News Archive
GlobeCast Tackles High-Def Rugby
-- Posted by soullezzon Monday, August 27 2007
GlobeCast is putting high-definition in the spotlight at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, providing end-to-end satellite and fiber contribution services for host broadcaster TVH as well as other major broadcasters. The company said it will be experimenting with uncompressed HD signal transmission to assist service providers looking to transmit HD footage in a timely and cost-efficient manner.
To service its clients at the major rugby tournament, GlobeCast said it will deploy a fleet of 15 SNG vehicles to matches across France, including three trucks dedicated to solely to high-def. GlobeCast will also provide on-site production, dedicated facilities and network capacity to deliver HD coverage of the games, the company said.
According to the GlobeCast, host broadcaster TVH asked the satellite company to transmit coverage in standard- and high-definition to its international broadcast Center outside of Paris. Additionally, for the first time in Europe, GlobeCast will provide long-distance, terrestrial transport of non-compressed HD signals – a development that "promises to help telcos transport HD video without modifying infrastructures, updating equipment or compromising quality." This field test will be held at matches in Marseille, GlobeCast said.
Beginning Sept. 7, the Rugby World Cup will be one of GlobeCast's biggest sporting events of the year. As a security measure, GlobeCast will also ensure the transport in standard-definition of all backup feeds via satellite, the company said.
FCC Blocks 'Double-Dishing' for Good
-- Posted by soullezzon Monday, August 27 2007
No longer are satellite-TV providers able to split carriage of local television station signals on to separate dishes.
The Federal Communications Commission last week ruled that satellite-TV companies DIRECTV, DISH Network and any others cannot split carriage of local TV station signals on two dishes.
The ruling effectually reversed an earlier FCC decision that found EchoStar's requirement of multiple antennas to receive local signals as discriminatory. A statement released by the commission said, "We vacate the ruling to the extent that it said that split-market carriage could be lawful."
Some are calling the move a housekeeping measure to get in line with Congress, which changed the Satellite Home Viewer Reauthorization Act in 2004 to prohibit the two-dish delivery of local stations.
WildBlue Suspends Sales, Again
-- Posted by soullezzon Thursday, August 23 2007
Satellite broadband provider WildBlue Communications is suspending sales across several beams due to capacity constraints. In a letter written to dealers this week, the company said it would begin to halt sales on three spot beams beginning Sept. 1.
According to the WildBlue's Beam Sales Suspension Notice, sales of the company's satellite broadband product have continued at a "record-breaking pace" since the launch of its new satellite, WildBlue-1. As a result, the company said, WildBlue is experiencing new capacity constraints in certain areas of the U.S.
The beams in question are 131, 132 and 133, which, the company said, are 85 percent full. "Because of this overwhelming demand for WildBlue broadband service, and in order to maintain maximum performance for all of our customers, we are unfortunately left with no choice but to begin our first WildBlue-1 beam suspensions," the company said. The beams in question cover much of eastern Texas and the majority of both Louisiana and Alabama.
WildBlue told its dealers that beginning Sept. 1 the company will suspend all marketing and will not take any new orders in these particular beams. The company also said it has prioritized the portion of the country served by these beams for the next software and hardware upgrades, and it would notify dealers in advance of any additional capacity as it becomes available.
"In an effort to continue to provide the highest quality service for all of our valued WildBlue customers, we carefully monitor and manage the capacity on each of our spot beams throughout the country," the company told SkyREPORT. "As a normal course of business we may from time to time decide to suspend new sales in certain areas of the country, again, so that we can maintain the high quality service that our customers have come to expect from WildBlue."
Judge Halts DIRECTV's Cable Ads
-- Posted by soullezzon Monday, August 20 2007
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering DIRECTV to stop airing its television spots that claim home-theater installers prefer the satellite company's picture quality to that of cable. The judge also rejected the satcaster's request for a similar injunction that would have forced Comcast to stop running its own ours-is-better-than-yours ad.
