8 September 2006
Cambridge trial delivers multimedia mobile broadcasting over DAB and DVB-H standards
Trial to evaluate datacasting applications and complementary 3G delivery services
Penthera Technologies provides solution to utilise Microsofts Windows Media Encoding and Digital Rights Management Technology
Arqiva today announced that it has partnered with Microsoft Corp. to trial datacasting applications over DAB and DVB-H mobile broadcasting standards. The technical trial will test the integration of live multi-channel Mobile TV with two datacasting applications: clip and share and augmenting live events. Clip and share enables viewers to capture segments of live broadcasts and share the file with friends. Augmenting live events will use 3G services, widely seen as a complementary technology to mobile broadcasting, to deliver additional clips linked to the live broadcasts. This technology will enable viewers to tailor the Mobile TV viewing experience to their individual preferences: when watching a live broadcast of a football match the 3G return path can be used to access further information such as individual player profiles, match statistics or goal replays.
Arqivas partnership with Microsoft is part of the long-term industry trial of broadcast multimedia delivery using DVB and DAB taking place in Cambridge. Begun in June 2004, the companies are trialling the capabilities of terrestrial DAB and DVB broadcasting platforms for delivering video, audio and text-based information services to mobile devices.
Penthera Technologies has come on board for the latest stage of the trial to provide its newly launched Penthera Broadcast FoundationTM. A mobile broadcast test and demonstration environment, the Penthera Broadcast FoundationTM enables DVB-H mobile broadcasting in a test environment, from the first step of encoding video and audio content to receiving, selecting and viewing content on mobile devices a mobile-broadcast-in-a-boxTM solution. The Penthera Broadcast Foundation version being used in the trial utilises Microsofts Window Media Encoding and Digital Rights Management (DRM) Technology. Enabling content to be delivered securely to mobile devices, Microsofts DRM technology guards against revenue leakage and protects content rights.
Hyacinth Nwana, Arqivas managing director for Mobile Media Solutions, commented: By evaluating DRM options for mobile broadcasting, the industry can not only investigate how to secure its content and revenues, but also encourage the development of new business models and content distribution mechanisms. This trial gives us the opportunity to further investigate the services that can be delivered over DAB and DVB-H and how 3G can be used to complement these services. Were delighted to be continuing our work with Microsoft and Penthera and to be further developing our expertise in all aspects of mobile broadcasting technology.
Sam Leinhardt, CEO of Penthera, added, Penthera is pleased to work with Arqiva and Microsoft for this mobile broadcast trial of leading technology and services. As a leading global mobile broadcast software provider, our goal is to work with broadcasters, manufacturers and operators to create the most compelling services and applications that will drive mobile broadcast adoption.
8 September 2006
RadioScape, a world leader in digital multimedia head-end and receiver technology, is launching the latest version of its Professional Broadcast System at IBC 2006 on stand 353 in hall 8. RadioScapes market-leading, broadcast solution for DAB and Mobile TV (MTV) has been installed around the world with over 75 live systems and has been used in numerous broadcast trials. Version 5.1 has a new suite of functionality to directly address the latest Mobile TV and advanced data transmission requirements enabling DAB technologies to form the basis for new and exciting business opportunities, capitalising on the availability of suitable spectrum in many countries.
Powering new Mobile TV and Digital Radio broadcasts in Beijing
On the 6th of September 2006, Beijing Radio Stations and its affiliated company, Beijing Jolon Media Broadcasting Co., Ltd. officially launched full digital multi-media broadcasting services powered by RadioScapes Professional Broadcast System. This provides digital audio and video programs for mobile devices such as cellular phones, PDAs, and MP4s (advanced video players). The station has been offering DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) from April 2006 and now adds multimedia information on government affairs, daily life, the city and real-time traffic news and weather.
China is becoming a real success story for RadioScape, said John Hall, RadioScapes CEO. The broadcasters want to have systems in place and working for the 2008 Olympic Games and so we have been working closely with them for the past three years to achieve this. To date, we have thirteen installations up and running in China covering all the major conurbations. We are working closely with other broadcasters and industry partners to support the adoption of this technology in China.
The success of Mobile TV in China is, in part, due to the adoption of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) as a delivery technology. This uses the well-proven, Eureka 147 Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) standard with additional forward error correction to ensure robust video reception in both fixed and mobile environments. One of key advantages of DMB is that the required spectrum is already available in many countries unlike other systems that have spectrum allocation issues that may take several years to resolve. This technology enables both digital audio and Mobile TV to be received on the same mobile device, which has proved a very popular feature according to users in trials.
New features of RadioScapes Professional Broadcast System Version 5.1
These include Enhanced Packet Mode data used to deliver DAB-IP services, the enabling of integration of third-party Conditional Access systems, advanced Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) features and the ability to support Asian language labels, DLS and data carousels.
