23 March 2007
Somalia’s interim government, acting through its Committee for the National Security Council, has ordered the Al Jazeera office in Mogadishu to stop its operation from Thursday 22 March 2007. There have been no any explanations or reasons provided for the decision.
Wadah Khanfar, Director General of the Al Jazeera Network, stated that: “Al Jazeera, while expressing its disappointment of the decision to close our office in Mogadishu, reasserts its commitment to the principles of the free press and defends the right of viewers to know what happens across the world with impartiality and integrity.”
Al Jazeera has confirmed that it will continue to cover events in Somalia from other sources and locations as it has in the past when previous governments closed down its offices. Al Jazeera English has been noted reporting the situation in Mogadishu since the Al Jazeera office closure, using agency pictures.
22 March 2007
South Africa’s public broadcaster, SABC, has announced that it intends to launch an international, satellite-delivered news channel to Africa. Again.
Over the last two years, SABC has been planning a foray into international TV, with SABC Africa as the brand, drawing on resources from the Corporation – Africa’s largest broadcaster – but also with contributions from other channels. SABC Africa didn’t get off the ground partly, says SABC news and current affairs chief Snuki Zikalala (pictured), because of the reliance on other organisations’ bureaux to provide much of the news.
SABC International plans to do things differently this time. The SABC has been developing its own news bureaux across Africa and in Europe and other strategic locations to bolster its newsgathering capabilities. With these in place, SABC International can launch and it’s set for next year, although there will be a trial in June.
SABC International will have to compete with Al Jazeera English, BBC World, CNN International, France 24 and other global news channels that are focusing on developing African distribution. At the same time, Kenya-based news agency chief Salim Amin is fast developing a commercially-funded pan-African news channel.
There is much going on out there.
20 March 2007
Arqiva provides satellite communications system to connect six major CNBC studios across Europe
Enables live video contribution feeds to be viewed during news broadcasts
Allows CNBC reporters across Europe to conduct down the line interviews without the need for permanent infrastructure
Arqiva has extended its contract with CNBC Europe, the leading pan-European business and financial TV network, to provide a satellite communications system to link up six of its major European studios. The studios in Brussels, Frankfurt, Zurich, Amsterdam, Madrid and Oxford will be connected via a VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) network, enabling live video contribution feeds to be viewed during CNBC news broadcasts. Arqivas solution enables CNBC correspondents to carry out down the line TV interviews from their individual studios for distribution to viewers across Europe without the need for permanent infrastructure.
The VSAT network works by connecting each of CNBCs European studios to Arqivas UK teleport. The transmissions from the CNBC studios go via the Telstar 12 satellite to Arqivas teleport for onward distribution via fibre to CNBCs London headquarters. The network will be controlled remotely by the CNBC team in London, enabling the broadcaster to switch seamlessly between locations.
John Turner, director of operations at CNBC Europe said, Keeping our viewers up-to-date in a rapidly changing market requires constant communication with our colleagues across Europe. Arqiva has worked closely with us to gain a real understanding of our needs and their solution allows us total flexibility and complete control of our output.
Chris Walder, senior sales manger for news and sport at Arqiva added, We are delighted to continue our association with such an internationally-renowned broadcaster. The VSAT network offers a simple and flexible solution, enabling CNBC to focus on delivering the news to their viewers promptly and accurately.
20 March 2007
At NAB 2007 (Booth #SL4810), Vizrt will introduce Viz|Video Hub, a robust and intuitive, plug-and-play media asset management solution. Based upon the proven and widely used technology of Ardendos Ardome media asset management software, Viz|Video Hub allows customers to easily access video clips, stills, graphics and audio clips from a standard PC.
Viz|Video Hub is an easy-to-use system, ideal for the demanding pace of a newsroom or the flexible workflow of a production company. It provides users with direct access to the most powerful search options, most recent material, best search options, and pre-editing functions resulting in a significantly faster workflow
Viz|Video Hub will integrate with existing Vizrt software such as Viz|Content Pilot content management and Viz|Trio CG. This integration makes it possible to easily search for video clips from graphical templates just as users would search for images or data elements from a newsroom system or directly from Viz|Trio and Viz|Content Pilot.
Viz|Video Hub can easily scale to offer a media asset management solution to a large broadcast facility or smaller multi-media outfits. Vizrt Viz|Video Hub Technical Project Manager Tim Child said that the need for an easily deployed and scaleable system factored into the products evolution. Weve taken a successful media management system and made it easy to deploy, while maintaining scalability, explained Child. What was an intensive integration process has been replaced by easy configuration screens, allowing customers to start using it right away.
