April 2011
MAC-201 AV to COFDM Modulator
WIZ-9555 HD CA Ci Super
TDX HEADEND
it is time to use
the KU-Band PICASO
motorized satellite systems SRT-2015
satellite DVR Pakistan UAE
90.00 10.00
Rs
KSA
Dh
Oman
10.00 01.00
R
Qatar
R
India
12.00 R 125.00 Rs
Bahrain Kuwait
01.00 01.00
D
Lebanon
D
Nigeria
5000 350
LL
S-Africa
N
Namibia
45.00 50.00
R
Singapore 09.50 SGD
R
Australia
11.00
$ incl GST
Indonesia Thailand
25.000,-Rp 200 Baht
Bangladesh 95.00 Taka Egypt
10.00
EP
th
219 LEGEND I S S U E OF PUBLICATIONS
International Monthly Magazine
VOLUME: 18 - No: 04
APRIL – 2011 TEST REPORTS
STAR TRACK SRT-2015
STARVIEW SV-800 HD
SATELLITE WORLD MV-SNOW HSC-4600SC
VU+ SOLO
DYNAVISION PICASO HDTV PVR
CONTENTS Letter from Editor
9
Master Codes
47
Global Flash News
10
Choice in TV Entertainm...
48
What to See Before
16
Pakistani Channels
50
Receiver and Wiring
18
Pakistani Channels
51
Satellite DVR
19
Direct Broadcast Satellit...
52
Sat Mart
20
Direct Broadcast Satellit...
53
Star Track (Test Report)
24
Satellite TV Services
56
The Journey of Telkom
26
How to Purchase Free
57
SatelliteWorld(TestReport)
28
It is time to use the...
59
The Importance of Satelli...
30
Around the Satellite World
60
Starview (Test Report)
32
Trouble Shooter
64
Motorized Satellite Syst...
34
Search Satellite
67
Vu+ Solo (Test Report)
36
High Definition Satellite...
76
Dynavision (Test Report)
40
Discussion of the LNB
77
Triax
42
Directional Chart
78
The Key to DTH Success...
43
Directional Chart
79
How Satellite TV...
44
European Cable TV Bucks
81
Master Codes
46
Digital Chart
83
Editor-in-Chief HABIB HADI hadi@tracksat.com Managing Editors SUROOSH IZNA Editor SUMERA HADI Associate Editor SHOUKAT IQBAL KHATTAK shoukat@tracksat.com Technical Editor HAIDER ALI dishtech@tracksat.com Advertising Manager NAVEED AHMED KHAN uzair_nomi80@hotmail.com Layout Designer NAVEED JAMEEL IRFAN SIDDIQUI Accounts Manager S.ASHRAF-UL-HAQ Legal Advisor QAZI MUNAWAR ALAM Editorial Address: Dawood Centre, 101-1st Floor, 124,R, Block-2, Main Tariq Road, P.E.C.H.S., Karachi-Pakistan. Tel. : + 92-21- 4531122, 4531133 : + 92-21- 4316529, 4316530 Fax: : + 92-21- 4528822 E-mail: channels@cyber.net.pk hadi@tracksat.com Distributors UAE Emirates Printing Publishing & Distribution Co. Tel.: (04) 2660337 Ext. 204 SAUDI ARABIA Al-Adabiya Pub & Distributors Tel.: 671 5788 KUWAIT United Company for Distribution of Newspapers & Publications Tel.: (965) 245 6198-(965) 241 2820 BAHRAIN Al Ayam Publishing Est. B.S.C. (C) Tel. : 725111 PAKISTAN Paradise Books & Distributors Tel: + 92-21-4314981-83 Fax: + 92-21-4385075 EGYPT Al-Ahram Tel.: 5796997 QATAR Naz Book Distribution Tel.: +974 4324235, +974 5562809 TURKEY Ukrainian Distribution Tel.: +38 044 261 5876 JORDAN Jordan Distribution Agency Tel.: 962 6 533 7733 IRAQ Al-Khalil Distribution NETHERLANDS Van Gelderen UNITED KINGDOM Golden Publication Ltd. KENYA National Group Ltd. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Future Empire Network Corp. Publisher HABIB HADI Dish Channels is printed on the 1st of every month by Dish Channels Karachi. Dish Channels is Non-Political & NonPatrisian Publication. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, we cannot bear responsibility for losses resulting from errors. Printed By: PRINTING IMPRESSION, KARACHI
LETTER FROM EDITOR Dear Readers, The globalization of the communication industries is sometimes said to lead to developing countries either being excluded from the information age or converted into markets for global products. By the mid-1990s several satellites were broadcasting a wide range of transnational television channels across Asia. While early global/regional satellites and their television channels were seen as instruments of Western imperialism, they were soon followed by satellites launched by and/or channels targeted at national, sub national and diasporic markets across the continent. Using secondary data from industry sources, this paper surveys and classifies the satellites and their channels operating East and South Asia in the early to mid-1990s. It seeks to demonstrate that a media industries approach may be more productive than political economy and cultural studies ones in analyzing the complex relationships among the participants in the Asian television market. Over the decade of the 1990s Asian skies became increasingly crowded with satellites beaming an array of commercial television channels transnationally. While early global/regional channels such as CNN and StarTV might have been seen as instruments of Western media imperialism, they have been followed by channels partially created within and directed at national markets such as Taiwan and India, and sub national ethniclanguage channels targeted at diasporic groups across the continent. Some Asian governments have even taken to beaming their domestic quasicommercial channels via satellite, intentionally directed towards other countries in their region. Further, transnational satellite channels have specialized into business, entertainment, movie, news, educational, children's, and women's channels among others.
e By
S AT MART
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
GLOBAL FLASH NEWS
ITV1 HD TO LAUNCH IN APRIL
ITV has confirmed that its new ITV1 HD channel will launch on Virgin Media, Sky and Freesat next month. From April 2, Sky and Virgin Media subscribers will be able to watch the new high definition simulcast of ITV1, which will also transfer to a static channel from its current Red Button availability on Freesat. Viewers on all three platforms will be able watch ITV's World Cup coverage in HD, along with HD dramas such as Father & Son, Identity and The Prisoner. The channel is already available on Freeview HD. ITV director of television, channels and online Peter Fincham said: "The availability of high definition content is something viewers have come to expect as standard and, as we approach the 2010 World Cup, I'm delighted that we are able to launch our new channel, ITV1 HD, on all major platforms. "All of our output will benefit from the stunning picture quality that high definition offers, whether it's ITV's original drama, landmark factual shows, entertainment events or our live football." ITV1 HD will be made available at no extra cost to Virgin Media subscribers on the XL TV package, while some of ITV1's HD content will also launch on Virgin Media's on-demand platform. "ITV offers some of the UK's most loved programmes and we're delighted to add them to our growing HD channel lineup," said Virgin Media executive director of digital entertainment Cindy Rose. APRIL
SKY TO LAUNCH SS4 HD, HALLMARK CHANNEL HD
Sky has confirmed plans to launch Sky Sports 4 HD and the Hallmark Channel HD on its satellite television platform. The HD version of Sky Sports 4, which recently rebranded from Sky Sports Xtra, will launch on April 29 to broadcast over 9,000 hours of HD sport every year. Arriving on June 28, the Hallmark Channel HD will carry HD versions of major US dramas, such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Without A Trace. The satellite firm also recently confirmed plans to launch Sky News HD in the "coming months", which is claimed to be Europe's first news channel entirely in high definition. The channel launches, along with today's announcement of the April arrival of ITV1 HD, brings Sky close to the milestone of 40 HD channels. The firm now plans to grow its HD lineup to 50 by Christmas. Sky director of product management Hilary Perchard said: "It's great news for customers that we are making our HD channel pack even better value with more high quality channels. We're seeing record demand for HD, both in terms of the number of customers signing up for Sky+ HD and the amount of HD programmes they are watching.
