25 September 2006
Al Jazeera’s long-awaited English language satellite TV service has announced its African line-up of bureaux and reporters. The new 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel, headquartered in Doha, will have bureaux in Cairo Egypt, Abidjan- Ivory Coast, Nairobi Kenya, Johannesburg- South Africa and Harare- Zimbabwe. In addition, Al Jazeera International will share the resources of Al Jazeera Arabic Channels African bureaux located in Ndjamena- Chad, Tripoli- Libya, Nouakchott- Mauritania, Rabat- Morocco, Dakar- Senegal, Mogadishu-Somalia, Johannesburg- South Africa and Khartoum- Sudan.
Our reporting from Africa will be unparalleled. We will have more bureaux and resources dedicated to Africa than any other global broadcaster, said Nigel Parsons, Managing Director of Al Jazeera International on a visit to South Africa.
Talking from the channels Doha headquarters, Director of News, Steve Clark said, Africa is one of the most pivotal places in the world to report from. It is a continent of hope and change. We are planning other bureaux across the continent of Africa and will be announcing them in due course, Steve Clark continued.
Al Jazeera International will have a strong presence and high level of expertise in Africa through its bureaux and dedicated resources. In pursuing a news agenda that is all-inclusive, it is the only global news channel to be granted a licence to operate a bureau in Zimbabwe. That will give Al Jazeera International unique access to this part of Southern Africa.
Andrew Simmons, Bureau Chief Africa, has been co-ordinating sub-Saharan coverage. He will also be deployed on special reporting assignments. Large swathes of Africa have been uncovered by television news for too long. And so many parts of this beautiful continent suffer from what I would term reactive coverage. We want to carve out a news agenda that is pro-active. I believe that in doing so the outside worlds perception of this continent could gradually change, said Andrew Simmons. We will set out to normalise news coverage in Africa. While we wont ignore the tragedy and injustice of conflict, our cameras will bring viewers the myriad stories of achievement and causes for celebration. We want to concentrate on the people of Africa, not necessarily the political initiatives of those in power.
Al Jazeera International also announced that it has appointed correspondents Amr El-Kahky in Cairo, Gabi Menezes in Abidjan and Haru Mutasa as correspondent in Nairobi. They join Farai Sevenzo as correspondent in Harare and Kalay Maistry as correspondent in Johannesburg announced to the press earlier in the year. The teams we have in place show a level of dedication and understanding that I am sure will give us a distinctive edge, said Andrew Simmons.
25 September 2006
Arqiva supports Natural History Museum at Dino Jaws launch
On-site Occasional Mobile Services enable live broadcasts
Live launch coverage on GMTV, Europes biggest breakfast TV station
The Natural History Museum is working with Arqiva to make live broadcasting facilities available at the world famous London museum. At the recent launch of the Dino Jaws exhibition, Arqivas Satellite Media Solutions division provided a complete Occasional Video solution to the Natural History Museum, including an on-site Satellite News Gathering (SNG) truck, offering broadcasters a cost-effective and flexible way of covering the event. With Arqiva providing an on-site SNG, camera crew and space segment services as well as turnaround at the BT Tower, GMTV made full use of the facilities and aired a live piece, including a two-way link, from the Natural History Museum on the morning of the Dino Jaws launch.
Sarah Hoyle, Media Relations Manager at the Natural History Museum said, The launch of Dino Jaws, our new family blockbuster exhibition bringing visitors face-to-face with ten amazing moving dinosaurs, was our biggest press event of the year. Arqiva provided us with a perfect solution that enabled broadcasters to cover all the action without having to bring their own equipment into the museum. This made the entire process straight-forward and easy to manage and resulted in some great coverage of Dino Jaws on GMTV.
Simon Thrush, Commercial Director of Broadcast Services, Arqiva Satellite Media Solutions, added, Weve worked with the Natural History Museum for a number of years and are proud to support its work. Our Occasional Mobile Services enable broadcasters to cover an event in a cost-effective way and were delighted to be able to generate valuable extra publicity for the Natural History Museum. Following the success of the Dino Jaws launch, were now looking to provide the service for the museums future events.
Featuring lifelike moving dinosaurs, Dino Jaws explores the sometimes gruesome, and often disgusting, subject of dinosaurs and their food. Bringing together intriguing fossil evidence, fun hands-on exhibits, scientific insights and realistic animatronics, Dino Jaws reveals everything scientists now know about what and how dinosaurs ate.
25 September 2006
Czech TV has purchased a significant amount of high-powered graphics and editing equipment from Quantel to boost its all-important graphics and promos production capabilities. Czech TVs new Quantel equipment roster includes two eQ multi-resolution editing/ effects/ grading/ deliverables systems, both equipped with Quantels powerful QColor in-context color-correction option; a Paintbox gQ HD graphics system; two (SD) Paintboxes for close to air work, supported by four of Quantels QPaintbox software-only applications for preparation and off-line graphics creation.
The new systems sit alongside two Paintboxes and an HD-RGB eQ system purchased in October 2005, and all are fully integrated with Czech TVs two Quantel Picturebox sQ graphics servers, which provide centralised graphics storage, multi-user access and playout-to-air.
Quantel systems guarantee us super-fast results essential in news and sports, said Mr Zbynek Louda, graphics department chief at Czech Television. The eQs performance allows us to process a large amount of source material very quickly, so we can choose the best shots to make really stunning promos, and its HD-RGB operation also gives us an entry into the world of DI. The fact that all the Quantel systems share a common UI philosophy and file formats is also a huge advantage.
