box even for the reception of free-to-air channels (non-encrypted) transmitted by Doordarshan.

Now, Doordarshan is in the process of phasing out Analog transmission. Free-to-air channels will continue to be broadcast using digital satellite transmission by Doordarshan.

"To enable the reception of these free-to-air channels without the use of the set-top box, there is a need for television receivers with in-built suitable satellite tuner," the ministry added.

The second standard published is Indian Standard (IS/IEC 62680-1-3:2022) for USB Type-C receptacles, plugs and cables, adopting the existing global standard IEC 62680-1- 3:2022.

This standard provides requirements for USB Type-C ports, plugs and cables for use in various electronic devices like mobile phones, laptops, notebooks etc, providing common charging solutions for smartphones and other electronic devices sold in the country.

This would facilitate a reduction in the number of chargers per consumer as consumers will no longer need to buy different chargers every time they buy a new device and would help in achieving the Centre's mission to reduce e-waste and move towards sustainable development, it added.

At present, consumers have to keep different chargers for various electronic devices they possess which leads to extra expenditure, an increase in e-waste and a lot of inconveniences. Countries worldwide are working to address these issues.

The third standard published is IS 16910 series of Indian standard for "Video Surveillance Systems (VSS)", adopting International Standard IEC 62676 series.

The standard provides a detailed outline of all the aspects of a video surveillance system such as requirements for its components like camera devices, interfaces, system requirements and tests to ascertain the image quality of the camera devices and also specifies guidelines on efficient installation of the system.

Considering the constantly evolving technology in the security industry and the abundant options of VSS to choose from, it has become cumbersome for the common person, be it the installers/ specifiers/ users, to pick the right set of VSS that exactly fits his or her intended use.

According to the ministry, this series of standards would assist customers, installers and users in establishing their requirements, determining the appropriate equipment required for their intended application, and also providing means of evaluating objectively the performance of the VSS.

This will also help in making the surveillance system more secure, robust and cost-effective.

VSS is an essential security component that is used almost everywhere to capture any unwanted activity. Due to the multitude of video cameras offered for sale in the marketplace, and the seemingly infinite variety of camera features and options available, efforts to procure the right video surveillance system that produces images of suitable quality for the intended use have become confusing and technically challenging.

Also, the owners or installers do not have a clear idea of the purpose of each video surveillance system and the level of detail needed to achieve that purpose, the ministry added.

With PTI inputs