10
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
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18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
AFGHAN B'BAND VIA EUTELSAT
TS2 Satellite Technologies announced that it is rolling out new broadband services on Eutelsat EB4 and W6 satellites to the Afghan commercial and military market. The wireless broadband service offers 2way high-speed Internet access and is designed to meet broadband requirements such as Internet and virtual private network access to enterprise networks as well as real-time Voice over IP and videoconferencing."Most soldiers deploy with a laptop in hand and a hookup to the Internet in their barracks. This is especially important for the many who are married and have young children. The Internet access has resulted in major morale improvements. Troops no longer feel cut off from home," TS2 said in a statement.
SES ASTRA AND SES TAKE OWNERSHIP OF SES SIRIUS AB
GLOBAL FLASH NEWS disclosed. SES ASTRA is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in Europe. The satellite fleet currently comprises 15 ASTRA satellites. The ASTRA satellite system delivers services to more than 122 million DTH and cable households and transmits more than 2,500 analogue and digital television and radio channels. SES ASTRA also provides satellite-based multimedia, internet and telecommunication services to enterprises, governments and their agencies. With more than 100 High Definition (HD) channels on its main orbital positions, ASTRA represents the most important HDTV platform for Europe’s leading broadcasters.
DEVELOPING GSLV MK III
Indian Space Research Organisaiton (ISRO) is presently developing its heaviest launch vehicle, the GSLV mark III that will have the capability to carry 4 tonne class Communication Satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. The capability of the presently available GSLV is for carrying 2 tonne class satellite into similar orbit. A Sum of Rs. 14.00 crore has been allocated for initiating development-related activities for the Chandrayaan-II Mission during the current financial year. This was stated by Shri Prithviraj Chavan, the Minister of State (I/C) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences in the Lok Sabha today.
SES ASTRA and SES Company has taken full ownership of SES SIRIUS AB by acquiring the remaining 10 percent of the shares from the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC). The terms of the transaction were not
APRIL
12
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
EUROPEAN HD CHANNELS TO TRIPLE BY 2013
The number of HD channels is expected to increase threefold by 2013, according to satellite operator SES. Giving delegates a sneak preview of data to be released next week at a series of European roadshows, Thomas Wrede, VP product management media, SES Astra, said the current 280 channels on Europe’s various satellite systems were expected to increase to around 600 by 2013. The Astra satellites are currently home to 112 HD channels with further additions anticipated over the next few weeks. 20 new channels are expected this year and a further 30 in 2012.
DIGITAL TV EXPANDS IN HUNGARY Hungary's 14 biggest cable, satellite and IPTV companies had 2,489,000 subscribers at the end of December, 17,000 more than a month earlier, the National Telecommunications Office (NHH) has revealed. Magyar Telekom, Invitel, UPC, FiberNet, DIGI, PR TELEKOM, Zelka, TARR, TvNetWork, ViDaNet, PARISAT, RubiCom, Antenna Hungaria and HD
APRIL
GLOBAL FLASH NEWS Platform control 80-85 per cent of the pay television market in Hungary. Digital television subscribers accounted for 45.8 per cent of the companies' total number of subscribers, up from 45.2 per cent a month earlier. The number of digital cable TV subscribers rose 15,000 to 389,000, while the number of IPTV subscribers climbed 8,000 to 752,000.
PORTUGUESE PAY-TV SUBS TOP 2.5M
The number of pay-TV subscribers in Portugal increased 10.6 per cent in the 4Q 2010 to over 2.5 million or 45 per cent of total households, according to data released by the country’s telecommunications regulator Anacom. The figure includes all platforms (cable, DTH, fibre and other technologies) and represents a growth of 85,000 subscribers on the previous quarter and of 243,000 on the same period last year. At the end of 2010, cable TV accounted for 57 per cent of all pay-TV subscribers – down 2 percentage points than the previous quarter - while the share of "other technologies" grew by 1.3 percentage points to 16 per cent of the total. DTH had a 26 per cent market share and fibre optic now represents 1.2 per cent. The total number of cabled households stood at 4.3 million, 0.6 per cent more than in the previous quarter and up 2.1 per cent compared to same period last year. The growth was mainly due to the expansion of Zon TV Cabo network especially in the North, the Azores and Lisbon.
13
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
GLOBAL FLASH NEWS
DISH SUBS AND REVENUES DISCOVERY HD TO LAUNCH RISE IN INDIA
Dish Network Corp, the number two US satellite television operator, posted betterthan-expected quarterly revenue as its subscriber base expanded in the face of a weak economy. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 1.4 per cent to $2.96 billion. Net income came in at $179 million compared with $217 million, the year-ago quarter. Dish, which is controlled by Chief Executive Charlie Ergen, added 249,000 net subscribers during the quarter as it continued its turnaround after several quarters when it lost subscribers early in 2009. It ended the year with 14.1 million subscribers.
Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific has confirmed the launch of Discovery HD, a 24-hour HD channel in India. Discovery HD features the highest quality content from across Discovery Networks’ most popular channels, as well as select exclusive content. Broadcast in English, Discovery HD is currently available on Sun Direct, India’s first DTH platform that offers HD services and will be a pay, seamless and ad-free channel.
SONY 3D TVS IN JUNE
TATA SKY TO LAUNCH HDTV, INTERACTIVE SERVICES
Tata Sky has said it will roll out HD services and launching more interactive channels in India. The company will launch its HD service this year, ahead of Commonwealth Games to be held in October 2010. It will also introduce interactive channels in the gaming and education space. The company also plans to push personal video recorder (PVR) set-top boxes which are witnessing an increasing demand in the country. "Every DTH operator today is offering almost the same channels at competitive pricing. It will be the interactive services and the additional features that would help differentiate between the operators," Tata Sky Chief Marketing Officer Vikram Mehra said.
Sony has set the target of selling 2.5 million 3D televisions in nine months. Yoshihisa Ishida, the head of Sony’s televisions business, said the Japanese company hoped to sell 25 million TVs in the year to March 2011 with 3D sets accounting for at least one tenth of that. That is a 67 per cent increase on the total of 15 million
televisions Sony expects to sell this year. Ishida said Sony would launch 3D televisions in Japan in June and they would go on sale abroad about the same time. That is behind Samsung and Panasonic – which will launch 3D sets in the US this week. But Sony says they are not concerned because little 3D content will be available at first. APRIL
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
WHAT TO SEE BEFORE OPTING FOR SATELLITE TV The cable TV has become a thing of past at present. You cannot get the best of TV entertainment from them. They can neither give you good image quality nor great channels. The TV entertainment you receive bores you more than entertaining you. So your TV entertainment needs a complete overhaul. There are so many options in the market. You can choose from any of them. Are you thinking about getting satellite TV? Well, you have selected the best available choice. Congratulations! Satellite TV is one of the most popular TV entertainment options. There are a number of satellite TV providers in the market that offer you high quality satellite TV entertainment. You can opt for any of these satellite TV companies depending on your entertainment needs as well as your budget. There are however, some points that you need to be sure about before opting for a particular satellite TV provider. This will save you from a lot of troubles afterwards. Let us take a quick look at some of the point.All the satellite TV requires an obstruction free exposure to the southern sky near your home. If you do not have such exposure at home or near your home then you will not be able to get the best APRIL
signal strength directly from the satellite. This will hamper the picture quality to a great extent. If you live in an apartment or a rented place, there can be some restriction regarding the installation of satellite dish. You also need to take the permission of the authorities in these matters from the house owners. Knowing these rules and obtaining this permission will save you from a lot of troubles before hand. You need to take a close look at the satellite TV packages offered by the satellite TV companies. These packages pack in many channels. But what you really need to see is which of these channels you actually want to watch? This will help you determine which provider and which package you want to opt for. There is no point in opting for a package or a provider that does not offer you the channels you want to watch. Price is often the deciding factor. While choosing satellite TV services we often opt for the cheap available option. However, we should look for the service that gives you a value for money service. DISH Network, the leading provider of satellite TV service offers complete value for money service while keeping the price affordable.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
RECEIVER
Inside view
AND WIRING
A