Mr. Rudolf Pop, technical director of Czech Television, added, Our large scale use of Quantel technology is a great advantage for a public broadcaster. We are currently engaged in a total re-design and re-branding exercise as we move towards introducing new digital channels. Such a project can only be successfully completed in a reasonable timescale with the kind of completely new approach to workflow that Quantel offers.
The equipment has been supplied to Czech TV through Quantels reseller, 20-20 Vision Graphics. Sales Manager, Tomas Kocanda, said, Czech TV is rightly proud of the very high quality of its promotions and news graphics, and many different versions of each piece have to be quickly and efficiently produced to keep the schedule fresh and up-to-date. This order for a second wave of equipment is a direct result of Czech TVs satisfaction with the systems it purchased last year.
25 September 2006
Harris Corporation today announced it will introduce MicroMax, a new low-cost FM exciter, at the upcoming NAB Radio convention (Booth #405, Hilton Anatole Hotel, Dallas, September 19-21). The MicroMax exciter is specifically designed for small-market U.S. and international radio broadcasters seeking an affordable yet feature-rich alternative to more expensive exciters on the market. Competitively priced, MicroMax is a 30-watt, 1RU exciter that can interface with any existing Harris transmitter as well as other transmitters on the market. It is especially valuable for FM broadcasters when used with the new Harris ZX range of low-cost FM transmitters (available in four power levels from 500 watts to 3.5 kW).
While the MicroMax FM exciter is an excellent choice for small-market broadcasters, it is equally useful in backup situations for medium- to large-market stations such as Cox Radio Orlando. The station group will install two ZX 1000 1 kW transmitters with MicroMax exciters at its Orlando, Florida, studios. The frequency-agile transmitters and exciters, which are scheduled to go online in November, will serve as backup units for five Orlando-area stations (WWKA-FM, WCFB-FM, WPYO-FM, WHTQ-FM, and WMMO-FM) in the event of system failure or tower maintenance at any of the Cox Radio Orlando’s transmission facilities.
Steve Fluker, director of engineering for Cox Radio Orlando, pointed to price and flexibility as his reasons for selecting the Harris solution for backup transmission. “The MicroMax exciter, along with the ZX1000 transmitter, is an excellent choice for emergency back-up transmission at our studio because of the economical price and the ability to change frequencies on the front panel,” said Fluker. “They also will be available to rush to one of our tower sites in the event of a main exciter failure. These exciters are easy to set up and plug in, which will get us back on the air quickly in emergency situations. I also like the variety of input choices for AES, analog and composite audio.”
MicroMax combines time-proven PLL technology with modern RF amplifier circuits and abundant features to provide driving power of very high quality to any FM transmitter. Visitors to the Harris NAB Radio booth can see a static display of the MicroMax FM exciter and its various features, including a built-in stereo generator and automatic power control at any power level.
Visitors also can see the ZX1000 transmitter outfitted with WEB Remote, another new Harris product that offers an Internet connection for transmitter control and monitoring over IP. All ZX transmitters can accept the WEB Remote option through an internal circuit board card slot. WEB Remote is also available as a 1RU standalone system for all Harris FM and AM transmitters.
“The global radio industry at large still operates in the analog domain and will continue to do so well into the future, even as the U.S. and certain international regions work toward a digital future,” said Richard Redmond, director of strategic marketing for Harris Broadcast Communications Division, Radio Broadcast Systems business unit. “Therefore it is crucial that we continue to develop new platforms for analog broadcasting instead of simply focusing on digital radio. The MicroMax exciter is a clear indication that Harris will continue to bring new analog systems to market that reflect the changing requirements of both FM and AM broadcasters, domestically and internationally.”
The MicroMax FM exciter is available now and will begin shipping in late December.
25 September 2006
SES GLOBAL announces that its operating companies SES ASTRA and SES AMERICOM will support the worldwide non-profit initiative One Laptop per Child (OLPC). The initiative aims at improving the communication and education infrastructure in developing countries by launching a low cost, web-connected laptop. It is supported by leading international players in the hard- and software industry. SES ASTRA and SES AMERICOM will serve as worldwide partners to provide satellite connectivity and smart ground solutions for broadcasting, data and internet connections. SES AMERICOM CEO Edward D. Horowitz will represent SES on the initiatives Board.
One Laptop per Child was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January and is chaired by the former head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, Nicholas Negroponte.
As new corporate partners of the project, SES ASTRA and SES AMERICOM will contribute important know-how for the conceptual development, give financial support of US$ 2 million and provide space capacity on SES global satellite fleet to countries and organizations. The conceptual contribution includes the development of a one dish per village model, whereby the low-cost laptops with a wireless connection receive data from local hubs connected via satellite. The price of such laptops is expected to be around USD 100.
The involvement with the One Laptop per Child initiative reinforces SES`s engagement in connectivity projects, like for example the NEPAD’s e-Schools project (www.nepad.org), a ten-year initiative started in 2003 to connect 600,000 schools in Africa.
Comments Edward D. Horowitz, President and CEO of SES AMERICOM: “Together with our world class partners in the OLPC initiative and the commitment of the participating countries, we have the unique opportunity to change the way educational resources are delivered to schools and students in every corner of the planet by taking advantage of satellite’s inherent ability to connect without geographical boundaries. We look forward to supporting this important global initiative.”