Nick Banks, Product Manager for Digital Broadcasting Infrastructure, added, We have worked very closely with customers to ensure that we are first to deliver support for all of the functionality that they need to deliver when rolling-out the next-generation of Mobile TV services. In particular, the inclusion of support for secure Conditional Access to content has been identified as a key requirement for viable and successful business models. Naturally, we have also included features to enhance the user experience such as support for multi-byte character sets and EPGs. The result is a state-of-the-art Mobile TV broadcasting using technologies that have already been proven in the worlds largest DAB network in the UK and is being successfully deployed using existing, available spectrum.
Live Mobile TV demos
RadioScape will be showing Mobile TV broadcasts using DAB IP (Enhanced Packet mode) to BT Movio terminals and DMB to portable DMB devices. The flexibility of RadioScapes new Integra family of single-box solutions for DAB/DMB broadcasting can be clearly seen as one unit will be used for both broadcasts simultaneously.
8 September 2006
The annual awards for Excellence in Satellite Management 2006 were given during the 10th World Summit for Satellite Financing at a ceremony on 5 September 2006.
The winner of category Operator of the Year Growth & Profits was SES Global for a double digit revenue growth, result of a continuous investment strategy, as well as for sustained profit margins both in 2005 and in the last four years.
The winners of category Merger & Acquisition Transaction were Intelsat and Credit Suisse for the merger of Intelsat and PanAmSat, which has created a new world leader and which will have a long term impact on the FSS industry.
The winner of category Development of a National Operator was Telesat for both its strong financial performance and for the innovative services that the company continues to support for both video and communication applications.
The winners of category New MSS Project Financing was Globalstar and Wachovia, which underlines the new ambitions and strategy of the operator and its attractiveness to the financial market.
The 10th World Summit for Satellite Financing is organized by Euroconsult in partnership with SES Global, Milbank, Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, Marsh, Arianespace, ISB, ILS and SpaceIsle as well as media partners Space News and Satellite Finance.
8 September 2006
VTC has been awarded a contract to broadcast a significant number of analogue and digital shortwave programmes for the German International Broadcaster, Deutsche Welle.
VTC will broadcast an initial 90 hours per day of Deutsche Welle programmes, in 14 languages, from its network of UK and worldwide transmission sites, targeting more than 108 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. The new arrangements will start from January 1 next year. The five-year contract, which provides Deutsche Welle with a highly flexible and cost effective service, includes potential to increase significantly programme transmission hours from May 2007.
VTC, which already owns and operates short wave and medium wave transmitter sites worldwide, will make a multi-million pound investment in its sites in the UK and its partner site in Austria to facilitate Deutsche Welles digital broadcast requirements. This will involve creating a newly re-engineered infrastructure to support the services required, including new transmitters, antennas and support infrastructure, demonstrating VTC’s commitment to providing state-of-the-art solutions for broadcasters in analogue and digital.
VTC has also been awarded a £1.4M contract with BBC World Service for the deployment of their new Satellite Media Distribution System (SMDS). The SMDS system replaces the current satellite based Global Delivery System (GDS), with Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) based technology. As the BBC addresses the challenges of the global media environment, this technology gives them greater flexibility and better management of their programme content and distribution.
The contract covers the migration from the GDS system to the SMDS system globally, over a 2-year period, including the shipping and installation of over 1000 new satellite receivers at BBC partner sites worldwide, as well as the reengineering of programme feeds at the BBC World Service overseas relay stations and FM relays and programme distribution hubs.
Award of this contract is recognition of VTC’s unique expertise and track record in providing programme delivery services to the BBC World Service over the last 9 years, and in managing innovative end-to-end solutions and system integration in over 100 countries from 29 locations around the world.
8 September 2006
Stand no 7.229, IBC, Amsterdam
Autocue, leading provider of newsroom automation and prompting solutions, is introducing a transformation to the world of prompting at this years IBC with the introduction of network-based architecture.
The company has taken a radical new approach to deliver this leap forwards in prompting versatility, reliability and usability. The QNxt system uses an IP architecture and comprises QMaster software on a PC, which communicates over an Ethernet link with a QBox unit co-located with the prompter. By providing a level of intelligence at the prompter a number of real world user benefits immediately open up. Prior to this innovation every prompting solution has relied on a single composite video source produced by a central PC leading to an inherent lack of flexibility and potential entire prompter system failure.