DBS receiver is usually installed at the main household TV set. The satellite receiver is where satellite channels are selected for TV viewing. In addition to the normal coaxial output, the receiver usually has audio-video and S-video outputs that can be connected directly to the TV, a VCR, and a stereo or surround sound system if you have one. A new dedicated RG6 coaxial line must be run from the dish to the receiver. This line carries power (13-18 vdc) to the amplifier at the dish, and carries the high frequency transmission signal down to the receiver for processing into the audio and video signals. If a second receiver is installed in the house, a separate line must be run from the dish to that receiver also. Ideally, you would like to be able to watch the satellite channel on all TV sets in the house. The coaxial output (ch. 3/4) from your receiver may be sent around the house distribution system, but most homes also have either a cable or a regular TV antenna for local channels that also has a signal on at least one of those channels. The solution is to convert the satellite channel to an unused
APRIL
UHF or cable channel and then combine signals so that all TV sets can tune to regular or cable channels, or to the satellite signal (on ch. 20 or ch. 60, for example). Good quality UHF converters are expensive, in the $150-$200 price range. Your TV set needs to have a working UHF tuner, and if there are separate UHF and VHF inputs, you will need a UHF/VHF splitter at the TV set. Satellite channels can be recorded on a VCR. Run the signal from the receiver to the recorder either as channel 3/4 on a coaxial cable or an audio/video signal with RCA type cables. You will need a compass and an angle finder. If you cannot find these among your tools or camping equipment, they should be available at local hardware, home improvement, or camping stores. You will need to be exactly where the dish is to be located when you do the survey. You may need to sit on the ground, climb a ladder, get on the roof, or do all of these before you find a suitable place for the dish.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
S
ubscribers in the US are increasingly switching over to digital video recorders (DVRs) for advantages that prove irresistible for many
customers. Considering the growing demand, it seems like this technology has finally arrived. What makes DVRs special is that it records directly to a hard drive. There is no tape involved as there is with VCRs. Features that seem to have caught the eye of the TV viewers include instant replay, APRIL
pause option, digital quality, dual viewing, or recording one program while viewing another. Even cable companies are providing devices that come with inbuilt DVRs that provide all of these functions for cable viewers. Some DVRs also provide programming information, alerts on the timing of favorite programs and zoom in capabilities. If you don't like commercials, you can even skip through them. These features are definitely unmatched by any contemporary technology. The future may see a host of other services like local weather, interactive gaming, etc. added to the number of services. This good news is not just for the viewer but also the broadcasting companies who can now be assured of a significant increase in viewers. Some of the more popular models are TiVo because of its extra features. DirecTV HD DVR and the Dish Player-DVR 942 are new to the market and said to be superior to TiVo.
19
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
THE JOURNEY OF TELKOM
In 1976, Indonesia became the 3rd nation in the world operating a Domestic Satellite Communication System using GSO Satellites, the PALAPA A system. This satellite system provided telephony and facsimile services between cities in Indonesia and became the main TV program distribution infrastructure. TELKOM has been operating satellite communication networks for almost 30 years, TELKOM has experienced technology improvements, value added service improvements and also changes in regulations. Nowadays, TELKOM operates 2 satellites, PALAPA B4 and TELKOM-1, for telephony trunking for cellular systems and as data and Internet backbone throughout Indonesia. This article is intended to describe the journey of TELKOM in operating its satellites and satellite network, earth stations, services and business aspects. TELKOM satellites were originally designed for domestic communications as they were intended for unifying Indonesia. The satellites had to cover all islands of Indonesia including East Indonesia to encourage development in the intended regions. The adoption of this mode of communication followed closely satellite technology developments itself and evolved in line with domestic and regional market APRIL
demand. As can be seen, the capacity and transmission power (EIRP – Effective Isotropic Radiated Power) has been increasing and also the coverage. The increased power is an effort to reduce the link-cost including earth station costs and the cost of opening new markets. PALAPA A-1, launched on 8 July 1976 was successfully loaded with traffic from 40 earth stations spread all over Indonesia. Six of its 12 transponders were loaded with telephony traffic and 1 transponder by the national television program, while the 5 remaining were for backup. On 11 March 1977, PALAPA -A2, located at orbital slot 77 degrees East Longitude, was launched from the Kennedy Space centre, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA for back up and ready to be operated in the event PALAPA-A1 experienced a failure or when the demand could not be accommodated by PALAPA-A1. The coverage as well as technical capability were increased: where PALAPA A1 was for the Indonesian territory only, PALAPA B was able to cover the entire ASEAN region. In terms of capacity, PALAPA B capacity was increased to 24 transponders, 2-fold that of PALAPA A. PALAPA Bs were placed in a new and better location: 108 degE, 103 degE and 118 degree East, in order to minimize interference.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
MOTORIZED SATELLITE SYSTEMS
Satellites for many of us is the source to watch analogue and digital TV. There are subscriptions and viewing cards for packages from all around the globe, you possibly have one as well and are receiving the signals with a dish. Most likely you have a small dish because that's often all that's required to watch the channels from your country because the footprint is strongest inside its targeted location. The interesting thing is that if you tried turning the dish you possibly be able to scan in channels from another satellite, like from a different country. The horizon is full of satellites and Free to Air which do not require a big dish. The main satellites in Europe are Hotbird and Astra which carries many FTA channels in different languages, like Spanish, Italian and Russian. It perhaps does not sound interesting to view the foreign channels. But lets say you would like to watch a tennis match not broadcasted on the viewing package you have but the match is on a FTA channel on another satellite, wouldn't it be great to watch it? Believe me there are a lot of APRIL
channels out there. In the end its not that much fun having to go out and manually rotate your dish each time between satellites. This is where motors come into the picture. There are different types, such as DiSEqC, 36v H to H and actuators. DiSEqC are the most used and they are perfect for dishes up to 90 cm. With this kind of motor it uses your satellite receiver as power that runs on 17v/12v. The receivers have limited output power for the motor as it shares it with the LNB, this tends to make them slow and not as strong as say 36v H to H motors. Its a convenient upgrade as it uses the existing coax cable which already connects to the LNB on your dish. 36v actuators and H to H motors are stronger, can handle higher wind loads and move larger dishes and these use their own power source and cables from the receiver’s built-in 36v positioner. Most receivers don't have a positioner built-in but don't worry, in this situation you could use a device like the V-Box. The advantage of the V-Box is the satellite positions are stored inside it rather than in the receivers software.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
Triax
Set Top Boxes
Based on the latest technology and newest chipsets, TRIAX has made various platforms available with various input technology (DVB-C, DVB-T, DVB-S2, IP) and widely used CA technologies. TRIAX has own manufacturing plants of different electronic and electromechanical products in Denmark, UK and China, but we also work with different professional independent EMS's. Through this set-up we offer maximizing the overall logistics performance, depending on the volume of production and the flexibility needed for different projects. TRIAX is offering a complete and well functioning distribution network in most of the European countries. Using own employees we offer the total handling such as in-house pre- and after-sales support, inhouse and external sales rep's and the total logistics in connection with goods being shipped in small and big volume to a high number of local re-sellers. Not only based on our Set Top Boxes, but
APRIL
also through 20 years of manufacturing of satellite dishes, we have been partners to important Operators for many years. We understand and respect what is important to Operators, and try to optimize synergies. Though this set-up Operators can focus on their strength and let TRIAX handle all the product related issues…not only developing and manufacturing the Set Top Boxes, but we also make sure that the products and accessories are widely available, and professionally supported. When the engineer Knud Jeppesen bought the forge in Hornsyld, Denmark in 1949, he simultaneously laid the foundations of Triax. Alongside the traditional metalworking business, he began to manufacture television aerials in the early 50s - because he thought the first aerials on the market were far too expensive! Before long he had built a flourishing
42
busi ness, combining the traditional simple craftsmanship of metalwork with the electronic radio and television production of modern times. Today, the product range covers all the way from reception to distribution, from satellite dishes over cabinets over headends to outlets. It is still the philosophy of Triax to develop simple, high-quality products that fulfil the needs of our customers. That is why we manufacture both standard products and solutions that are tailor-made for individual clients. TRIAX is among the leaders within 2 business areas . TRIAX Multimedia: Solutions for reception, distribution and storage of video, audio and data. It is our vision is to be the preferred provider of our customers. To achieve this vision, we want to manufacture, provide and market the quality solutions that you, our customer will need.