Viz|Video Hub uses industry-standard metadata fields based upon the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). Fields for title and a brief synopsis of the clip stored are pre-defined. Retrieval is fast and easy with Viz|Video Hub, explained Child. A user can search through the search engine with free text, Boolean commands and keywords. The back and forth between library archivists and production is eliminated because the user can access the system themselves, search for what they need, and get right back to work.
The base version of Viz|Video Hub comes bundled with two basic editing functions Ardendo PreCut and Ardendo EasyCut. Ardendo PreCut enables up to twenty users to simultaneously rough cut video and create new clips. Journalists retain more control over their story during the creation process and can instantly determine whether the video they need to illustrate their point exists, added Child.
The Ardendo EasyCut feature is a slightly more advanced timeline-based video editing tool. With either option, the newly created material can be browsed continuously and is available immediately.
The benefits of Viz|Video Hub reach a number of departments by streamlining the overall production workflow:
Newsrooms save time with direct access to the most recent material with powerful search options and pre-editing functions
Staff can automatically add content with drop folders or through an optional video server. Automatic updating eliminates the need to convert and re-save material
Instant access to ingested material speeds control room functions
System administrators dont need to install specialized hardware as all ingest, search and editing functions can be carried out on standard PCs. The system easily expands as needed.
20 March 2007
On the occasion of the contract signature on the ARABSAT stand today at the CabSat show in Dubai, Mr. Jean STOCK, Executive Chairman of LUXE.TV, and Mr. Khalid BALKHEYOUR, Chief Executive Officer and President of ARABSAT (Arab Satellite Communications Organization), announced the official launch of “LUXE.TV HD”, the very first High Definition TV channel to be broadcasted over the Middle-East & North-Africa region. The channel is broadcasted on Badr-4, Arabsat’s newest satellite at its 26°E Direct-to-Home “Hot-Spot”.
LUXE.TV is the new — and first — international network exclusively dedicated to the luxury world in its entire scope. With 100% original premium content, LUXE.TV opens the doors to a disruptive concept in digital television. Fully produced in High Definition, and broadcast both in High and Standard Definition, LUXE.TV provides high-end coverage of the fascinating diversity of the world of luxury by covering 6 main areas of the luxury lifestyle: Real Estate & Home Design, Sports & Leisure, Hotels & Gastronomy, Beauty & Fashion, Cars & Yachting, and Jewelry & Watches. Viewers are taken on a journey to discover all aspects of the world of luxury in the comfort of their homes with the very best of viewing technology. All content production is being shot in HD in the world’s top 20 luxury capital cities. Available in French, English and German, throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, via 5 satellites, LUXE.TV has an immediate direct access to 250+ million viewers worldwide.”
“The LUXE.TV team is delighted to be the first channel to provide the 130 million Middle East and North Africa viewers of Arabsat BADR-4 with the amazing beauty and comfort of High Definition pictures. We believe that the parallel broadcast of LUXE.TV in Standard Definition [“SD”] is an excellent tool to actively promote the new HD standard. It was very important for LUXE.TV to be broadcasted in the Middle-East where amateurs appreciating the luxury lifestyle are so many”, commented Jean STOCK, Executive Chairman of LUXE.TV.
Mr. Khalid BALKHEYOUR, Arabsat President & CEO, warmly welcomed the launch of the LUXE.TV set of programs, both in High Definition and Standard Definition, as part of the Arabsat rapidly expanding offering of channels and technologies, wishing them every success.
“We are very proud to have been selected for broadcasting LUXE.TV in High Definition over the whole Arab world via BADR-4, our brand new state-of-the-art satellite launched as recently as end of last year, and we feel truly honored by their trust in our system and confidence in the extensive penetration of Arabsat’s constellation of BADR satellites at our 26° East primary fast growing DTH neighborhood, the region’s preferred “Hot Spot” for Direct-to-Home broadcasting”, he declared.
The arrival of LUXE.TV’s High Definition channel constitutes a critical milestone in achieving Arabsat’s strategy of introducing and widely spreading– the very latest TV technology across the entire MENA region, thus delivering on our strong commitment to help our customers succeed and steadily support their growth throughout the region as well as constantly stay at the forefront of high-end technological developments. We’re convinced that the dual-broadcast approach of both SD and HD signals is definitely the way forward to rapidly motivate the region’s viewers for switching over onto the stunning crispy picture quality and enjoyment of HD” he added. “We are very impressed with LUXE.TV’s technical investments, as well as by their ambitious strategy to broadcast in three different languages over two technical formats he concluded.