Kieran Smith, Autocue CEO, explains, The QNxt architecture is Autocues answer to longstanding customer demand for a versatile, robust and modern approach to prompting. By introducing a level of intelligence at the prompter, Autocue unleashes functionality in the field or studio previously only dreamed of. The benefits include: wireless operation, local presenter or remote operator control over any distance – and individual control of each prompter in a multi-prompter environment. This allows off-air presenters to scroll through the script individually while the on-air presenter continues. By also being light and portable, the QBox provides presenters with much greater flexibility in their interaction with the camera. Smith continues, With presenters able to self-operate and the ability to operate remote prompters from a central location, staff costs can be reduced. This, combined with the increased reliability and flexibility provided by the system, means the prompting world is set for real change.
QNxt comprises QBox and QMaster. QBox is the hardware component – approximately the size of a car radio that is located at the prompter and contains the script and local prompting applications. It communicates with the central control PC via an Ethernet link, allowing high-speed IP communication wired or wirelessly. This allows the camera and prompter to be untethered. QBox will work with any third-party on-camera unit too. QBox offers a range of connectivity options including IP, USB, IEEE1394, FireWire, Serial and Bluetooth.
A further element of the QNxt product line is QPro, a software-only prompting system. This is a limited-capability product that allows remote operation of a prompter but without the high level functionality of QBox.
This QNxt product line is incorporated within Autocues QSeries range. As a consequence, QSeries now includes the entire portfolio of Autocue software applications, ranging from prompting with QNxt through production and scripting with QNet, to newsroom products with QNews and QSmart. QSmart is an affordable newsroom system targeted at developing and small market stations, and was launched at NAB this year; IBC 2006 sees its European debut.
Imagine an outside broadcast scenario where the script is sent to a presenters mobile phone, they load the script via Bluetooth onto the QBox and then make final edits using the QBox script editing application, explains Smith, continuing, The cameraperson is using a shoulder-mounted ENG camera or DVCam with an 8 lightweight prompter and has the QBox attached to their belt, all running off their battery belt. The cameraperson is thus entirely unhindered and is free to get the best dynamic camera shot, while the presenter scrolls the script using the wireless hand control. This is just one of many exciting examples of the benefits of the QNxt technology in action.
Autocue has appointed Frank Hyman to the position of Sales and Marketing Director.
8 September 2006
35 Radio One stations on-air with Harris HD Radio transmitters
and/or multicasting solutions by the end of 2006
Harris Corporation’s Broadcast Communications Division today announced that Radio One, the nation’s seventh-largest radio broadcasting company, has exclusively purchased Harris transmitters for its third round of HD Radio(TM) conversions. Radio One will install Harris transmitters at 18 stations (17 FM and one AM) through the end of the year. All FM stations will receive
Z-Series(TM) transmitters with the Harris(R) FlexStar(R) family of HD
Radio(TM) products (HDI-100 Importers, HDE-100 Exporters and HDX-FM
exciters) for multicasting. Harris also will supply a DAX(TM) transmitter with its DEXSTAR(R) exciter for the AM installation, and will deliver FlexStar(R) products to three existing HD Radio installations to initiate multicasting.
Radio One was the first commercial radio broadcasting group to purchase HD Radio transmission equipment in 2003. Since then, the company has exclusively purchased Harris transmitters. A total of 35 Radio One stations will be on the air with Harris transmitters by the end of 2006. The incorporation of FlexStar(R) HDI-100 importers at certain stations will allow Radio One to launch supplementary channel programming alongside its main HD Radio channel program.
“Radio One’s early HD Radio experiments came at a time when only beta test sites existed for commercial HD Radio,” said John Mathews, vice president of engineering, Radio One. “My experience with Harris, which began with a training session at the company’s Quincy, Illinois facility, instilled the confidence that its HD Radio product research and development was ahead of its peers as far back as 2003. The consistent transmission performance and product support we have since received from Harris, coupled with its continued advancement of multicasting technology, have kept us firmly in the Harris camp for HD Radio.”
Most FM stations in Radio One’s second round of HD Radio conversions will install Harris(R) Z-Series(TM) solid-state transmitters, which feature the industry’s most successful FM amplifier design. Dallas station KSOC-FM will use the Harris proprietary Split-Level(TM) combining method, which sums the output from an existing analog FM transmitter and a common amplification FM-HD Radio transmitter. This increases combining efficiency, reduces existing FM transmitter power requirements and improves overall system efficiency.
“Radio One’s decision to exclusively install Harris transmitters for HD Radio shows enormous confidence in our ability to deliver technically superior transmission systems that also meet the business requirements of its HD Radio conversion plans,” said Debra Huttenburg, vice president and general manager of Harris Broadcast Division’s Radio Broadcast Systems business unit. “Radio One has been a true pioneer in delivering HD Radio to the public. We are pleased to have played an important role in its early HD Radio deployments and to continue to be an important factor in future conversions.”
