TELEVISION MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2012 Nº 20
““This market will always demand products with advanced technology”” Interview with Geraldino Silva, Ikusi’s Commercial Representative in Portugal
Discover our new products in http://www.youtube.com/IkusiTV
Interview with Armando
Instalação de referência P.
2 Portela, Director of Armando
Portela Ltd.
2 Ikusi, I have a question
P. Ikusi… Tenho uma dúvida
Collaborating with hotels in 3 Portugal and in Sao Tomé Problema resolvido and Príncipe P.
When distance is not a
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Entrevista a...
Geraldino Silva has developed his entire professional career, half of his life, at Ikusi. He first collaborated in 1983, and since the end of 2011, alongside another former colleague of Ikusi,
Agostinho Gomes, he has created the company Digitalmux, which now operates as Ikusi’s branch for the Portuguese market and some African countries.
Adam Sehnalek, from the Czech Republic, wins the Flashd antenna competition
Representative in Portugal
Novidades Ikusi
Ikusi launches new web
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futuro
instalación de referencia
The video competition launched by Ikusi to pro- visibility of the fixing system -the main distinguismote the Flashd antenna, the only antenna on the hing feature of the Flashd antenna-, the fast asmarket with automatic fixing system, now has Ikusi… a sembly, how it reflects the easy installation and the Tengo una duda winner. The Czech installer, Adam Sehnalek, one security it provides the installer and, of course, the of Ikusi’s clients, whose video has earned him the video’s originality. new iPad, the prize awarded to the winner of the competition. The winning video can be viewed, along with the rest of the entries, on the web www.concursoflasWhen choosing the winning video, the panel took hd.com and on www.youtube.com/concursoflasinto consideration its freshness and simplicity,problema the hd. solucionado
Interview with Geraldino
4 Silva, Ikusi’s Commercial
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Ikusi antennas and filters,
6 the best protection against
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the LTE signal
Sabia que...?
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Downstream and upstream LTE signals
Os nossos clientes falam
Building closer ties with the 7 sector’s organisations
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presencia Ikusi
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“One of Ikusi’s contributions to the Portuguese market could be to provide more information to distributors and technicians”
reference installation
Interview with Armando Portela, Director of Armando Portela Ltd. Armando Portela LTD was established in 2007 in Vila Nova de Gaia, promoted by its current director, Armando Portela, who has more than 30 years of experience in the sector. In the first few years it focused its activity on individuals and collective antennas; nowadays, it has expanded to other areas such as access control, fire systems and networks, among other activities, which it carries out, particularly in northern and central areas of Portugal. When and why did you start collaborating with Ikusi? I started to work with Ikusi 25 years ago and when I set up my own company one of my priorities was to continue working with the same manufacture because I believe Ikusi’s products are high quality. What do you rate highest in the relationship you have had over the years with Ikusi? I would say the collaboration between the two companies, the respect from both sides, the proximity with its professionals and the quality and reliability of its products. What Ikusi products do you use most at this time? The material that sells the most is mast equipment, but I would particularly highlight the ClassA headends.
As was the case in other countries, I imagine that the analogue switch-off must have represented a boost for the sector’s business. From now on how do you think the sector will be invigorated? It was an intense period, in which the demand for equipment was huge, but it was very rewarding given the country’s economic situation. Now we are entering the digital era, it will be necessary to incorporate HDTV products to our offer and to use our extensive experience in the business areas we have already mentioned in order to reach other markets whilst maintaining proximity with the client. The world of television is subject to continuous technological changes. How are companies and their workers kept permanently up to date with new developments and what role does a company like Ikusi play in that permanent updating process? It is true that we make an effort to remain up to date with new technologies in order to tackle the requests for information and offers from our clients. In this field, we believe that one of Ikusi’s contributions to the Portuguese market could be to provide more information to distributors and technicians in order to keep them up to date and, even more so, to ensure they are at the forefront of this technology.
Ikusi... I have a question
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Is the NBS broadband amplifier series ready for the Digital Dividend? This series of amplifiers is equipped with a plug-in bridge that allows you to switch problemtosolved the frequency range be amplified, making it ready for the Digital Dividend.
