ND SatCom opens up China

21 May 2003

ND SatCom of Germany, a leading
global supplier of satellite based broadband VSAT, broadcast and
military communication network solutions – and a a member of the AIB -has announced the
opening of its Beijing, China office. ND SatCom decided to increase
its presence in China due to the area’s potential and growing
satellite communications needs. The “ND SatCom AG Beijing
Representative Office” will better serve ND SatCom’s clients and
strengthen activities in the Asian region.

Mr. Roland Schua, Chief Representative China will head the new ND
SatCom office that includes highly experienced local sales and
engineering support. ND SatComs’ presence in Asia has grown from its
beginning in 1997 with an office in Singapore to a current network of
four sales and service offices in Singapore, New Delhi, Jakarta and
Beijing.

“By augmenting our activities in Beijing we believe that not only are
we positioning ourselves perfectly for the Chinese market but also for
expansion into more areas of Asia”, commented Mr. Schua, Chief
Representative China. He continued, “The official opening of ND
SatComs’ Beijing office represents our long term commitment to become
a major provider of satellite communication solutions in this
important emerging market.”

World Radio Network Becomes a DRM Member

19 May 2003

Geneva – World Radio Network (WRN), the London-based international broadcaster and transmission service provider, has joined the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) Consortium.

DRM comprises broadcasters, network operators, manufacturers and researchers who have created a digital system (also called DRM) for the broadcasting bands below 30 MHz. DRM is the world’s only non-proprietary, digital system for short-wave, medium-wave and long-wave with the ability to use existing frequencies and bandwidth across the globe. WRN’s participation brings DRM’s membership to a record high of 81 members from 30 countries.

Placing his full support behind DRM, Karl Miosga, WRN’s Managing Director said: “World Radio Network is delighted to be playing an active part in DRM which represents a combination of digital innovation and close cooperation between broadcasters around the world – two of the founding principles behind WRN. We have been a long-time proponents of the distribution of international, cross-border radio by innovative and sustainable digital platforms, be that the Internet, digital satellite, digital cable or mobile cellphone services in order to reach new listeners around the world. To this list we add DRM because we believe it is going to offer listeners increased choice in radio listening combined with digital audio quality.”

“Several of DRM’s broadcaster members are also associated with WRN,” said DRM Chairman Peter Senger. “The addition of WRN as a member of DRM is a great fit, and we look forward to working together in the future.”

The world’s first DRM broadcasts will be transmitted across the globe on June 16th, 2003. The precise moment of DRM’s inaugural broadcasts will occur during the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC 2003) in Geneva, marked by a reception at the Château de Penthes.

BBC selects Optibase for advanced monitoring system

19 May 2003

BBC Monitoring (BBCM), a supplier of news and information from mass media around the world, has selected Optibase, Ltd. a provider of streaming media solutions, to provide its TV streaming platform for use in its advanced monitoring system.

BBC Monitoring operates around the clock to monitor more than 3,000 radio, TV, print, Internet and news agency sources, translating from up to 100 languages. This extensive and growing range of sources enables BBCM to provide distinctive, authoritative and reliable coverage of political and economic news to its subscribers, consisting of government departments, journalists, academics and businesses with international interests.

BBCM partnered with Cambridge Imaging Systems to create a system that would simultaneously deliver live TV and audio channels to up to 120 users on the BBC Monitoring network. The requirements were professional encoding of 5Mbit MPEG-2 video that satisfies the demanding requirements of government and news broadcast customers. The video streams are multicast to ensure that that the network is used efficiently and a sophisticated scheduling application ensures that the streams are started and stopped at the appropriate times and are correctly identified to the end user.

Imagen storage severs are connected to the network and are able to provide 4 TerraBytes of space for 36 hours of video and audio streams before the data is purged. Cambridge Imaging Systems chose Optibase’s MGW 2000 TV streaming platform to complement the Imagen technology.

“We needed quality encoding that was reliable 24/7 with no single point of failure and a well-supported software developer’s kit. Optibase’s MGW 2000 was a perfect fit,” said Paul McConkey, managing director, Cambridge Imaging.

MGW 2000 is a multichannel MPEG-1 & -2 TV streaming platform. Designed to enable large companies and organizations to deliver high-quality video communications over IP-based networks, MGW 2000 encodes up to six live channels in real time to MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 and then stream over an IP network in multicast or unicast mode. Compatible streaming software creates a complete video-on-demand and playback solution for applications such as training, news distribution and corporate communications.

BBC Monitoring’s head of Technology Kevin Ryan said, “This project is a solid foundation for future development which will provide our customers with a high quality multimedia based service.”

“Recent global events call for real time access to a multitude of news resources,” said Rene Montsma, vice president of international sales, Optibase. “BBC Monitoring’s TV distribution system provides a first rate solution to address this need. We are delighted to have the MGW 2000 included in this system and are looking forward to future cooperation with Cambridge Imaging Systems and our partner, Techex.”

Reporters' watchdog slams US military

19 May 2003

Head of French-based media rights watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres, Robert Menard, has condemned American forces’ attitude to journalists during the Iraq conflict.

“Thirteen of them lost their lives in Iraq,” he said in remarks broadcast by Radio France Internationale to mark International Press Freedom Day. “Some of these deaths I would blame on occupational hazard, because in conflict there’s no such thing as zero risk. At the same time there’s more to it than that,” Mr Menard added. “When the American army opens fire on the offices of Al-Jazeera television, when the self-same American army fires at a hotel like the Hotel Palestine where everyone knew journalists were staying, these are not called occupational hazards, they’re called war crimes.”

“This is why we have demanded an explanation from the American army. We have asked those in charge of ensuring observance of the Geneva conventions to do their job. We’ve had no response yet. You cannot say that you’re fighting for democracy and then shoot journalists. There seems to be a contradiction here,” Robert Menard concluded.

DRM goes east

19 May 2003

The Russian Press and Media Ministry regards intensive introduction of digital technology in radio broadcasting as a priority. A source in the ministry’s press service said on Radio Day in Russia earlier in May that this is facilitated by Russia’s adoption of the international digital radio broadcasting standard of Digital Radio Mondiale – DRM.

Using DRM programmes can be received practically anywhere in the world. The Russian state-run radio broadcasting company The Voice of Russia has conducted field tests of analogue and digital radio signal reception and expects to launch its digital signal service in June during the World Radio Conference in Geneva.