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view Foremost for DTH success as well as expected continued favorable prospects has been the regulatory front. In India for instance, DTH services were first proposed in 1996, but only came into fruition in 2000. After seven years of DTH services, India has fared well such that estimates by the end of 2007 placed the Indian DTH market at 3.5 million paying subscribers. If Doordashan's free-to-air services are included, the figure could be as high as 8.1 million. In Indonesia, new market entrant Astro of Malaysia, which entered the market only in 2006, reported 80,000 subscribers through July 2007 and noted to NSR that it had 125,000 subs in December 2007, which grew to 140,000 in March 2008. The Philippines and Vietnam have relatively low DTH subscribers, but the market is open to new market players as well. Of all the dynamic and highly promising countries in Asia, China still maintains a regulatory environment that is challenging to navigate. In its latest market study on the DTH market, NSR postponed the analysis of the Chinese DTH market as satellite operators and service providers surveyed, viewed China as a relatively closed market where local entities are favored to the detriment of internationallybased market players. But in the other countries analyzed by NSR, specifically India and Indonesia, growth in the DTH market can be attributed partly to relatively favorable regulations, which are expected to
APRIL
continue over time. And this trend is partly the reason why new market entrants are eyeing the Indian and Indonesian markets. The Philippine and Vietnamese markets hold promise as well, and here, the entrance of new market players will once again be key to dynamic growth. Nevertheless, the regulatory environment is still not perfectly open, and foreign governments have formally made known their concerns. In December 2007, for instance, the US-based Satellite Industry Association (SIA) wrote to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) where the SIA offered “comments in an effort to identify necessary elements that require review in the commitments made by accession countries to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and to improve existing offers by WTO members that are relevant to the provision of satellite services.�
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
MASTER CODE
MASTER CODE In Order to solve the software problems of digital receivers, we are here with master codes for your better convenience.
1
Amstrad SilverLine, Cromline
0000, 3472
29
EchoStar
7604,2441,3604
2
Astrovox
8175,1250,1668,1010
30
EchoStar 2200-1200
7604
3
Aztech
1004,1111
31
EchoStar 2110, 3000, 3600
3453
4
Baff
2142
32
Euromax Em5000/7000CI
2142
5
Benjamin
1004,1250
33
EuroStar/ Euro Box
9999-0000
6
Besat
8175
34
FortecStar 5100PLUS
1010,1668,1002,1111
7
Citizen
7604
35
FortecStar Lifetime Ultra 1010,1012,9966,6699,0000
8
Coolsat
0103
36
FortecStar
1002, 1004,2228,2002,2004
9
Daewoo
8503,0500,0600
37
FortecStar 6000
1002
10
Digimaster
2606
38
FortecStar Oneworld
0914
11
Digi Box
8175
39
FortecStar Alpha/Beta
2580
12
Digital Telecom 2000
1004,0786
40
FortecStar 500
7777
13
Digital Telecom 2003/04
2999-1976
41
Galaxy
9949
14
Digital Telecom x100
42
GoldmasterSAT
3453,2606,3141 9247,1600,1700
43
Humax
0000-1234
44
Hyundai
0325,6962,8503,0500,0600
17
2046 ACTIVATE CODE (9339) 1818 Digital Telecom DB9 ACTIVATE CODE (8040) 9876 Digital Telecom X1500 D & X1001 MINI ACTIVATE CODE (PAGE UP) 1250 Digital Telecom X10 ACTIVATE CODE (7799)
45
Hyundai1100MCOM
1004
18
Digital Telecom X11
46
Kaon
Left to Right press Red, Green, Blue and Yellow buttons
15 16
3328
19
8989 Digital Telecom BLACK BOX & +1- +2 -911 ACTIVATE CODE (9999)
47
Kaon
Press Yellow key, Enter 0000 Press Blue 2 times, Press Green 2 times, Press Red 2 times, Press Menu key.
20
Digital Telecom X400
9876
48
Kaon
Yellow, Blue, Green, Menu
21
Dynavision CI-888, CI-991
1004
49
Kyoto
3453
22
Dynavision Elite CX-9900
9247
50
Lawrence
1250
23
Dynavision Elite F-6600
9247
51
MediacomMFT930I
5347
24
Dynavision CX 777
5518
52
MediacomMFT910I
1250
25
Echolink EL-700 FTA
3327
53
MediacomEXEL
1250
26
Echolink EL-707 FTA
2020
54
MediacomMCIElite
7777
27
Echolink EL-707 FTA Plus
1520
55
MediaStar
2142,8175
28
Echo Set
7176
56
Metabox1-2-3
1004
APRIL
46
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
MASTER CODE
MASTER CODE In Order to solve the software problems of digital receivers, we are here with master codes for your better convenience.
57
Megastar
2606,3141
86
SonySat-Spider
8989
58
Micro-X MDR-2800 FTA
1004
87
Satcruiser
3742,3472
59
Micro-X MDR-6000 IR
1004
88
Signal
8888,5555,4444
60
Micro-X MDR-6500 IRCI
1004
89
Smart
3472,6934
61
Micro-X MDR-4000 FTA
1250
90
Starsat
1234,1361,2999,1999,9876
62
Natvision
1668,1010
91
Startrack
0786,2480
63
Neosat 9800CI
1631,6805
92
Strong
0235,0325,1361,0735
64
Neosat SX-1600 Plus
1004
93
SuperLazer 20000/1000
2142
65
Neosat SX-9800CI
2580,3842
94
SuperMax
5790
66
Neosat SX-9600
3472, 3842, 8510
95
Taplin
3453
67
Neosat SX-9800I
2142
96
TechnoSat
3724, 2374,7176, 2606,1470, 2441, 3724,1250, 6893, 8766,1497
68
Neosat9800CI(old)
8510
97
Teleman
7176,1973
69
Next Wave
8503
98
Topfield
2606,2999
70
Nokia9800-9860-9600
1234
99
Toshiba
1048
71
Nokia 9200 S
147258
100
Truman TM-150, 100Plus, 160, 155, 7000, Vege
1004
72
Opensky
0786, 1777
101
Truman TM-7000 Plus /Xtream
8191
73
OpenStar
1234
102
Truman TM-100, 200
8175-2958
74
Opentel
0937,3472
103
Vantage
1404
75
Pace
9949
104
Vestel
8277,929526
76
Panasonic
3872,3472,1470,3725,2374 105
Viva
0786
77
Pansat
1668,1010
106
VIP
0282
78
Radix
9815
106
Vortec
2002,7777
79
Samsat
0937
107
Winnersat
0963
80
Samson SSI
9876
108
Wisplus
5030
81
Samsung
0235,7777
109
Wiztech
2020
82
Samsung702
9911
110
Xcruiser 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 750, 725
1250
83
Samsung202SVACI
1631
111
XricaX5
2613
84
SamsungDSR2000
Press Menu Key, Go To System Setup And Go To System Information, Enter 0000.
