19 June 2006
A human rights group in China has reported that a Chinese environmental activist was brutally beaten up after giving an interview to German public broadcaster ARD. According to the group Human Rights in China, Fu Xiancai, a farmer and environmental activist gave an interview to German television on May 19 about construction work on the Three Gorges Dam, in which he commented on Beijing’s failure to compensate 1.3m people forced to relocate after the project began in 1997.
Three weeks later, he was visited by police in the Zigui region in Hubei province and questioned about his statements to German television. On his way home, he was attacked by unknown assailants. Since then, he has been under 24-hour police observation in hospital and is believed to be paralysed from the neck down.
This was not the first time Fu had felt the wrath of the authorities. In April 2005 he was beaten up after talking to a US newspaper, and one month later his son received a murder threat
19 June 2006
WRN, one of the UKs leading radio and television transmission services companies, is pleased to announce the provision of comprehensive satellite services to Virgin Radio for the launch of five stereo radio channels on Sky digital, two of which are 192 kb/s capacity.
The five stations from Virgin Radio include Virgin Radio Classic Rock and Virgin Radio Xtreme, which have previously been broadcasting on Sky via WRNs On Air and Radio channels but now have their own channel numbers. These are joined by Virgin Radio Groove and Virgin Radio 105.8, which launched on Sky on June 12th. Virgin Radio Party Classics, a brand new Virgin Radio station, goes live on Sky on June 16th.
Mark Robinson, Head of Engineering at Virgin Radio, says, We have worked with WRN for a couple of years as they hosted Virgin Radio Classic Rock and Xtreme on their existing Sky channels. It therefore makes perfect sense for us to expand our relationship with WRN in launching our five channels on Sky.
Richard Jacobs, WRNs Business Development Manager, adds, “I am delighted that WRN is assisting Virgin Radio with this extensive expansion of its stations on Sky. This builds on the excellent commercial relationship that already exists between WRN and Virgin Radio.
WRN currently uplinks almost 1 in 3 of the non-BBC radio stations available on Sky, making it the UKs number one independent satellite transmission provider for digital radio on the UKs number one digital satellite platform.
19 June 2006
NEW: Pharos Mediator Enterprise
Making its UK debut at Broadcast Live 2006, Pharos Mediator Enterprise is one of the most innovative new developments in broadcasting. Developed from the field-proven Mediator media management system, Mediator Enterprise enables television network staff to concentrate on content rather than kit. It automatically tracks content flow from initial acquisition to playout and post-transmission storage. Configurable for large or small networks, Mediator Enterprise includes ingest tools, browsing, quality-control processing and management of tape, near-online and archive libraries. On signing in to the system, individual operators are presented with a familiar web-based control screen matching the specific roles they perform within the organisation. As content progresses towards and beyond transmission, it is automatically presented to the appropriate user. Combining media asset management and workflow management, Mediator Enterprise offers a step-change increase in the efficiency of broadcast network operation.
NEW: Pharos Mobile Content Transcoder
Pharos Mobile Content Transcoder enables rich media files to be converted quickly and easily from a wide range of telco-specific formats such as the 3GPP and 3GPP2 standards used in high-speed wireless networks. Source files are displayed on a browser-driven control screen. Transcoding is activated by dragging and dropping files between source and destination format folders. Files can be converted in any order between MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, DV, 4:2:2, 4:2:0 and uncompressed. Output bit-rate is user-assignable. Applications of Pharos Mobile Content Transcoder include downconverting broadcast-quality content for internet-based distribution, upconverting internet-delivered ENG feeds, and a wide variety of file-format interchange tasks in programme production, post-production and playout. The unit occupies a compact 1U x 600 mm chassis and is controlled via a standard browser.
NEW: Pharos Reflection
Pharos will also be demonstrating a new MPEG4-based browse system, Pharos Reflection, which allows incoming video to be viewed by up to 20 users simultaneously on existing PC or Mac desktops. Reflection is compatible with video servers handling MPEG2, DV25, DV50 and uncompressed signal formats. Source material can be accessed via FTP or streaming.
NEW: Pharos Pilot Ria 2
A powerful update to the Pilot Ria web-based intranet control system will be introduced by Pharos. When launched at IBC2004, Pilot Ria set new levels of operational flexibility for broadcast staff by enabling full reactive control of routing equipment from any web browser via local or secure-coupled intranet. It can be deployed quickly and easily throughout a single-site or multi-site facility and, when necessary, enables engineering staff to reconfigure a system from home or while travelling. Pharos Pilot Ria 2 adds to the existing feature set major enhancements including salvo/macro functions, destination locking, and destination grouping. Full details will be released at the exhibition.
NEW: Pharos first to implement Isilon storage into Media Asset Management
Pharos will exhibit a major innovation in Media Asset Management, being the first to implement Isilon intelligent clustered storage into a MAM system. This enables broadcasters to benefit from Isilon’s ‘pay as you grow’ storage solutions, expandable up to 528 terabytes of capacity and 7 gigabit/s data speeds.
19 June 2006
Who is the Rembrandt of our time? How does the great Dutch master inspire contemporary artists worldwide? To find out, Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) is launching an international competition under the title Inspired by Rembrandt. Artists around the globe are invited to submit their entries via the official website rembrandt.rnw.nl. They will compete for a special workshop at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, a leading Dutch art institute. The best submissions will be shown at an exhibition in the Netherlands.
