17 March 2006
Harris Corporation announced that its award-winning Leitch X75T M-PATH Multiple Path Up/Down/Cross Converter Synchronizer is now included in the DolbyR E Partner Program. The X75 synchronizer is the latest in a number of Harris products that have qualified for the Dolby Laboratories program, including the VideotekR TVM series of video and audio signal analyzers with integral LCD display; the Videotek VTM SeriesT of multi-format, on-screen monitors; and the Videotek RS-12AES routing switcher.
“With the demand for high-definition content on the rise, broadcasters are looking to provide consumers with the highest quality experience possible, which includes 5.1 channel audio with HD video. Dolby E technology enables broadcasters to deliver multichannel audio in the space of two traditional channels, making it a seamless transition,” said Jeff Nelson, broadcast channel manager, Dolby Laboratories. “We are pleased to welcome the Leitch X75T as the latest product to meet the requirements of the Dolby E Partner Program and offer broadcasters the tools they need to transition to the HD world.”
Dolby E is an audio format that enables professional broadcast equipment to handle multichannel audio and metadata conveniently. Products included in the Dolby E Partner Program undergo testing to confirm proper Dolby E decoding. The program is open to manufacturers of products that incorporate the Dolby Cat. No. 552 or Cat. No. 558 modules, or that are otherwise compatible with Dolby E encoded audio. In addition to supporting manufacturers, the program provides broadcasters and system designers with accurate and helpful information about Dolby E compatibility as they make equipment-purchase decisions.
“Adding qualified Dolby E support to the already versatile X75T enhances our support of multiple audio channels for surround sound and multiple-language production,” said Tim Thorsteinson, president for Harris Broadcast Communications Division’s Leitch Business Unit. “This is of growing significance worldwide as high-definition content delivery becomes more and more prevalent, and consumer demand for accompanying surround sound in home theater environments continues to grow.”
17 March 2006
SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company, and Arena, owner of live-TV rights for the German first soccer league (Bundesliga), have announced today that they have signed a satellite capacity agreement. The long term contract secures Arena the capacity of a full digital transponder on an ASTRA satellite at the prime orbital position 19.2° East. With its seven satellites at this position, SES ASTRA can reach more than 16 million German households which receive their TV programmes directly via satellite. More than 6 million of them are using a digital reception mode. The parties are not disclosing the financial details of the agreement.
With Arena, we have gained an important and prominent new customer, said Ferdinand Kayser, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SES ASTRA. We are pleased that ASTRA households will be able to benefit from the Bundesliga package that Arena will offer. We are looking forward to a long-standing and successful relationship with our new customer.
This is an important step in establishing our satellite solution. ASTRAs reach means that Arena will be available via satellite across Germany. We are continuing to work with technology providers to assemble the remaining elements of a satellite platform, said Arena and Unity Media CEO Parm Sandhu.
13 March 2006
Two Turkmenistan-based correspondents working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Turkmen Service were arrested on March 7, according to information confirmed by RFE/RL. In recent days, RFE/RL also has lost the ability to communicate with its entire network of correspondents inside Turkmenistan.
Distraught relatives told RFE/RL that Yumadurdy Ovezov and Meret Khommadov, both from the Mary region in southeastern Turkmenistan, were separately taken away by police. Their whereabouts remain unknown. Turkmen authorities refused to speak to the families of the two men or give a reason for the action.
Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson said the arrests are another example of the courage shown every day by journalists around the world to work with U.S. international broadcasting services to get the truth out. “Governments may think they can prevent their own people from getting the news by targeting a few journalists, but it will never stop us from carrying out our mission,” Tomlinson said. RFE/RL Acting President Jeff Trimble also deplored the arrests: “This persecution, without even a pretext of legality, is a blatant violation of media freedom and the human rights of these brave journalists. We at RFE/RL are gravely concerned about the fate of Mr. Ovezov and Mr. Khommadov.”
The Turkmen Service has been unable to contact its correspondents, who file on an irregular basis from inside the closed country, for 10 days. According to Trimble, “We are making a public appeal on behalf of our correspondents in Turkmenistan, who are guilty of nothing more than trying to do their jobs as journalists and report the news.”
To protect its journalists in repressive countries such as Turkmenistan, RFE/RL does not reveal precise data about their identities. Cell phones are the primary means of communication with them, but no calls have been getting through. RFE/RL has verified that telephone lines in Turkmenistan seem to be in good working order.
RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service is the only alternative Turkmen-language voice heard in the country, where all media are controlled by the state. RFE/RL broadcasts in Turkmen, currently at six hours a day on shortwave and medium-wave frequencies, have continued without interruption since 1953. All programming is produced in Prague.
13 March 2006
SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company, has signed a second capacity agreement with GlobeCast, an international content management and delivery enterprise. The new transmission capacity subcontracted by SES ASTRA at the orbital position 28.2°/ 28.5° East will be used by GlobeCast to serve the UK and will support the development of new services such as high-definition TV. The first contract with GlobeCast on subcontracted capacity was signed last year.
GlobeCast, a France Telecom subsidiary, operates on five continents and uses a worldwide satellite and fibre network to manage and transport 10 million hours of video and multimedia content each year for its broadcast, corporate, government and retail clients.
Serving the dynamic and rapidly expanding UK market is of highest importance for us, said Alexander Oudendijk, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of SES ASTRA. “When one of the worlds leading satellite services providers decides to expand its business relationship with us, there can be no greater recommendation for the quality and strength of our service.
The UK is one of the most important satellite television markets in the world and thanks to our customers continued growth in this sector we have had to secure additional capacity, said Juliet Bayliss, GlobeCast UKs Director for Broadcast Services. After the success of our first transponder deal with SES ASTRA, the company was the natural choice when we needed to increase our transmission capacity.
13 March 2006
SES ASTRA, a SES GLOBAL company, enhances its digital services and offers an infrastructure for Free-TV, Pay-TV and additional interactive services. The new offer will be open to all broadcasters and ease the development of digital services on an open technological basis. The offer will consist of playout services, encryption of programme signals, smart card distribution for access and customer relations management. With this offer, TV households will be able to use a future-proof solution for digital TV. For playout and technical services, SES ASTRA will rely on its existing subsidiary ASTRA Platform Services (APS) in Unterföhring near Munich whilst logistics, distribution of smart cards and customer services will be handled by a new SES ASTRA affiliate.
By building up a new service package, we consistently follow our strategy to improve our portfolio as a technical service provider for TV channels and focus their activities on digitization, said Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES ASTRA. The infrastructure that we offer is completely open for everybody, neutral and non-discriminatory. What we are doing will help all interested Free- and Pay-TV channels to enter the digital age, enabling the distribution of new programmes and programme packages and therefore fostering competition. This is how we will provide an important stimulus for the development of digital TV in Germany and further evidence of the role of the satellite as a technical pioneer.
TV-households will be able to take advantage of the digital offer if they have a satellite dish, a satellite receiver together with an appropriate smart card and if they undertake a simple one-time registration. A receiver is suitable if it either already handles a suitable smart card or can be upgraded to handle such a smart card through an open interface (Common Interface). In order to use the service, users will be charged a low monthly digital flat rate to cover the technical cost of operating the digital infrastructure.