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The S.M.A.R.T software on Ikusi’s field strength meters gives a licence error message and I can’t use it. This software only works with a free liceninterview with... se that you must request by filling out a form on our official website.
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What should I do if I have forgotten the IP address or the access password to the web tool of one of my streamers? In order to recover the streamer’s default new developments IP address or password you needintoIkusi reset the module using the Hyperterminal software and a DB9 Null cable (crossed RS232).
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What should I do if I only want to transmit the audio in a particular language at the transmodulator’s output? future In order to carry out this action you need to block the audio PIDs that are not required in the service at the device’s output using the SPI-300 programming unit.
did you know that...?
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digi tal era, the ing ter en are we “Now e H DT V at or rp co in to y ar ss ce it will be ne e our ex tensive us and er off r ou to s pr odu ct rk et s ma her ot h ac re to r de ex perience in or the client. “ th wi ity im ox pr ing in whilst mainta
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reference installation
Collaborating with hotels in Portugal and in Sao Tomé and Príncipe Ikusi... I have a question
Ikusi solutions
Installer: Armando Portela The hotel problem sector solved is one of the sectors that can boost the business in Portugal with its need to offer its customers and users multiple channels with a high-quality image. The installer Armando Portela has participated in two projects for top-level hotel installations, in Portugal and on the island of Sao Tomé and interview with... Príncipe in the Gulf of Guinea. At the Troia Resort in Setúbal, a headend with classA modulators has been installed which receives AV signals and converts them to RF. The whole packet from the OPTIMUS operator is received via fibre optics at the optical terminals (ONT) and network inswitch new the developments Ikusi outputs are connected to the operator’s STBoxes. These signals are delivered to the network after bereference installation ing converted to RF with the MCP. There are a total of 28 channels that offer a service to 3 hotels and to some communal areas. An installation which uses a 1-Km fibrefuture optic link with the FTD-420 optical transmitter and the FRD-400 receiver in order to Ikusi...optical I have a question take these channels to one of the hotels.
The Troia Resort is a top-level tourist complex with a total of 500 connections. Armando Portela also carries out its activity overseas, such as the project developed in Sao Tomé and Príncipe for two hotels in the Pestana chain, for the reception of Satellite TV on KU and C Bands, with Terrestrial television launching channels. The project required the installation of a headend that provides a service to two hotels and a residential complex with 40 homes. The headend is located in one of the hotels, the entire distribution network of both hotels is coaxial, whilst the connection between the hotels and the housing development is made via optic fibre.
Ikusi presence Ikusi solutions
did you know that...? problem solved
When distance is not a problem our clients speak
interview with...
Installer: Sousa & Pacheco, Lda. Ikusi’s official assistance in Portugal since 1999. launching The company Sousa & Pacheco received the assignment of developing an installation which ensured the cable operator’s signal arrived alongside the CCTV signal. A standard project at first glance, but its difficulty lies in the size of the esnew developments in Ikusi tate where the installation was performed. From the switching cabinet on the roadside to the main building there is a distance of 1.2 km. To which we have to add the large number of channels to be switched: 8 QAM carriers, 40 RF channels and 1 COFDM. The project future carried out by Sousa & Pacheco on this estate located in the municipal territory of Paredes has ensured the operator’s and the CCTV signals arrive, with digital quality, at all terminal points of the main home, guaranteeing all the quality parameters of the Portuguese ITED regulations and the perfect operation of the STBoxes with the operator’s channels. did you Premium know that...?
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In order to install this solution many different Ikusi products have been used, such as the FTD-420 optical transmitter, the FSP-304 optical distribu-
tor, the HPA-120 amplifier, the ClassA BAS-700 base, the AV-COFDM MAC-HOME modulator and the FRD-400 optical receiver.
