26 January 2006
Arqivas Satellite Media Solutions division supplied production facilities for the live ESA TV transmission of the launch of Giove-A, the first European Galileo system satellite to rival the USAs GPS, for the European Space Agencys production company World Wide Pictures. The footage involved handling multiple feeds: inbound from World Wides team at the Baikonur Cosmodrome as well as live telemetry data from the Soyuz rocket; and outbound full programme from the ground station at Guildfords Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and also via videoconference link to Paris.
Coverage was extensive ESA monitoring indicated 100 million viewers on 28 December alone.
We needed news-scale trucks with OB-style control, including comprehensive camera racking, matrix switchers and vision mixers, said World Wide Pictures MD and producer Chris Courtenay Taylor. Arqiva had such vehicles and its flexibility and technical expertise helped us ensure that a complex, multi-path production achieved the client news objectives for the launch of an extremely important European project.
The Galileo launch had international significance says Arqivas ad-hoc sales manager Nigel Crow. It was especially important to demonstrate SSTLs role and we were delighted to be transmitting live from there with footage that achieved significant coverage not just on BBC, ITV, C4, Sky and CNN but actually across most of continental Europe.
26 January 2006
Harris Corporation announced that Paxson Communications Corporation, based in West Palm Beach, Florida, will standardize on the Leitch DTP turnaround processor throughout its nationwide broadcast television distribution system. Paxson has ordered 56 DTP-220 systems to support its group of television stations, 52 of which are currently on air in digital.
The DTP is an all-MPEG-2 compressed stream processor that allows broadcasters to overlay graphics/logos on pre-compressed high-definition and standard-definition streams inexpensively and with superior video quality. Working entirely in the compressed domain, the DTP enables broadcasters to decrease storage requirements, lower distribution costs and streamline operations as a result of having smaller files and narrower pipes to manage.
With 52 of our stations already broadcasting in digital, we were looking to acquire flexible equipment that is essentially ready to go out of the box equipment we can install across the board in all our stations, no matter what the size of the operation or the level of technical expertise on-site, said Dave Glenn, vice president of engineering for Paxson Communications. We wanted a system that would enable multicasting, bit-stream splicing, Emergency Alert System (EAS) insertion and control via IP, and the Leitch DTP was the only system that could do it all. We evaluated the market for several months before making the final decision, and the DTP out-performed all the top competitors.
The DTP provides MPEG-2 switching and stat mux for one HD program combined with two SD programs, or up to six SD programs, and offers broadcasters many unique benefits. Complete control of the DTP is possible via IP connections. Its flexible software architecture allows new features to be rolled out quickly and efficiently in most cases by doing software-only updates to units in the field. The DTP allows a remotely encoded DTV signal to be localized with such applications as logo overlays, crawls, time and temperature, stock information, and local weather and news, enabling content owners to derive additional revenue from their national content by making it more relevant to local audiences. In addition, by avoiding artifact-inducing MPEG decode/re-encode concatenation, the original MPEG stream picture quality is preserved to the greatest extent possible.
We are very pleased that Paxson has once again chosen Leitch equipment to support its transition to digital, said Tim Thorsteinson, president of Leitch, which is part of the Broadcast Communications Division of Harris Corporation. Paxson has relied on our Videotek® Signal Quality Manager® for remote monitoring and quality assurance for several years, so the companys decision to standardize on our DTP not only represents a significant sale for our company, but also reinforces our continuing relationship with the largest television station group owner in the U.S.
24 January 2006
WRN, the London-based international transmission service company, today announced the launch of its online Interactive Forums, which will help to create a roadmap for the future development and strengthening of international radio.
Each of the five online Interactive Forums will be hosted by a WRN member of staff with delegate participation via the Internet and instant messaging. The Forums will cover a range of topics specifically relevant to international radio including new technology (DRM and DVB), Broadcast and Platform Solutions, pan-European co-productions and how to develop deeper interaction with listeners. The first Interactive Forum is on Tuesday 14th February at 1000 UTC (1100 CET). A full schedule for the Forums can be found at www.wrn.org/clientforum
WRN has developed its Interactive Forums to offer a neutral space that brings together practitioners in international radio, and others, to grapple with the challenges of the digital age where the nature of radio is rapidly changing: the ways to broadcast, the ways to listen, the platforms, the content, how listeners interact with stations, the choice of stations. The WRN Forums provide the opportunity for practitioners to come together and share their ideas and opinions, experiences and lessons, their successes, case studies and best practice and to take back practical ideas and solutions for input into their own organisations.