112
Zinwell
8888
APRIL
47
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
CHOICES IN TV ENTERTAINMENT
APRIL
48
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
PAKISTANI CHANNELS DIRECTORY Waseb TV
Asia Sat 3S 105.5oE
4166 H 5700 3/4
Seraiki Channel
TV-One, News One
Asia Sat 3S 105.5oE
4166 H 5700 3/4
Urdu Channel
Aaj News
Asia Sat 3S 105.5oE
PTV Home, News, World Geo News ATV A Lite / A Plus
4161 H 3040 3/4
Urdu News Channel
o
4091 V 13333 3/4
Urdu Channel
o
4180 V 26666 3/4
News Channels
o
4091 V 13333 3/4
Urdu Channel
o
4154 H 5632 3/4
Urdu Channel
o
Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E
PTV National
Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E
4114 V 7000 3/4
Urdu Channel
PTV Global USA
Asia Sat 3S 105.5oE
Hum TV Masala TV Style 360 Madani Channel
4106 V 2894 3/4
Urdu Channel
o
4132 H 9200 3/4
Urdu Channel
o
4132 H 9200 3/4
Cooking Channel
o
4132 H 9200 3/4
Fashion Channel
o
3738 V 2815 3/4
Religious Channel
o
Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E
KTN News
Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E
4084 H 5779 3/4
Sindhi News Channel
KTN / Kashish TV
Asia Sat 3S 105.5oE
Awaz TV DM Digital Global AJK TV ZAM TV
4084 H 5779 3/4
Sindhi Music Channel
o
4176 H 2250 3/4
Sindhi Channel
o
Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E Asia Sat 3S 105.5 E
4071 H 14240 3/4
Urdu Channel
o
3777 V 3333 3/4
Urdu Channel
o
4076 H 2539 3/4
Urdu Channel
Asia Sat 5 100.5 E ChinaStar 1 87.5 E
Starlite TV/ Silver Screen/ Flim World
Thaicom 78.5 E
3960 V 30000 5/6
Movie Channels
Apna Channel
Thaicom 78.5oE
3600 V 26667 3/4
Punjabi Channel
Joo Music
Thaicom 78.5oE
Apna Channel
VTV 4 Filmazia
o
3960 V 30000 3/4
Music Channel
o
3960 V 30000 5/6
Punjabi Channel
o
3600 H 26667 3/4
Educational Channel
Thaicom 78.5 E Thaicom 78.5 E o
Thaicom 78.5 E
3960 V 30000 5/6
Movie Channel Religious Channel
Hadi TV
Thaicom 78.5 E
3431 H 13333 3/4 3452 H 7188 2/3
Good News
Thaicom 78.5oE
3960 V 30000 5/6
Christian Channel
AVT Khyber
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
3796 H 7300 3/4
Pushto Channel
Khyber News
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
3796 H 7300 3/4
Pushto News Channel
Waqt TV
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
4003 H 2964 3/4
Urdu News Channel
Tensport Pak.
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
3744 H 20770 3/4
Irdeto-2
CNBC Pak
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
3810 H 3312 2/3
News Ch. Decoder
APRIL
o
50
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
APRIL
ARY Digital Asia/ UK Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
3864 H 19890 3/4
QTV / ARY The Musik Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
3864 H 19890 3/4
Urdu Channel Islamic Channel Music Channel Urdu Channel
ARY Mid. East ARY News
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
Hum TV
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
3774 H 3300 2/3
Urdu Channel
Aag TV
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
4124 V 19850 3/4
Music Channel Decoder Urdu News Channel
3864 H 19890 3/4
Samaa TV
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
4117 H 3333 2/3
Rohi
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
4143 H 3306 3/4
Seraiki Channel
Dawn News
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
4127 H 3255 3/4
English News Channel
Express News
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
4158 H 6510 3/4
Urdu News Channel
Dunya News
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
4150 H 6600 3/4
Urdu News Channel
AKS TV
Intelsat 7/10 68.5oE
3808 V 10340 3/4
Pakistani Movie Channel
VSH News
Paksat 38.0 oE
3809 H 2175 3/4
Balochi Channel
Royal News
Paksat 38.0 oE
3897 H 2500 3/4
Urdu Channel
Hadi TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
3893 H 1770 3/4
Religious Channel
Dhoom TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
4157 V 2850 3/4
Urdu News Channel
Sindh TV/Sindh News
Paksat 38.0 oE
3753 V 6500 3/4
Sindhi Channel
Ziaqa TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
3883 H 3000 3/4
Food Channel
N Vibe
Paksat 38.0 oE
3907 V 3255 3/4
Urdu Channel
Kook TV / Apna News
Paksat 38.0 oE
4145 V 6000 3/4
Punjabi News Channel Sindhi Channel
Dharti TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
3735 V 3333 3/4
Mehran TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
3730 V 2890 3/4
Sindhi Channel
Din News
Paksat 38.0 oE
4104 H 3000 3/4
Urdu News Channel
Zam Zam TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
3724 V 3255 3/4
Islamic Channel
City 42 News
Paksat 38.0 oE
3911 V 3100 3/4
Urdu News Channel
PTV Bolan
Paksat 38.0 oE
4035 H 2894 3/4
Balochi Channel
Oye
Paksat 38.0 oE
3864 H 3790 3/4
Music Channel
Punjab TV, Star Asia
Paksat 38.0 oE
3886 H 6200 3/4
Punjabi Channel
Play TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
3945 H 4700 3/4
Music Channel
Haq TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
3951 H 3240 3/4
Islamic Channel
N Vibe
Paksat 38.0 oE
3956 H 3255 3/4
Urdu Channel
ARY Nick/ARY Zauq/ARY M.E.
Paksat 38.0 oE
3968 H 11480 3/4
Kids / Urdu Cooking Channel
Value TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
3998 V 2850 3/4
Urdu Channel
Ravi TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
3917 V 3333 3/4
Punjabi Channel
Metro One
Paksat 38.0 oE
4115 H 3333 3/4
Urdu Channel
G Kaboom
Paksat 38.0 oE
4031 H 3248 3/4
Music Channel
MTV Pakistan/Indus Vision
Paksat 38.0 oE
3814 H 4666 3/4
Music Channel
Business Plus
Paksat 38.0 oE
4110 H 3255 3/4
Urdu News Channel
Indus News
Paksat 38.0 oE
4120 H 2850 3/4
Urdu News Channel
Apna News/Kook TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
3785 H 2850 3/4
Punjabi Channel
Oxygene
Paksat 38.0 oE
3797 H 3255 3/4
Urdu Channel
Channel 5
Paksat 38.0 oE
4026 H 3255 3/4
Urdu Channel
Sohni Dharti TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
4149 V 2800 3/4
Agricultural Channel
Sabzbaat Balochistan
Paksat 38.0 oE
3819 V 2222 3/4
Balochi Channel Islamic Channel
Kohenoor TV
Paksat 38.0 oE
4153 V 3333 3/4
PTV Global
EuroBird-1 28.5 oE
11224 V 27500 3/4
Urdu Channel
Aapna Des
EuroBird-1 28.5 oE
11260 V 27500 2/3
Kashmiri Channel Urdu News Channel
ARY News
EuroBird-1 28.5 oE
11390 V 27500 2/3
Geo UK/Aag TV/QTV
EuroBird-1 28.5 oE
11426 V 27500 2/3
Urdu Channels
DM News
EuroBird-1 28.5 oE
11344 H 27500 2/3
Urdu News Channel
ARY Digital M.E
Nilesat 101 7.0 oW
11804 H 27500 3/4
Urdu Channel Decoder
Geo USA
Nilesat 101 7.0 oW
11881 H 27500 3/4
Urdu Channel Decoder
Aaj TV
Nilesat 101 7.0 oW
10930 H 27500 3/4
Urdu News Channel
Dawn News
Nilesat 101 7.0 oW
12303 H 27500 3/4
English News Channel
51
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
SATELLITE TV SERVICES PUSHING CABLE OUT
The popularity of Dish TV and other direct-to-home services has surged in the wake of a ban on the airing of Indian TV channels on cable. PEMRA, in compliance with a Supreme Court judgment, clamped the ban in August. Several cable operators started airing the banned channels with different names. PEMRA took notice and penalised some, but has failed to make the enforcement effective. The ban has been a boon for some electronics traders whose stocks of Dish TV (and other direct-to-home equipment) are fast running out. The sale of Indian Satellite TVs has increased by 30 to 35 per cent after the ban, Basit Jahangir, a salesperson at an electronics shop, said. “I have sold more than 200 satellite TV receivers in 20 days.” Jabbar Ahmad Khan, the Cable Operators' Association Pakistan (CAP) central president, said that cable operators were fast losing subscriptions following the ban. He worried that the surge in the sale of satellite TV services will further damage their business. Dish TV and Tata Sky, two APRIL
most popular satellite services in the city markets, provide more than 200 Indian channels. Dish TV is available at Rs6,500 to Rs7,500, with monthly subscription charges of Rs600 and installation charges from Rs400 to Rs700. It provides more than 200 channels, including the ones banned by PEMRA. Tata Sky is available at Rs8,900 to Rs9,500 with Rs500 per month subscription fee. “The first thing customers entering our shops ask is whether Dish TV and Tata Sky will provide access to the banned Indian channels,” says Mirza Saeed, a shopkeeper at Hall Road. He said that most customers first take a round of the market to survey the available satellite services. “Only when they're sure about the exact number of Indian channels and whether it'll provide access to Star Plus do they make a purchase.” He said that most viewers were ready to pay the additional monthly costs to watch these channels. Roshan Khan, a shopper, said that he was not fond of the banned channels but his wife and two daughters had been pushing him for days to buy a satellite TV service. “They are addicted to Indian channels and can no longer think about life without them,” he said. “What else can they do,” he continued, “with no place safe to go for recreation outdoors, their only source of entertainment is television.”