The Inspired by Rembrandt competition will be officially launched tonight at a special ceremony in the Rijksmuseum by Dutch photographer and jury member Corbino (Maarten Corbijn).
Radio Netherlands Worldwide will invite artists all over the world to take part in the competition through its international transmissions and websites (in nine languages). It will also approach thousands of radio stations and art institutes around the world. Artists can enter their paintings or photographs until 30 September 2006. A jury of experts will then select 10 semi-finalists, whose entries will be posted on rembrandt.rnw.nl. A voting form on the website will allow the general public to pick the winning piece of art from 15 October to 30 November.
Interest
Radio Netherlands Worldwide has already received some entries. One is from Josep Agus Tomo who’s from Jakarta and says he has drawn inspiration from Rembrandts use of colour: He paints colour on colour. The layers are painted in such a way that theyre in harmony with each other. Which is perfect! In my work, Im also looking for the right balance between light, colour and focus.
Jury
The judging panel consists of Ad s Gravesande (Chairman of the Art and Culture Broadcasting Organisation), renowned international photographer Maarten Corbijn (Corbino), Ernst W. Veen (Managing Director of the Nieuwe Kerk and the Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam), Mavis Albertina (Editor-in-Chief/ Publisher of MAVIS magazine), Cathy Spierenburg (Channel Coordinator of Z@pp childrens TV) and Joop Daalmeijer (Editor-in-Chief, Radio Netherlands Worldwide). The public jury is headed by Ms Nolly A. van Berge, notary public in Amsterdam. More details about the competition are available at: rembrandt.rnw.nl.
Cultural ambassador
Celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of Rembrandts birth will be held in the Netherlands throughout the year. In its capacity as an ambassador of Dutch culture, Radio Netherlands provides an international multimedia platform for this Rembrandt Year through radio, television and the internet. Earlier this year Radio Netherlands Worldwide released the radio drama The Edges of the Night Watch in Dutch, English, Spanish, Indonesian, French and Italian.
19 June 2006
Rear Admiral Rees Ward, Chief Executive of the Defence Communication Services Agency (DCSA), has opened the hub of a rationalised and enhanced High Frequency (HF) communications service for the UKs Armed Forces at Forest Moor in North Yorkshire. The refurbished Defence High Frequency Communications Service (DHFCS) Network Control Station (NCS) is at the centre of a multi-million pound investment by VT Communications as part of a 15-year PPP (Public Private Partnership) contract valued at £220 million.
The DHFCS contract was awarded in 2003 to modernise the HF beyond line of sight communications capability for UK armed forces and other authorised users. The contract has enhanced the quality, availability and reliability of the worldwide network of HF communications assets used by all three UK armed forces, with a programme of improved operational arrangements and new technology introduced by VT. This includes new transmitters, receivers, antennas, and an integrated control system to provide new data services offering Automatic Link Establishment (ALE), Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) and Automatic Link Management (ALM).
Admiral Rees Ward commented: The opening of the Network Control Station marks another major step towards the delivery of the new DHFCS but more importantly demonstrates the strong partnership between the MoD and VT Communications. This successful relationship helps to promote the DCSA’s Vision of Industry/MoD partnering to deliver assured, integrated information services to the UK’s Armed Forces.”
VT Communications Managing Director Doug Umbers added: DHFCS has produced considerable benefits for the users by streamlining and modernising the use of HF communications for ships and aircraft and other users.
The programme is a great example of industry and Government working together. Our partnership with the Defence Communications Services Agency (DCSA) and, in particular, the Strategic Terrestrial Radio Systems (STRS) Integrated Project Team has delivered one of the most advanced HF communications systems used by any military in the world.
VT has achieved significant cost savings by utilising modern technology. This has led to the rationalisation of the number of UK sites delivering the service from 14 to six, allowing the return of surplus land. Overseas, four sites provide services to both air and surface platforms. In addition, the global rationalisation programme has led to the release of approximately 200 military personnel to other higher priority duties
Under DHFCS, Terrestrial Air Sea Communications (TASCOMM) is available for use by RN, RAF and the Army. TASCOMM is a ground-air-ground, ship-shore and ground-to-ground HF radio communications service designed for NATO and National use. Previously known as STCICS, TASCOMM has its control centre at the NCS at Forest Moor with an alternative network control centre (ANCS) located at RAF Kinloss. Both the NCS and ANCS will control, transmit and receive assets around the world to provide an efficient and responsive service to the users.
Combined with the introduction of new RAF and RN platform HF communications equipment supplied under separate contracts, DHFCS will take full advantage of the modern high-speed waveforms to provide rapid data throughput, eventually including HF email. ALE, ARQ and ALM techniques both simplify and speed up the process of establishing HF communication channels.
12 June 2006
RRSat, a leading provider of end-to-end transmission and production services, is operating flyaways in Munich and other parts of Germany during the World Cup. Transportable Flyaway Systems can be rapidly deployed on short notice. The digital Flyaway Systems are designed to operate domestically or internationally no matter how far off the beaten path. RRSat engineers will be on hand to ensure the feeds reach their final destination.
Facility on site
For playout: Sony PAL Beta player, Sony DSR 11 DV/miniDV NTSC/PAL player
For live: Sony PD-150 ,sound system include mike , I.F.B kit
1.2 m` Dish + 2 DVB Encoder (option for two video simultaneously)
Bookings (24/7) Mobile. +972-50-5406572 +972-50-5696925 Tel. +972-8-8610000 Fax. +972-8-8610002 email. shmulik@rrsat.com; shen@rrsat.com
