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
Audiences in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East can now enjoy a range of BBC radio programmes in two streams – Arabic and English. Both languages are available in digital quality sound, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, thanks to a renewed partnership between the international radio and online broadcaster BBC World Service and the satellite operator Arabsat.
Simon Kendall, Business Development Manager, BBC World Service, said: We are delighted to be renewing our already long standing relationship with Arabsat. This agreement will ensure that substantial audiences across the Arab world will have easy access to both our English and Arabic radio services.
Khalid Balkhyour, Arabsat President & CEO, welcomed the expansion of BBC Arabic and English broadcasts on Arabsat, wishing them every success: BBC World Service radio enjoys a well established reputation throughout the Middle East for high quality news coverage, and we are proud to be their partner in delivering their services to our audience of 130 million listeners. We are honored by their trust in our system and their confidence in the extensive penetration of Arabsat’s constellation of BADR satellites at our 26° East primary fast growing DTH neighborhood.
Khalid Balkhyour also confirmed Arabsats strong commitment to contribute to its customers’ success by supporting their growth throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Recent reconfiguration of the Arabsat bouquet means that established BBC listeners via Arabsat will need to retune their receivers. The BBC services are available on the multiplex operating frequency 11.861 MHz, FEC 3/4 Symbol rate 27 500. The channel IDs are 20 for BBC Arabic and 21 for BBC English.
19 June 2006
Reporters Without Borders yesterday reiterated its condemnation of the arbitrary detention of Sudanese assistant cameraman Sami Al-Haj of the pan-Arab TV station Al-Jazeera, who on Monday completed his fourth year in the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Arrested by the Pakistani army on the Afghan border in December 2001, Al-Haj was handed over on 7 January 2002 to the US military, who initially held him in Afghanistan. The fourth anniversary of his transfer to Guantanamo on 13 June 2002 comes as the controversy about the detention centre has been revived by the suicides of three prisoners on 10 June.
According to his British lawyer, Clive A. Stafford-Smith, he has been questioned more than 130 times during the past four years in Guantanamo, in the course of which his interrogators have voiced threats against his family, especially his daughter. The interrogations have for the most part aimed at getting him to say there is link between Al-Jazeera and Al-Qaeda. His detention is targeted at Al-Jazeera and is an expression of the US governments open hostility towards the Qatar-based satellite news station.
19 June 2006
Germany’s broadcaster Deutsche Welle is offering a special Internet service for the duration of the Football World Cup.
The service covers all matches from the opening match to the final.
Relevant links are:
http://www.dw-world.de/wm2006 (German)
http://www.dw-world.de/worldcup (English)
http://www.dw-world.de/mundial2006 (Spanish)
http://www.dw-world.de/copa2006 (Portuguese for Brazil)
http://www.dw-world.de/championship2006 (Arabic)
http://www.dw-world.de/cup (Russian)
http://www.tor.cn (Chinese)