56
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
How to Purchase Free Satellite TV Referrals from websites or from the magazines will help you to choose the best of satellite TV services. In recent year's competitions has emerged and has bought satellite TV service providers to drop the rates so that they could attract more customers. The service providers of satellite TV, the dish network and dish TV gets its customers with the best of apparatus such as a four television satellite system, free installation from the professionals, a high definition TV receiver, a digital video recorder and also other offers. These offers can include home theater systems and free satellite radio. While other may include a free internet connection, lifetime warranty and even free upgrades of different program packages. There are some providers that will offer their customers with one TV receiver while other might offer two receivers. Customer can now get a free satellite TV without even involving any of its service providers. A large number of unencrypted free to air satellite TV channels are available in the market. The consumer can now buy these channels without even paying any kind of subscription fees to the satellite TV service APRIL
providers. However, to benefit with high range of offers and channels, the customer needs to buy the right TV receiving equipments and should be able to install them appropriately. There are many people who are selling the best of satellite TV, but it is easy to find an appropriate company by navigating through the computers. The next step is to finalize the preferences and evaluating the equipments in terms of size and their functions. The customer needs to choose the right one which can be easily adjusted in his budget. There are other satellite TV apparatus that are sold in the market which could include, receivers, antennas and other form of satellite television related equipments. The customer must enquire from his near and dear ones to get a basic idea about the satellite TV equipments. He must also ask questions to the retailer or to the vendor about the dish network products. The subscriber must also take an initiative to enquire about different packages or other schemes and benefits that are provided by the satellite TV. The customer must keep in mind to buy the right choice of dish antenna, motor, LNB and TV receiver.
57
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
we provide digital headends complete solution from Grundig Scupus Motorola Tandberg Scientific Atlanta Arris Harmonics Blankom Drake
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view In 1976 President Soeharto of the Republic of Indonesia, gave the name PALAPA to the first Indonesian satellite. At that time Indonesia was the 3rd nation in the world to use satellites as its telecommunications infrastructure. Indonesia can be proud of this fact, because Indonesia's neighbors Singapore, Malaysia,
IT IS TIME TO USE THE
KU-BAND
Satellite Communications Systems are infrastructures that can be used for broadband multimedia applications. In the communication satellite field, the C-band (4-6 GHz) frequencies have been used since the beginning and are now saturated. The Ku-band (11-18 GHz) has been used also for communication satellite systems, because with this frequency a bigger bandwidth can be applied. The Ku-band has other advantages, such as avoidance of interference with terrestrial microwave systems that often use the C-band frequency. However, for Indonesia, the use of the Ku-band needs a thorough examination because frequencies above 10 GHz are vulnerable to rain, especially heavy rain that often occurs in Indonesia. This article examines the possibility of using the Ku-band for satellite communication systems in Indonesia. APRIL
the Philippines and Thailand had not yet shown any interest in having their own satellites. Indeed, considering Indonesia's geographical features: consisting of islands stretching from West to East and from South to North, it is reasonable for Indonesia to adopt a satellite platform for its communications system. By using satellites one can obtain wide coverage, quick rollout of facilities (compared to buried optic fiber cables) unconstrained by natural conditions and distance. Indonesia is now not alone in Southeast Asia/East Asia in utilizing satellite services for voice, video and data. Twenty years after the historic launch of its first satellite in 1976, Malaysia and Thailand have launched their own satellites, followed by Singapore and Taiwan constructing their satellite cooperatively. In addition are Hongkong, Korea (Koreasat) and Japan (JCSAT). The frequency bands used for satellite communications have also developed. Besides using the C-band, the use of the Ku-band has become more and more popular, even though Indonesian satellite operators are still unsure about the technical feasibility of using the Ku-band in Indonesia. The use of the Ku-band for satellite communications in tropical regions like Indonesia seems to become more frequent. We observe that several satellites “parked� above Indonesia have Ku-band transponders, and even Ka-band transponders. Just look at the satellite owned by NewSkies (NSS 6), launched in December 2002 and positioned at 95° East.
59
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
AROUND THE SATELLITE WORLD
IRAN BLOCKING HOT BIRD SIGNALS The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) announced that Iran has been blocking various Eutelsat Hot Bird satellite signals since late December, following its reporting of the death of reformist cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri. BBC Persia, along with Voice of America from the United States, are among the services immediately affected.
Music, Teletrack and Sur Sangeet, says a press release. Cable networks found relaying these channels were shut down and their equipment seized.
SUN TV CHANNELS IN EUROPE
PEMRA CRACKS DOWN ON GAMBLING
Sun TV Network Europe, a wholly owned subsidiary company of Sun TV, will broadcast and distribute Sun's channels in UK and Europe."The Sun TV channels are currently being distributed indirectly. In UK and Europe Sun TV will directly deal with the distribution platform providers," says a source. Sun TV had announced the restructuring of its distribution business earlier in order to expand its footprint across the globe via all fixed networks including cable, DTH and internet protocol television.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has launched a crackdown operation against the cable TV networks in the country which "are propagating immoral and unethical activities through their respective networks." These cable TV networks were promoting gambling through various illegal satellite TV channels such as Love Music, Joo APRIL
60
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
AROUND THE SATELLITE WORLD
MORE EUROPEAN TV CHANNELS Almost 250 new European TV channels were launched in 2010, according to a research study created for the DG Communication Division of the European Commission by the European Audiovisual Observatory (EOA). The study, a part of the EOA's 2010 Data Yearbook, also shows that about 220 channels ceased transmission in 2010. European satellite TV offerings in increased from 51 at the end of 2009 to 60 at the end of 2010. The EOA said the report indicates high levels of competition particularly in Hungary, Poland and Romania, where each country has five different satellite-TV operators.
and discoveries, human body, astronomy, genetics, exploration, medical advances and space. Discovery Turbo will carry shows on cars, boats, bikes and aircrafts among others. Discovery Science is priced at Rs. 12 & Discovery Turbo is priced at Rs 10 for non CAS markets. The 2 new channels add to the existing 3 channel Discovery bouquet, which earlier consisted of Discovery, Discovery Travel & Living & Animal Planet. The new channels will also be distributed by the One Alliance.
NEW TELANGANA TV CHANNEL
TWO NEW DISCOVERY CHANNELS Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, a division of Discovery Communications, has launched 2 new, non-fiction channels India. The new channels – Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo, were initially launched on the Tata Sky DTH platform. However, the 2 new channels would soon be pushed through analog and digital Cable TV platforms across the country, said Mr Rahul Johri, senior Vice-President and general manager for India, Discovery Networks Asia Pacific. Discovery expects to launch one more channel in India in the near-term, Mr Johri said. Discovery Science will have programmes focused on scientific research APRIL
Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhar Rao launched his new TV channel - Telangana TV on January 28. The aim of the channel is to "Create an awareness among Telangana people on the injustice being meted out to the people here in every field." “We have tried to do it with the help of existing TV channels but they didn’t cooperate it,’’ K Chandrasekhar Rao told the press while attending a meeting of cable operators and Gowda Association separately at Narsapur on 25th January. He exuded confidence that if separate State was formed, Telangana would emerge front runner in all the fields as it is endowed with rich natural resources.
