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.
13 March 2006
ASTRA Platform Services (APS), an SES ASTRA company, announced today that it will invite manufacturers of satellite TV receivers to participate in its project to further develop the digital broadcasting infrastructure in Germany. In order to allow manufacturers to decide whether they wish to develop suitable Set-Top-Boxes, APS will disclose and hand out information on basic technical specifications to all interested manufacturers in the course of March and inform manufacturers in a specially dedicated workshop later.
The specifications have been developed by APS in consultation with various Set-Top-Box manufacturers. They lay down basic requirements that are designed to ensure the security, stability and interoperability of the new receiver population and the possibility for broadcasters to offer attractive new services via the infrastructure. They do not restrict further individual technical developments and the inclusion of additional features by each manufacturer.
SES ASTRA had announced last week that it will enhance its digital services and offer a new infrastructure for Free-TV, Pay-TV and additional interactive services. The offer will consist of services like encryption of programme signals, smart card distribution and registration for access. It complements SES ASTRAs existing service offering that includes the grant of access to the Premiere satellite decoder population.
The new infrastructure will be open to all interested manufacturers and broadcasters including German Pay-TV channel Premiere.
9 March 2006
Throughout the 2006 Winter Olympics the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) provided near-instant highlights of each event as well as two 30-minute highlight packages every single day on Quantels news system in a box – Newsbox. These packages were distributed to the EBUs 60 members spread throughout Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East and seen by tens of millions of viewers.
To offer coverage of any event of this size and scope requires meticulous planning. Fernando Pardo, Head of EBU Sports Operations, explains, We dont want to play with dynamite. In the Games we stick to what we have planned because this is not the time for experimenting.
Having used Quantel sQ server-based systems for the compilation of the daily reports for the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the Euro 2004 football championships in Portugal, the EBU wanted to use the same winning formula for the Torino 2006 Winter Games. This time Quantel offered a production system based on Newsboxes which is based on the same robust sQ server technology and aimed at meeting the specific needs of news and sports events.
The real challenges were the timeframes and the scale of the operation. Based in the Olympic International Broadcast Centre (IBC) the EBU set-up had access to feeds for the various events. Two six-channel Newsboxes each with 110 hours of storage and configured as five inputs / one output, provided the core server, storage and management. In addition a third Newsbox with 50 hours storage gave backup for the bigger events such as semi-finals and finals. The three Newsboxes formed the core of the video and audio operations, responsible for simultaneous multi-channel ingest, editing and replay.
The openness of Newsbox and its ability to integrate with IT equipment was one of the major reasons for its selection by the EBU. The video/IT split system created the whole workflow where the IT usage was not just to make the system cost effective, but also to address the pressing needs for distributing information. The whole workflow from the live event to the member broadcasters transmissions had to be lightning fast and totally reliable.
To handle the volume of work, eight sQ Cut editing seats worked in parallel to share the load and created all the highlights and summaries. Based on its recent Olympic experience, the EBU saw it as essential that they produced not only the video and audio, but also information about the footage to guide local commentaries. Pardo points out that, The operators are editors; not VTR editors but sports editors! This was of major importance as they were called on not just to cut together the highlights and summaries but also to write the information to make up the detailed shot lists so the members commentators could prepare their voiceovers even ahead of seeing the video.
Pardo reflects on the Turin operation. We are more than happy. And we expect to develop the equipment even further for our future operation in Beijing or anywhere else; we never stop!
9 March 2006
Just 12 months after taking delivery of their first eQ, MBC has purchased a second eQ editing/effects/grading/mastering system. The new system comes with the Pay as you Go HD option and will reside along the existing machine in the companys Creative Services Department.
MBC is the leading free-to-air, pan-Arab, news and entertainment channel. The decision to again choose Quantel technology was based on the networks successful experience with its first eQ, and was triggered by the networks decision to look towards the HD future. The addition of a second high-powered eQ resolution co-existent system will enable MBC to seemlessly work with multiple resolution material and take full advantage of the quality and versatility of HD to create the highest quality programmes and promos.
Mr. Keith Dallison, Senior Promotions Editor, said, With its all-round capabilities, the eQ provides the perfect environment to bring our SD and HD production strands together to create the finished project. eQs enormous speed means that it is the ideal system to meet our tight deadlines and stringent quality requirements and the Pay as you Go HD option makes it a low-risk investment for us.
Ramsay Ismail, Quantel Director of Sales, Africa, Middle East & India, commented, We are delighted that a company of such a high profile as MBC has once again chosen Quantel technology. At Quantel we have been working for years to offer our customers the tools to let them adapt to new formats and to widen their business opportunities. This purchase demonstrates MBCs commitment to an HD future, and were very happy that Quantel technology will be an integral part of that vision.
9 March 2006
Al Jazeera International, the 24-hour English language news and current affairs channel, set to launch its global broadcast in late Spring of 2006, announced that respected journalist Dr Shereen El Feki has joined the channel. Based in London, Shereen will host the channels business and politics strand.
People & Power will examine the nature of power today: what it is, who wields it, who wants it and how it is being used, for better or worse. Although People & Power is Al Jazeera Internationals main business programme, it will look at influence far beyond the boardroom.
Our aim is to reveal the shifting nature of global power. People, places and movements which scarcely registered on the richter scale of power a decade ago are now shaking our world, says Shereen. We want to understand the forceseconomic, political, cultural and technologicalthat are changing the winners and losers in todays struggles for influence.
The half-hour programme will air twice a week with a flexible magazine format, allowing for studio discussions and interviews, as well as items filmed on location and special reports. Reflecting the channels fresh take on current affairs, the programme will not only talk to the usual suspectspoliticians, CEOs, religious leaders and military menbut unusual ones too, from bloggers to inventors, from shareholder activists to insurgents.
Explaining her move to Al Jazeera International, Shereen said, Events of the past few yearsfrom 9/11 and the war in Iraq to riots in Paris and the recent cartoon controversieshave made me think long and hard about what it means to be Arab and Muslim. When I look to the Middle East I see enormous possibilities for change. In my travels, I meet many people who are keen to reach out and work with both east and west. But its easier to build those bridges if theres someone on the other side building towards you. For me, Al Jazeera International is a great opportunity to span that gap between cultures and communities around the world.
Director of Programming Paul Gibbs said, In addition to looking at shifting balances of power, People & Power will have a strong investigative strand, uncovering the use and abuse of power in business and politics. We will approach business from a fresh perspective making the world of business and politics accessible to viewers around the globe.
Shereen comes from Canada, where she was raised by Egyptian-Welsh parents. Although I grew up in the west, I like to think of myself as a born-again Arab she says. Shereen speaks fluent English and French and is working on her Arabic. For the moment, I have enough Arabic to get me into trouble, but not quite enough just yet to get me out of it, she says. She joins Al Jazeera International from The Economist.
In addition to producing its own material, People & Power is eager to broadcast work from freelancers and independent companies around the globe through a unique commissioning site: www.ajicommissioning.net
