Thread: Satellite News Aprail 2010

Al Jazeera to Buy Sarajevo Broadcaster Studio 99
March 31, 2010


International television network Al Jazeera will buy Sarajevo-based broadcaster Studio 99 with a view to establishing a regional center for the Balkans in the Bosnian capital.

Al Jazeera will take over the radio and television channel from the Sarajevo city government, which acquired it several months ago under a plan to establish a public broadcaster for the city.

“Al Jazeera will establish a regional office in Sarajevo which is expected to lead to the creation of new jobs,” Sarajevo mayor Alija Behmen told journalists.

Behmen said that the international TV network will pay the city some €163,000 to compensate for the amount the local government had already invested in the failed broadcaster.

Studio 99 was established as a private radio station in 1992 and gained recognition for promoting the values of multi ethnicity and multiculturalism during the country’s 1992-95 war. It started television broadcasting in 1994.

Over the years it has won support from many international organisations, but after international funding dried up in late 1990s, the channel failed to achieve financial sustainability.

It was taken over by the Sarajevo government last year in a move which was widely criticized by Bosnian media, which accused city authorities of wanting to turn the failed broadcaster into their mouthpiece.

Up to seven satellites from satellite service provider Intelsat will be available to the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

?We have several satellites that we use for occasional-use TV,? says regional VP of Intelsat in Africa Flavien Bachabi. ?We also have Intelsat's 706 (IS 706) available. On that satellite we have some capacity reserved for customers, specifically the South African-organised World Cup.

?Collocated with IS 706 at 72 degrees east, we have the IS 709 to provide backup capacity for the 706 and additional capacity for customers.?

The last satellite to be used is a new one that has not as yet been assigned any specific functions, according to Bachabi. The IS 25 will be used alongside three to four occasional-use TV satellites and the 706 and 709. It is currently drifting towards 328.5-degrees east, from which point it will be able to provide capacity for the World Cup as well. Bachabi says it is expected to reach the destination in April.

He emphasises that ?...there is no dedicated satellite. It's just where we have lots of capacity. On 706 and 709 there are still other services running, but we will just use some for the World Cup and after the World Cup they will be redistributed to their normal duties.?

World Cup broadcasting

Bachabi says Intelsat is working with state-owned signal distributor Sentech to provide all the transmission capability for the event.

?We will have some broadcasters using satellite and some using cable. Cable is good for point-to-point applications and satellite is good for both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint applications.?

He adds that Intelsat may be working with some broadcasters that want to use fibre, since the company does have telepoints in some countries, like Germany. Therefore, in addition to the satellites, the company also has its terrestrial infrastructure in place for the World Cup.

Intelsat will provide capacity worldwide for the event and Bachabi feels confident about the service. ?Intelsat has been involved in World Cup and Olympic Games and other similar events since 1968, and so we can anticipate the needs of the customers. We will be providing capacity globally, to Asia, Europe, America and Africa.?

He adds that Telkom has a lot of capacity with Intelsat and so it's up to it to use the capacity as and when it likes. Telkom does have cable, but the satellite capacity can be used as backup.

?We believe that satellite will remain a key component of the value chain,? says Bachabi.

Additional uses

Since none of the satellites are dedicated solely to the World Cup, they all have additional functions they serve. This is with the exception of IS 25, which has yet to be assigned.

?Outside the World Cup, the satellites have several functions. They help mobile operators extend their reach in their various countries, help with broadband, serve corporate functions and are used for telephony,? says Bachabi.

He explains that Intelsat has 55 satellites and 24 of these serve Africa, so the World Cup's usage of these satellites won't affect their current functions.

?That's the advantage of having a large fleet. We can play around with the capacity to meet customers' needs. While the satellites are being used for the World Cup, we can move the customers' functions around.?