61
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
AROUND THE SATELLITE WORLD
200 CHANNELS ON DD DTH The I&B Minister Ambika Soni has asked Prasar Bharati to ramp up its DD Direct+ free-to-air DTH platform to offer 200 TV channels. As of now DD Direct+ carries 21 DD TV channels + 36 Indian private sector and international FTA channels. It also carries 21 radio channels of All India Radio. The DD DTH signals cover all of India except the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. "We are discussing the matter with the Prasar Bharati people, and I have asked them to try to increase the number of FTA channels to about 200," I&B Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after releasing the annual India 2010 and Bharat 2010 reference manual brought out by the Publications Division and the Research and Reference Division of her Ministry. The minister also said that the decision to increase the number of channels on DD DTH was in consonance with the objectives of the Ministry to make the public broadcaster of maximum use to the public.
NEARLY 846 MILLION PAY TV SUBSCRIBERS IN 2014 Despite a depressed economy, global pay TV markets continue to grow. According to the latest market data from ABI Research, they will expand by a quarter from 2009 to 2014. Industry analyst Michael Inouye says that, “Cable will remain the largest pay TV platform, satellite the second-largest and telco TV the smallest (DTT aside), but the latter will show the fastest growth, more than doubling its share by 2014, albeit starting from a much smaller base. Most of the subscribers captured by telco TV will be lured away from cable services.” The growth of pay TV services is driven by three major factors: the ongoing digital transition
APRIL
and a parallel rise in demand for premium content, new operators and offers, and new features such as interactivity, video on demand (VOD), and personal video recording (PVR). “Interactivity is a feature mainly found in mature markets,” notes Inouye.
ASTRO SELECTS PACE SET-TOP BOX FOR HD SERVICE Pace plc (LSE:PIC), the leading developer of digital TV technologies for the payTV industry, today announces it is providing the set-top box technology to support the launch of Malaysia’s first high-definition (HD) service. ASTRO ALL ASIA NETWORKS plc (ASTRO), Malaysia’s leading crossmedia broadcaster and direct-to-home (DTH) satellite payTV operator, has selected Pace for the premium service, which launched in December 2009. ASTRO is Pace’s first HD customer in Asia. ASTRO currently broadcasts over 100 payTV channels across Malaysia and Brunei to over 2.8 million subscribers in multiple languages. With Pace’s DS830NA set-top box, ASTRO was able to add five new HD channels initially to its existing line-up of programming that includes HBO HD, ESPN HD, Astro Supersports HD, History HD and National Geographic HD. Offering full MPEG-4 support and integrated ethernet capability, the DS830NA will be core to ASTRO’s long term expansion plans, providing the operator with the flexibility to develop its digital portfolio through the rollout of new HD services and other interactive service applications.
62
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
AROUND THE SATELLITE WORLD
UK BUYS ANOTHER SKYNET 5 MILITARY COMMS SATELLITE Paradigm, a wholly owned subsidiary of Astrium Services, has signed a contract with the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to extend and enhance the Skynet 5 private finance initiative (PFI) programme. This will involve the manufacture, launch, test and operation of a fourth satellite, Skynet 5D, and the extension of the Skynet 5 contract by two years until 2022. The contract extension will guarantee UK MOD additional capacity on the Skynet 5 constellation. Eric Beranger, CEO of Astrium Services said: "The Skynet 5 programme was a pioneering step in the provision of milsatcoms via a commercial operator. In the past six years we have not only met the exacting requirements of UK MoD, but have also provided a comprehensive and flexible service to allied nations worldwide. The Skynet 5 satellites have the highest powered X-band transponders in orbit, a highly flexible uplink beam configuration, coupled with a world leading anti-jamming antenna to ensure that the constellation is extremely effective against hostile or non-hostile interference.
ASTRA 3B BEGINS INTEGRATION Satellite preparations for Arianespace's first mission of 2011 have transitioned into their final phase, with the ASTRA 3B payload making its first contact with Ariane 5 launcher hardware. During activity inside the Spaceport's S5 payload integration building, ASTRA 3B was installed atop a two-piece adapter unit that will serve as the satellite's interface with Ariane 5. This clears the satellite for integration in Ariane 5's payload "stack," which will be completed inside the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building with its companion spacecraft - COMSATBw-2. The Ariane 5 ECA heavy-lift vehicle with ASTRA 3B and COMSATBw-2 is scheduled for launch on March 24, opening another busy year for APRIL
Arianespace's workhorse vehicle. A total of seven Ariane 5 flights are planned during 2011, maintaining the mission pace in response to the company's growing international order book.
INMARSAT LOOKING AT L-BAND Andrew Sukawaty, CEO at Inmarsat, says the satellite operator is looking at its 5th Generation plans, and is considering L-Band and Ka-band for investment. “We really should be shot as a management team if we weren’t looking at this,” Sukawaty told Space News, a specialist trade newspaper. “But we have made no decisions. We need to consider spectrum availability, orbital slots in geostationary orbit, a whole host of factors. Everything is on the table.” Inmarsat has sent out a Request For Proposals to satellite manufacturers and has asked that they evaluate a fifth-generation satellite system. Inmarsat is already using 4th Generation birds, and the oldest was launched in 2005 which means the fleet is good until about 2020 without need for replacement. Inmarsat is also looking at an S-Band craft in order to exploit frequencies granted to Inmarsat by the EU. (Solaris Mobile is also using a portion of the S-Band under a similar EU license). However, Sukawaty says Inmarsat wants further clarification of the EU licensing system, and ideally would want a co-investing partner for S-Band.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
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18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
SATELLITE TROUBLE SHOOTER
SATELLITE
TROUBLE SHOOTER
CHANNEL GETTING
CABLE CHANNELS
I have a JVC LT-32EX18 LCD TV and hooked it up to the SAT cable from the set top box. I can only get one channel? (Shakir Lakhani, Karachi) Ans: An old crt and NSTC compatible. An old crt and the cable was hooked it only captured one channel the automatic channel selector but it up to is supposed to is supposed to the new TV is an old crt and NSTC. The TV the cable and ran the cable was hooked to be pal and ran the sat cable was hooked it only captured one channel the new TV the automatic channel selector.
How do I hook up a stereo receiver Q:2(TV/sat) to a TV? what cables do I need? (Javed Iqbal, Rawalpindi) Ans: Check if you didn’t accidentally connected to the input of the TV instead of the output, and the same on the receiver. For
video game systems and the TV you should probably get stereo receiver that the TV you should probably get stereo receiver that connects to tricolor cord yellow red and white that the. For video game systems and DVD players. APRIL
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
SATELLITE TROUBLE SHOOTER
LOW SIGNALS on an outside wall, Q:3IfwillI putthetheroofdishoverhang cause a problem? (Mubashir Mahmood, Faisalabad) Ans: The signal comes in about 20 degrees above the dish. Therefore, a large overhang could block the signal if the dish is too high and too close. If you have a large overhang, have someone hold the dish in place and take a good look at the side view to be sure you have clearance.
INDEPENDENT CHANNELS
want all my TV's to be Q:5Iindependent, so any TV can be tuned to satellite and any other TV can be tuned to local channels, or vice versa. But, my house is pre-wired for cable and only has one cable in the wall to all my TV's. Can I do this without running more cables to the other rooms? (Imtiaz Akhter, Peshawar) Ans: Yes, you can have the satellite receiver output and local channels in the same cable, as long as the frequencies are far enough apart. Remember, the satellite receiver's standard output is to either channel 3 or channel 4. If all the local channels were above VHF channel 6 or UHF channels, there shouldn't be a problem. However, most areas have a local channel 3 or 4 or another channel that is so close to the receiver's channel 3 or 4, you would have interference.
