16 December 2004
A new world record has been reached for Digital AM broadcasting in Macedonia. PE Makedonska Radiodifuzija (MRD), a national public broadcasting operator, in collaboration with Thales and Deutsche Welle, succeeded in transmitting 720 kW mean power in Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) mode from the medium-wave station Ovce Pole, the highest DRM power ever broadcast by a single transmitter, reaching exceptional coverage and quality of reception.
Transmissions were done on 810 kHz with the Thales S7HP 1200 kW solid-state medium-wave analog transmitter, in operation at Ovce Pole since its inauguration in June 2002. For the tests, Thales provided front-end equipment from its Skywave 2000 DRM Digital Product Line.
The necessary measurements of the signal quality and coverage area were performed by DW using their measurement van and various fixed control and measurement centers in Europe. Measurements were carried out twice a day: 3 hours during day time -groundwave propagation- and 3 hours during night time – skywave propagation- while transmitting the program of Macedonian Radio. The DW measurement van confirmed a coverage area during daylight of up to 300 km, whereas by night the DW centers recorded reception over larger areas of Western Europe. The audio quality was excellent and disturbance free.
DRM is the worlds only non-proprietary, digital radio system for short-wave, AM/medium-wave and long-wave approved by international standardization bodies for use worldwide. DRM revitalizes radio with clear, FM-like audio quality and excellent reception, free from static, fading and interference. Early DRM capable consumer receivers are already on the market, with a variety of DRM-capable products slated to launch in 2005.
Thales is a founding member of DRM, and has been involved since the beginning in the building of the DRM system and its progress towards universal standardization. www.thales-bm.com
Deutsche Welle (DW) is Germany’s international broadcasting service with DW-TV, DW-RADIO and DW-WORLD.DE. Deutsche Welle offers news and cultural highlights from all over the world with a European and German perspective. DW-TV broadcasts its 24-hour information program in German and English from studios in Berlin. There are also regional program slots in Arabic, Dari and Pashto.
Additionally, DW supplies television stations worldwide with attractive German programs covering documentaries, family entertainment, children’s programs, sports, music and fiction too. DW-RADIO broadcasts in German, English and 28 other languages. All programs can be received direct-to-home via shortwave, a globe-spanning satellite network or via cable or local stations operated by rebroadcasting partners. DW promotes freedom of information, the programs are to foster the peaceful coexistence of nations, and to serve as a bridge of understanding among peoples in the world. DW has gained an excellent reputation for reliability and credibility. The publicly funded institution in Germany is one of the five largest international broadcasting services in the world. www.dw-world.de
16 December 2004
GERMAN TV announced that its subsriber base increased by 2.000 to 12.200 in November. According to Oliver Mojen, Programme Director, GERMAN TV, November was the best month so far. The increase in subsribers is due to the fact that GERMAN TV has launched on the DISH satellite platform in the US, as well as in Canada on Rogers Cable in Ontario. It can also be received via Time Warner Cable New York.
Mojen is preparing to launch GERMAN TV also in Canada on the nationwide satellite platform Bell ExpressVu in January 2005. In South America GERMAN TV is already available in Mexico City and various cities in Chile and the company is currently negotiating with Sky Brasil to reach the large German-speaking community in Brasil via satellite.
14 December 2004
Inmedia has integrated IMDs advanced digital advertising delivery with the Inmedia playout system to simplify the ingest of commercials for its playout customers. The first clients to go live using the system are Reality TV, The Horror Channel, London TV and Musicians Channel with Bonanza Bonanza TV to go live after 20 December.
The advantages of integrating digital advertising delivery with digital playout, include:
o Keeping advertisements in the digital video domain from ad agency through playout saves time and money;
o Saving on couriers Inmedia estimates that a busy channel could save over £20,000 solely in couriers, tape dubbing and stock per annum;
o Enabling a channel to more easily accept ads late or even accept spot sales just hours from airing.
Inmedias playout system with IMDs digital advertising delivery eliminates time and money wasted on chasing tapes from advertising companies and ensures the picture and sound quality and integrity of the advert itself, says Bonanza Bonanzas director of content and operations Simon Ingram. This new system delivers the reassurance that adverts will be with us in minutes rather than days and the digital transfer makes the process of advert acquisition more efficient, cost-effective and pain-free.
By integrating IMDs ad delivery service with our playout we can ensure that our advanced digital playout continues to improve the efficiency of operations, says Matthew Ivey, Inmedias sales director for Broadcast Services. Presently companies playing out ads spend thousands of pounds a year to courier tapes around, which are then ingested. Our implementation of the IMD service means that an advert is already here before you need it and remains in the digital video domain throughout its life – theres just no better way of distributing and playing out adverts.
Its critical for us that we work closely with all of the leading TV playout centres, says John Bolton, Technical Director, IMD. By integrating with Inmedia we have the double benefit of being able to service a number of new TV stations and offer a more inclusive service to ad agencies, while Inmedia stays ahead of the game by allowing its playout customers to save time and money. This really is a win-win deal for both parties.
14 December 2004
Dutch-language TV service BVN-TV, as well as the three audio streams of Radio Netherlands, are available throughout North America free-to-air 24 hours a day via the Intelsat Americas 5 satellite. The start date (originally 1 January 2005)was brought forward because of the funeral of HRH Prince Bernhard. Anyone with a suitable satellite dish and receiver in the US, Canada and Mexico can now watch BVN-TV and listen to Radio Netherlands round the clock. The 24-hour English stream is labelled RNW1. RNW2 is in Dutch, and RNW3 carries, amongst other things, Radio Netherlands Spanish output.
For technical details and a map showing the recommended dish size visit www.bvn.nl/html/n_amerika.html.
14 December 2004
Transponders on the Intelsat-Americas-7 satellite have been tested, are performing normally and are available to be put back into service.
Until the IA-7 investigation report is completed, Intelsat has temporarily delayed the launch of its IA-8 satellite. Given the current condition of IA-7, Zeus Holdings Limited, Intelsat’s prospective acquirer, would have the option not to consummate the acquisition of Intelsat if the loss is not remedied in accordance with the terms of the agreement with Zeus. Zeus has been advised of Intelsat’s decision to delay the launch of IA-8 and continues to evaluate the extent to which the IA-7 anomaly and the IA-8 launch delay could impact the pending acquisition.
9 December 2004
As reported on the EBU web site, France’s international news channel which the government had planned to launch in 2004 will eventually go on air in the last quarter of 2005.
Some 30m euros will be allocated for the launch, half the 60m euros yearly budget needed to run the channel. The project brings together, on an equal footing, TF1 and Francetélévisions, to create a rolling-news channel drawing on the resources of TF1, LCI (La Chaîne Info), France 2 and France 3.
The European Commission is not opposed to the project which, being primarily aimed at Africa, the Middle East and Asia, will not have a significant impact on the EU broadcasting scene. The channel will broadcast in English and French, Arab-language programmes have been put on hold for the time being. Partnership agreements are reportedly planned with AFP, RFI and possibly EuroNews.
