21 June 2006
Content management and delivery company GlobeCast now offers teleport services from Mumbai, India, thanks to a partnership with Lamhas, a leading Indian satellite service provider. The Lamhas teleport is a full service commercial teleport from Mumbai – the entertainment and media hub in India – and is equipped with a range of high end professional quality equipment capable of providing production services, origination & associated services, and transmission services. The teleport also operates multiple dishes from its facility in New Mumbai and has much room to expand.
This partnership emphasizes the important role that the large and growing Indian market plays in GlobeCasts worldwide basket of services and makes the Indian market more easily accessible to its global customer base. David Justin, CEO GlobeCast Asia said, We believe that when GlobeCasts commitment of providing high-quality, end-to-end services is coupled with the professional teleport services available from Lamhas in this crucial market, it will provide international broadcasters with a higher grade of service.
The partnership also provides Indian broadcasters with access to the global resources and expertise of GlobeCast. Manoj Shah, Director Lamhas said that Given the large presence of GlobeCast on all continents and markets, this partnership will especially benefit broadcasters seeking seamless service from India to the rest of the world.
With the partnership in place GlobeCast now offers distribution services over India on the Indian hot bird satellite Insat 4A. Located at 83°E, Insat 4A is home to many Indian channels, including the must carry Indian state channels, which gives it virtually complete penetration into cable networks.
21 June 2006
Harris Corporation announced that Chinas Chengdu TV, a local broadcaster in Sichuan, China, has installed an array of Harris digital infrastructure products for the expansion and digital upgrade of its television broadcasting facility.
We evaluated other products on the market, but because Chengdu has used Harris Corporations Leitch products for many years and we are familiar with the high quality of the equipment and post-sale support, we decided to stay with Harris when the time came to upgrade, said Xue Yiingjun, director of chief engineering office, Chengdu TV. The Harris system met with our requirements for a reliable, efficient, and integrated system, all of which are crucial factors as we expand to meet the growing demands of our steadily increasing customer base.
The installation includes Integrator® Gold 64X64 and 32X32 wideband, digital, multi-rate routers; the NEO SuiteView Solo, a compact, high-resolution, multi-source display processor; the IconLogo modular branding solution; 6800+ modular interface products; and the X75SD multiple-path converter/synchronizer. The installation was recently completed by systems integrator New Digital Technology, Ltd.
Television stations are increasingly looking to invest in complete, integrated solutions from single manufacturers, and we are pleased that one of our long-standing customers has decided to stay with us as they make the move to digital, said Tim Thorsteinson, president-elect of Harris Broadcast Communications Division. With the breadth and interoperability of our digital infrastructure product offering, we are fully prepared to provide our customers with a customized solution to meet their individual needs.
20 June 2006
BroadcastAsia has opened in Singapore, with the AIB exhibiting at this annual meeting of the broadcasting industry in the Asia-Pacific region.
With around 800 exhibitors, BroadcastAsia is showcasing the latest technology for programme making, newsgathering and delivery. Running alongside is CommunicAsia which covers the telecommunications world – increasingly converged with the broadcasting sector with the delivery of content via mobile devices that not only serve as phones but also MP3 and MP4 players, games consoles and TV sets.
It has to be said that there’s more of a buzz in halls 3 to 6 where CommunicAsia is taking place than in 7 and 8, where broadcasting is featured. It seems that the hype around telecommunications – so in evidence a few years ago before the dot-com bubble burst – is back with a vengance. There’s a huge number of companies competing for attention, offering everything from IPTV solutions to innovative billing for content on hand-held devices.
Meanwhile in BroadcastAsia, any emphasis on particular themes is difficult to find; lighting, camera booms and lenses are proving somewhat less attractive to visitors who come from throughout the Asia-Pacific region than the mobile solutions on show in CommunicAsia.
At the AIB exhibit, visitors have the opportunity to find out more about the AIB and its members (many of whom have sent promotional material, providing them with a point-of-presence at the exhibition that they might otherwise not have), as well as seeing copies of the new AIB Directory of Global Broadcasting and the AIB’s quarterly magazine, The Channel.