“The difficulty lies in the size of the estate and in the large number of channels to be switched: 8 QAM carriers, 40 RF channels and 1 COFDM.” Ikusi presence
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“This market will always demand products with advanced technology” new developments in Ikusi
Geraldino Silva has developed his entire professional career, half of his life, at Ikusi. He first collaborated in 1983, and since the end of 2011, alongside another former colleague of Ikusi, future Agostinho Gomes, he has created the company Digitalmux, which now operates as Ikusi’s branch for the Portuguese market and some African countries. Portugal culminated its analogue switch-off process last April with the incorporation to digital television of the Lisbon area. What has did you know that...? the switch-off meant to Ikusi’s business? That is correct, the final switch-off, in its last phase and on the transmitters with the greatest coverage, was carried out in April. As we could easily predict, there has been significant demand in various our products, such as Flashd antennas clients speak and mast amplifiers. Due to the technical characteristics of the DTT signal (MPEG4 and codec AAC) we have not been able to make the most of the business opportunities in the market of communal STBoxes and headends. Of the devices that Ikusi has launched onto the market, which have had the greatest success in Portugal?
In all these years, and without a doubt, the Flashd antenna.
What image does the Portuguese market have of Ikusi and its offer of products?
What are the particular characteristics of the Ikusi presence Portuguese market and what is its current situation?
Ikusi has always had a good image and it has remained at a high level due to the effective quality of its products and the care and respect we have placed in our commercial relations with all players in the market.
The Portuguese individual, terrestrial and satellite market is very strong and competitive. The offer of free-to-view channels is very small (4 DTT channels), and with the arrival of cable operators and their strong investments, more than 80% of the most important cities has been cabled very quickly (coaxial cable and FTTH). There are a considerable number of communal ones but they have to compete with important companies and with the aggressive nature of these operators, which also broadcast their channel packets via Hispasat.
What type of devices do you think the Portuguese market will demand in the future? Of all the questions this is undoubtedly the most difficult to answer. In any case, I think that this market will always demand products with advanced technology, without forgetting competitive prices. With construction at a standstill, I believe it will be the hotel market that will generate the most demand.
On the other hand, all the country’s economic activity is currently suffering due to the intervention of the global financial community, and the investment in new projects and in renovations is practically zero. And, therefore, the current activity also depends on businesses that work with former Portuguese colonies (Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde...)
“Ikusi has always had a good image and it has remained at a high level due to the effective quality of its products and the care and respect we have placed in our commercial relations with all players in the market. “
We have launched a new website www.ikusi.tv Ikusi Multimedia has just launched a specific website that has been created with the main objective of providing its clients with access to all the information about relevant services. A page designed to ensure users can quickly and simply access all the information about Ikusi’s catalogue of products, which now also contains options to simplify the search for product updates, as well as allowing support requests to be sent online.
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In short, a page entirely focused on the business, which aspires to become a vehicle of communication with clients, on which Ikusi continues to work in order to gradually incorporate new useful services. The publication of the new web has coincided with a change in Ikusi’s logo. Since 2010, Ikusi has been part of the Ormazabal business group which has now changed its name to Velatia. Therefore, Ikusi’s new logo now includes the name Velatia at the bottom. i-news
DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL RECEPTION WITH ANALOGUE OUTPUT
THF-011
Solution for shared use and hospitality
future
Ikusi presence
Ikusi Antennas and Filters, the best protection against the LTE signal did you know that...?
The Digital Dividend sets the spectrums of frequencies for television and LTE with a minimum separation that can lead to problems in certain our clients speakdue to amplifier saturation situations, mainly in TV reception installations caused by highpower transmissions in LTE. At this time, this general problem is joined by a lack of definition of the framework in which this process will be developed, and, in any case, there will be no unique standard in Europe.
Ikusi’s solution is completed with a professional filter, which breaks at channel 59 or 60, as required, comparable to the highest ranges on the market, except in its price. This Ikusi solution is able to adapt to all situations that generate the LTE signal emissions. In some cases will be sufficient using the Flashd LTE antenna, in others, the filter. And for the
most severe cases, the combination of the Flashd LTE antenna and filter ensures total protection against the LTE signal. In short, Ikusi has developed a complete solution that is simple and competitive and, at the same time, the most effective on the market due to its capacity to protect TV signal reception against LTE transmissions.