6000 HDTV RECEIVER I add an older receiver or a Q:4Can 6000 HDTV receiver to a new DishPro LNB? (Hamza Arshad, Lahore) Ans: Any receiver that doesn't have 301, 501, 508, 510 or 721 in the part number is called a legacy receiver. You can use a legacy receiver with the new DishPro LNB, but you will need a Legacy adapter to change the frequency. The little adapter goes behind the
DIGITAL TV is this Computer Digital TV Q:6 What stuff? I want to get satellite channels through computer? (Tahir Hassan, New York) Ans: In this modern world where you can get the news on your cell phone or the latest movies on your ipod, you should be able to access thousands of TV channels where and when you want. What you're looking for is one of the software packages that allow you to access TV on your computer at home.
receiver and is connected with a piece of RG6 cable. Another piece of RG-6 cable goes from the adapter to the DP LNB. APRIL
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2011
18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
SATELLITE TROUBLE SHOOTER
SATELLITE TV
SINGLE LNB
do I need to receive Satellite Q:7 What TV? I am watching TV channels
more than one TV Q:10atCantheyousamewatch time? Which receive
through cable these days? (Abid Ansari, Peshawar) Ans: This is the most visible component, a parabolic reflector which may consist of Solid Aluminum, Perforated Aluminum or WIRE MESH. Dish sizes vary from small (34 feet KU BAND, EUROPE) all the way to 16-20 Ft (USA Commercial C-BAND) with the average falling between 7-12 ft, 10 ft being most common. This device focuses the microwave signals coming from the satellites much as the mirror in a reflecting telescope concentrates the light from distant galaxies.
should be used for it? (Nasar Ahmad, Quetta) Ans: In a single LNB, single receiver system, you can watch a single channel on multiple TV's, if you have cabled from your receiver to each TV. It is not possible to watch different channels with this system. To watch different channels you need DUAL LNB's for C and DUAL LNB's for KU. You will also need a separate receiver for each location, and a fairly complex means of splitting and distributing the incoming cables. It can be done, cable companies do it all the time, but it is probably not worth the effort, especially if you want to view subscription channels because the bad news is you will need to pay another subscription for EACH LOCATION. That can be expensive. However, having at least two receivers is not a bad idea, and fairly easy to do.
BROADCAST TV types of things can I see with Q:8 What a satellite system that I might not find on Cable or Broadcast TV? (Hussain Kamal, via e-mail) Ans: Live uncensored coverage of news feeds, with no anchor man or reporter, just see the news as it happens before live cameras. Major events like the WACO debacle and the L.A. riots from multiple feed points, You select the angle and shot you want to watch. Teleconferences and meetings of various businesses and organizations, while many of these are scrambled, quite a few are not. Specialty and narrowcast shows, some examples include a 24 hour gold prospecting channel, a channel for long haul truckers, etc.
APRIL
DISH ANTENNA I receive international Q:11 Can satellites on my dish? What should be the size of dish antenna? (Adnan Iqbal, Hyderabad) Ans: This depends on where you live, what size dish you have, and how low you can "aim" your dish to the horizon. Playing with the Intelsats, Panamsat, and the Russian Statsionar birds is something that folks on the East coast of the USA do all the time. You should have a large dish though, 16 to 20 feet to really do the job, though people have picked up signals with dishes as small as 7 1/2 feet from as far west as Minnesota. With the average 10 to 12 foot dish you may do just fine. To receive the signals, you will need a few modifications to your system.
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18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
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www.tracksat.com
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Inside view
HIGH DEFINITION SATELLITE DISH TV TV When thinking high definition, the vision that instantly pops into one's mind is DVD quality video. Most people have come to expect television to be what it has always been, digital but not actually high quality video. Now however with the easy and cost effective availability of high definition satellite dish TV, the very best in video quality is now available to every person. This is precisely the reason everybody who loves TV just has to get hold of high definition satellite dish TV. There are a wide range of packages available from various satellite TV providers and these even come with auxiliary packages like high speed broadband internet for about ten dollars a month. Other auxiliary services include a special assistance service for about five to six dollars per month that gets subscribers twenty four hour assistance with any problem with the receiver or the dish, so that there is never a moment when satellite TV is unavailable. The most basic high definition satellite dish TV packages start at about twenty dollars a month which gets a subscriber a clutch of the most popular and informative channels. These packages are great for people with APRIL
hectic lifestyles who prefer to focus their television viewing experience to a few channels. The mid range set of high definition satellite dish TV packages are those in the thirty five to forty dollar per month range. These packages pack a good one hundred and twenty channels at least and provide hours of endless choice entertainment. Of course the high end packages on any of the high definition satellite dish TV systems come with a whopping two hundred and fifty channels and more. Most of the high end packages also come with receivers that are capable of recording television programming so that a subscriber may play any missed programming later. Unlike conventional cable TV that most people subscribe to, high definition satellite dish TV gives the subscriber a number of choices like which channels to subscribe to. Satellite TV also provides subscribers with the convenience of being able to setup a dish and receiver at any location, including the most remote. These systems always come with installation instructions which include the direction and elevation at which a dish must be pointed at to receive the best broadcast from the satellite broadcaster.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
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Inside view
Discussion of the
LNB The LNB is the part that attaches to the end of the arm in front of the dish. The dish reflects the satellite signal into the LNB where it is captured, processed, amplified, and sent down the coaxial cable to the satellite receiver. The term LNB comes down from the "C" band (large dish) days and stands for Low Noise Blockdown converter. The LNB is powered by a DC voltage from the receiver which also controls polarity switching in the LNB. There are several styles of LNB's used in the DBS (small dish) industry. The most popular are probably the RCA (rectangular mounting tube) and the Dish Network ("D" tube). Hughes uses a "flat pack" style, but also sometimes ships its systems with an RCA or a Dish Network style LNB. Sony has its own style which is not interchangeable with any other. Other less popular systems such as Hitachi and Uniden generally use one of the styles already mentioned, but occasionally an odd different style will show up. Although each LNB style must be used with a compatible dish style so it will attach properly to the APRIL
dish arm, all DBS (Primestar not included) receivers will work with any of the DBS Dish/LNB combinations. In other words, an RCA receiver can be attached to a Sony dish or even a Dish Network dish. Each LNB style is made in two versions single and dual. A single LNB has only one output and can be connected to only one receiver. This signal cannot be split to two receivers because this would interfere with the polarity control and cause loss of channels. A dual LNB has two independent outputs which can be connected to two receivers each with full control of all channels. More than two receivers requires the use of a multiswitch. If your system brings in only some of the channels you are subscribing to, you may have a polarity switching problem. The satellite receiver sends out a DC voltage over the coaxial cable to the LNB at the dish to power the LNB circuitry and to switch between left and right hand circular transponder polarization. The polarity switching is accomplished by changing the DC voltage between 13 and 18 volts.
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2011
PARAS HD ELECTRONICS
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18 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
esearch from media analyst Screen Digest, carried out in collaboration with trade body Cable Europe, has revealed that Europe's cable industry showed strong performance in 2008, experiencing an increase in total revenues of 5.4 per cent. Total revenue reached E18.8 billion in Europe during 2008, of which E17.4 billion was generated by European Union countries. The last few years have seen competition intensifying in the TV market with new IPTV, satellite and DTT services vying with cable. The result has been a slowing of growth in the number of households with cable but an increase in ARPU explained by a higher uptake of triple-play services. Triple-play has had a crucial role in maintaining growth across Europe's cable markets, enabling revenue growth even in markets where the core subscriber base is declining. The average number of services taken by subscriber is 1.29 in Europe overall, 1.40 in the EU and 1.42 in Western Europe. This suggests that cable operators still have ample margin for triple-play growth. At present, triple-play is most popular in the UK and Spain. Screen Digest believes that digital cable TV will continue to drive revenue over the
R
APRIL
coming years. The UK remains Europe's largest digital cable TV market with 3.5 million digital homes, followed by Germany with 3.3 million directly served digital homes and the Netherlands at 2 million homes. At the end of 2008 there were 67.5 million unique cable homes in the European Union and 71.6 million in Europe as a whole Total digital penetration in the EU stood at 29 per cent, bringing the number of digital cable homes to 18 million. 27 per cent of EU cable homes subscribe to cable Internet services. 21 per cent of EU cable homes subscribe to telephony services from their cable provider. The UK that has the largest number of cable digital TV, cable Internet and cable telephony subscribers in Europe. The cable industry in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is well established, providing services to between 30-35 million homes across the region. However, it is also an industry under intense pressure from competing platforms. Cable's response to the growing competition from DTH and IPTV has been to consolidate and invest heavily in upgrading its infrastructure. This is finally starting to bear fruit as more and more operators roll out such additional services as digital TV, VOD and HD channels.
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