In addition, the AIB is holding a private networking dinner on Thursday 22nd June, with members and a number of specially invited guests from the media industry across the Asia-Pacific region.
We’ll be updating this news from Singapore throughout the week. And if you’re in Singapore, visit the AIB at stand 8H4-02.
20 June 2006
The July 2005 launch of the world’s first high-power trial of digital video broadcast to handheld (DVB-H) technology marked an important milestone for digital television. Conducted over the past year by Broadcast Australia, Australia’s leading independent broadcast transmission provider, using an Atlas(TM) Digital DTV660L liquid-cooled DVB-T transmitter from Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), the DVB-H trial aimed to test the technical capability and commercial prospects for DVB-H applications in Australia and globally.
For this trial, Broadcast Australia worked with Harris, telecommunications provider Telstra, and wireless antenna and cable manufacturer Radio Frequency Systems (RFS). Comprising the delivery of 16 channels of live-streamed, diverse content to 400 trial users, the trial explored the technical aspects and usage patterns of multi-channel mobile media services.
“By selecting the Harris Atlas Digital DTV660L transmitters, Broadcast Australia has been able to achieve its objectives for two high-profile digital broadcasting trials,” said Clive Morton, Broadcast Australia broadcast services director. “In addition, the transmitters have reduced operating costs through efficient energy consumption, along with compact and quiet operation, while permitting easy monitoring and control of the system from anywhere at anytime.”
Broadcast Australia selected The Bridge Networks to supply a Harris Atlas Digital DTV660L liquid-cooled DVB-T transmitter (operating in DVB-H mode) for the task. The transmitter provides 3.4kW of power from a single cabinet into an existing, multi-coupled UHF antenna system, delivering 80kW effective radiated power (ERP), covering the major part of the Sydney metropolitan area.
Key benefits of the Harris transmitter are its compact design and quiet operation. Being liquid-cooled, it presents a single-cabinet footprint, while the cooling system, pump module and heat exchanger are located conveniently away from the main cabinet. This made it an ideal fit into Broadcast Australia’s newly built transmitter hall at the Gore Hill broadcast site.
Based on these attributes, Broadcast Australia also decided to upgrade the transmission system of its digital datacasting trial. This involved installing an identical Harris 3.4kW liquid-cooled transmitter (operating in DVB-T mode) in the same transmitter hall.
Since both systems now use the same model transmitter, Broadcast Australia can employ common spare components across both the DVB-H and datacasting trials, and enjoy streamlined operations and maintenance procedures. The front-access, modular design and redundant amplifier system provide the ability to service the power amplifier modules on-air without service interruption. The transmitter front-end user interface is common for low- and high-power operation.
The transmitter has been readily integrated into Broadcast Australia’s existing 24×7 Network Operations Centre (NOC) for monitoring and forward control purposes. The SNMP, GUI and Web browser interface make it easy for the NOC team to interrogate the transmission system from the NOC or any other location.
19 June 2006
SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company, announces today that its new satellite ASTRA 1KR has been deployed at the companys prime orbital 19.2° East and is now operational. The satellite was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral on 20 April onboard an Atlas V rocket and has now completed extensive testings of its hardware and broadcasting functionalities.
ASTRA 1KR has 32 active transponders and provides distribution of Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcast services for SES ASTRA customers across Europe, with an extended reach into Eastern Europe. The new satellite allows SES ASTRA to replace its satellites ASTRA 1B and ASTRA 1C at the same orbital position. ASTRA 1B has reached the end of its life after 15 years of service and will be deorbited within the coming weeks.
We are very pleased that our ASTRA 1KR mission has been completed and that we can welcome a new member in the ASTRA satellite fleet, says Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES ASTRA. ASTRA 1KR will further strengthen the ASTRA fleet at our prime orbital position 19.2° East and will allow us to maintain the best possible service and quality for our customers across Europe.