Ikusi’s solution contains the Flashd LTE antenna and a professional filter. The main characteristic of the Flashd LTE is that, while maintaining the gains of the recognized Flashd antenna, gets a strong LTE rejection without adding filters. The Flashd LTE is presented in two versions: One blocks LTE transmissions on channel 60, whilst the other does the same on channel 58. In both cases, as shown in the diagrams, Ikusi’s antenna obtains a higher degree of LTE signal blocking than other proposals on the market, which guarantees the best protection against the LTE signal.
“Ikusi has developed a complete solution that is simple and competitive and, at the same time, the most effective on the market due to its capacity to protect TV signal reception against LTE transmissions.”
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did you know that...?
Downstream and upstream LTE signals: both cause interference our clients speak
Demand for broadband Internet on mobile has not stopped growing in recent years and there is every indication that it will continue to do so Ikusi solutions in the near future. Users want increasingly faster and more efficient mobile access to the Net. A desire that has culminated in the creation of LTE (Long Term Evolution). Defined for some as an evolution of the 3GPP UMTS (3G) standard, for others as a new concept of dynamic architecture (4G). However, what is clear is that LTE will be a key factor for the deployment of mobile internet for two main reasons: • U sers want a data connection that down loads and uploads at a faster speed • M anufacturers and operators want a less complexlaunching standard that reduces costs But, as a new radio-electric signal, how does it affect existing TV signals? Does it only affect transmissions from repeater stations or the signals that our mobiles, telephones and tablets will generate as well?
Let’s analyse the frequencies. LTE uses frequencies belonging to the sub-band from 791 to 862 MHz: - 791MHz to 821MHz: Downstream - 832MHz to 862MHz: Upstream The small separation between the band reserved for TV and the LTE band (just 1MHz), as well as the transmitting power it uses (up to 67 dBm of PIRE) make downstream the signal with the most interference of the two. This signal must be blocked, using antennas and filters, before any amplifier in the trunk installation. And it will protect the installation from interference that can filter through the capturing system.
For that reason, we will have to guarantee the correct installation of the passive elements and the use of user filters connected to receivers (TV, STB…) to prevent the entry of interference in the distribution network via these elements. Therefore, when dealing with LTE, we require full protection. A Full-protection LTE solution (by Ikusi).
“When dealing with LTE, we require full protection”
However, the damage that can be caused by the signal transmitted by LTE (4G) mobiles is not negligible. As this signal (upstream) is much less powerful than the previous one, it has the disadvantage of being close to the input points: Televisions, outlets, cables in bad condition…
Ikusi presence
Building closer ties with the sector’s organisations Ikusi collaborates closely with organisations and institutions that arrange and safeguard the interests of the industrial and professional telecommunications sector. With this desire for ordered progress, Ikusi is an active member of AMETIC (Spanish Multisectoral Association of Electronics, Communication and Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Digital Contents Companies) and member of reference in FENITEL (Spanish Federation of Telecommunications Installer and Integrator Companies), as well as other territorial associations in Spain. At governmental level, Ikusi maintains a constant exchange of impressions with SETSI (Spanish State Secretariat of Telecommunications and for the Information Society) which makes it possible to discover in advance the prospects for legislation and technological adoption presented in our country. This knowledge allows i-news
Ikusi to develop and propose, to the Ministry of Industry’s technical teams, products and technologies for the correct development and success of the technological processes that affect the market. An example of this is the transition process from analogue to DTT, which concluded as a redounding success, among other reasons, due to the close collaboration with the State Administration or, soon, that of the future Digital Dividend, in which Ikusi has already proposed effective solutions to the problems entailed in the new radio-electric scenario. Ikusi will continue to have consideration and sympathy for these institutions, in which the professionals are essential players in the viability of our sector and allow us to have a legal framework at professional level that benefits companies and citizens.
“Ikusi is an active member of AMETIC and a member of reference in FENITEL and it maintains a constant exchange of impressions with SETSI “ 7
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