WRNs Sophie Wilson, who is project managing this initiative says: These Interactive Forums follow on from our successful inaugural event held in Bratislava, Slovakia where more than twenty international radio practitioners came together to initiate discussions about our industry. These next five Interactive Forums offer all those working in international radio the chance to join in this stimulating and timely debate.
24 January 2006
WorldSpace Satellite Radio, one of the world leaders in satellite-based digital radio services, announced that it has expanded its senior management team with the appointments of Shishir Lall in India, as managing director of operations, and Stephen Horn at the Silver Spring headquarters, as chief marketing officer. The new appointments strengthen the companys leadership and further support expansion efforts, globally.
As managing director of WORLDSPACE India, Shishir Lall will spearhead the companys business operations in India to drive sales and marketing efforts. Lall has worked at leading consumer products companies including Brooke Bond, Unilever, and Pepsi. Lall replaces Deepak Varma, who will now manage business development activities.
Stephen Horn joins WORLDSPACE as chief marketing officer and will lead sales and marketing initiatives. Horn has more than 20 years of industry experience, previously holding senior management positions at Coca-Cola Enterprises, PepsiCola and Citibank.
At this exciting stage in our companys growth, we are very pleased to have these high caliber professionals join the team, said Noah Samara, CEO, WORLDSPACE. Shishir Lall will play an integral role in helping us to streamline operations in India, and Stephen Horn will guide our global marketing efforts to help us build additional brand awareness. Both will be critical players as we continue to increase our international presence, gain subscribers, and execute against our global business plan.
With more than 100,000 global subscribers, WORLDSPACE is the first and only satellite radio provider outside of North America, South Korea and Japan providing digital audio radio services (DARS) internationally.
19 January 2006
The BBC has made a formal complaint to the Tajik Government, following the suspension of the BBC’s services to Tajikistan on FM frequencies by the Tajik authorities since Tuesday 10 January 2006.
BBC services on medium wave and shortwave to listeners in the country remain unaffected. The suspension follows a recently ratified Tajik Media Law requiring international broadcasters on FM to register with the Tajik Ministry of Justice and acquire a media licence.
The BBC is currently the only international broadcaster available on FM in Tajikistan and has a legal contract and licence to broadcast. However, although the BBC has started the new process for registration, the 20-day deadline was unrealistic for a process that would normally take up to six months to complete.
Over the last week representations have been made to the Tajikistan authorities by the BBC. Since there has been no formal response from the authorities, the BBC is making a formal complaint to the Tajik Government. The BBC is requesting that services are resumed immediately while the registration process is completed. BBC World Service Director Nigel Chapman says: “The BBC has a legal contract and a licence to broadcast on FM and we would like that to be honoured. The BBC is happy to comply with the new law but the process takes considerably more time than has been allowed by the Tajik authorities. There is no reason why listeners in Tajikistan should be deprived of our services on FM while these bureaucratic hurdles are overcome.”
The BBC has been broadcasting in Tajikistan since 1996 on medium wave. In 2004 the BBC launched two 24-hour FM relays, in Dushanbe and Khojand, with programmes in Tajik (Persian), as well as broadcasts in Russian and English.
19 January 2006
SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company has signed an agreement with the Czech free-to-air leisure and shopping channel TOP TV for digital capacity on ASTRA at the orbital position 19.2° East. TOP TV is the fourth Czech free-to-air channel transmitted via ASTRA at 19.2° East, following the music channel Ocko TV, the parliamentary channel 24.cz and the public news channel CT24. In addition to these customer relationships, SES ASTRA enjoys a long-standing cooperation with UPC Direct, the key Direct-to-Home bouquet provider for the Central and Eastern European region.
Alexander Oudendijk, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of SES ASTRA, said: ”Our agreement with TOP TV confirms our leading role in the highly competitive Central and Eastern European market. TOP TV is an attractive enhancement of our free-to-air channel line-up and we look forward to a fruitful and successful cooperation.”
Kateøina Frièová, General Director of TOP TV, said: Broadcasting TOP TV via ASTRA at 19.2° East will ensure that we reach the widest possible audience in the Czech Republic and across Europe in the highest quality. We are proud to become a member of the ASTRA family.
TOP TV is broadcast via transponder 57 on ASTRA 2C at 19.2° East (10832.25 MHz).