Digialist platform for Anvia TV

Digialist, a digital television technology platform developer, system integrator and set-top-box turnkey reference design house, has licensed its HD Hybrid technology platform to Anvia TV in Finland. Digialist HD Hybrid technology platform supports Terrestrial, Cable and Satellite DVB transmissions and integration of different IPTV middleware and services. The HD hybrid technology platform is powered by Digialist Media Engine, a state-of-the-art DVB software stack.
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HITS and Arris announce VOD In a Box affiliates

HITS, a business unit of the Comcast Media Centre that provides content management and distribution solutions for MSOs, and Arris have announced that Cass Cable TV, Mediastream, MTC (Margaretville Telephone Company) and Plantation Cable have selected VOD In a Box to deliver VOD to their subscribers.

Jointly offered by HITS and Arris, VOD In a Box is a turnkey solution for cable operators to launch VOD quickly and cost effectively with a single product integrated by two trusted providers of hardware, software, management and thousands of hours of HD and SD programming. The bundled offering from HITS allows cable systems receiving linear programming from HITS’s 280- channel line-up of HITS Quantum HD, SD and Classic offerings to add the managed VOD service at a reduced rate, thereby lowering the expense of launching VOD.
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Digital executive leaves News Corp

Jeremy Philips, one of Rupert Murdoch’s most senior Internet executives, has confirmed he is leaving News Corp, highlighting the media empire’s reduced appetite for the digital deal-making he had been hired to oversee.

Philips vetted possible deals, working on the group’s on-off talks with Yahoo before the Internet company’s search agreement with Microsoft.

LG passive 3DTV coming to UK

LG has revealed details of its first passive 3D TV. Launching in the UK in May, the LG LD950 promises to offer sharp 3D images at a cut price compared to the active 3D sets it currently touts.

Passive tech is widely perceived as being inferior to active, palpitating the image using an overlaying filter to send half of an image to the left eye and the other to the right. The sets can be used with cheaper polarised 3D specs, which can be picked up for less than pricey active efforts.

LG has stated four pairs of 3D specs will be bundled with the LD950. On top of 3D, the LD950 is set to include HD, four HDMI ports, 200Hz TruMotion and USB support. Prices are set to start at around ?1,500 (E1,686).
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Fox launches formats division Fox Look

01/04/10

Fox Networks Group is launching a formats division to increase its footprint in the unscripted world.

The division - Fox Look - will be headed by David Lyle, who was most recently president of Fox Reality Channel, which closed last year. It will license formats internationally by setting up partnerships with existing international production companies as well as establish new production entities in a number of territories.

Fox Look will assume responsibility for existing formats from the Twentieth Century library including Tempation Island, Beauty and the Geek and Celebrity Spelling Bee.

Lyle will report to Fox Networks Group chairman and chief executive Tony Vinciquerra and will also work closely with Marion Edwards, president of international television,

BBC iPlayer comes to more Freesat boxes

Thursday, April 1 2010, 10:03 BST

By Andrew Laughlin,

BBC iPlayer yesterday became available on Freesat high definition set top boxes manufactured by Goodmans, Grundig and Bush, following its public launch to Humax receivers earlier in the year.

From Wednesday, the vast majority of high definition boxes from all three brands were upgraded to receive the BBC's catch-up service via an over-the-air-download (OAD).

The following products can now access iPlayer:

Bush BFSAT01HD box
Goodmans GFSAT200HD box
Grundig GUFSAT01HD box

Users need to connect their receiver to an internet connection of at least 1Mbps and then access iPlayer via a link on the Red Button menu for any BBC channel. An instructional video is available here.

However, the upgrade will not be available on some early model Freesat HD receivers produced by Goodmans, Grundig and Bush.

Harvard International, manufacturer of boxes for all three firms, is therefore offering a replacement high definition receiver to anyone affected.

Following the OAD, any boxes that need to be replaced will flag up an on-screen message directing users to the Harvard customer support centre.

The new HD boxes will be offered without charge, but consumers will need to pay ?14.99 to cover the costs of a courier service.
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