U.S. District Court Judge John Grady of the Northern District of Illinois last week barred DIRECTV from running its anti-cable ads and rejected the company's request to have Comcast stop airing its ads saying satellite customers prefer cable. The Comcast spot cites an industry survey that claims two-thirds of satellite's subscribers think the cable operator has better high-definition picture quality.
The dispute stems from lawsuits the companies filed against each other; a false-advertising suit by DIRECTV in May, and a counterclaim by Comcast seeking the injunction against the satellite company.
A Comcast spokeswoman said the absence of an injunction against the cable operator means the company will continue to air the anti-DIRECTV ads "which show that satellite customers prefer Comcast's HD picture quality over DIRECTV's."
"We are quite perplexed by the court's conclusions. The facts simply don't support these decisions," a DIRECTV spokesman told SkyREPORT. "We will appeal these rulings and are confident we will ultimately prevail. At the end of the day, though, it's the customers who matter, and they've shown their preference for DIRECTV over cable in both the recent ACSI and J.D. Power rankings. Those two studies speak for themselves." The company also said it will appeal the ruling.
SimilarEvil Football Pool
-- Posted by soullezzon Saturday, August 11 2007
Everyone is welcome to join the NFL Football Pool at Similarevil.com
Join for free, Play for fun! NFL Pool, Celebrity and sports news, and other great features to be added!
China Bringing Down Satellite TV
-- Posted by soullezzon Tuesday, August 7 2007
Officials in China are cracking down on pay-TV operators that have been offering unauthorized foreign satellite broadcasts - the latest move of the communist government's attempt at controlling information within its borders. According to Chinese reports, the country's television regulatory agency recently ordered local authorities to determine which operators are providing customers with foreign channels officially restricted to hotels where tourists stay.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said summaries of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's order say the strategy is aimed at strengthening regulation, maintaining government information controls and "blocking the intellectual and cultural infiltration of enemy forces."
The paper said penalties were not stipulated, but violating operators would have to re-apply for the right to receive all satellite broadcasts.
The most recognized company to be subjected to the crackdown is said to be Hong Kong's News Corp.-backed Phoenix satellite news channel - a network highly popular among the country's urban middle class and received by millions of homes despite the regulations. The administration's report said the maneuver will both silence voices other than approved media opinions and protect the monopolies of local stations that have lost viewers to outlets like Phoenix.
EchoStar Extends Set-top Swap
-- Posted by soullezzon Tuesday, August 7 2007
Possibly fueled by DIRECTV's announcement that it would exchange the co-branded DIRECTV/TiVo DVRs for newer MPEG-4 boxes, EchoStar has extended its offer of swapping out the old for the new. The DISH Network operator said customers subscribing to its VOOM package of high-definition channels now have a little more time to trade out their MPEG-2 receivers for the newer MPEG-4 versions.
Earlier this year, EchoStar said it wanted to upgrade all VOOM HD channels it offers to the newer MPEG-4 transmission technology. During the transition, the company is offering subscribers the opportunity to exchange their current high-def receiver to one with MPEG-4 capabilities.
The company said subscribers who have the 942 HD DVR could trade for the company's newer 622 MPEG-4 unit, and customers with the 811 model could swap for a 211. EchoStar said it would continue the offer through mid-Sept.
In other DISH news, EchoStar told its retailers last week that it will be pushing a handful of new promotions targeting customers interested in its Spanish-language packages and other international content. Beginning next week, the company said it would start offering $10 credits for 10 months to new customers who register for DishLatino Dos, DishLatino Max, or DishLatino Plus packages through EchoStar's lease program.
The company said new and current customers who sign up for one of EchoStar's digital subscriber line services - or satellite broadband service via WildBlue - will also be eligible to get additional $10 credits for the same 10-month period.
No New HD on DIRECTV/TiVo STB
-- Posted by soullezzon Tuesday, August 7 2007
Late last week, DIRECTV confirmed that its co-branded set-top box with TiVo will not be able to display the company's new slate of high-definition channels. Once the company begins launching its expanded HD channel offering, DIRECTV said its DIRECTV/TiVo HD DVR (HR 10-250) won't show the new programming content.
Beginning next month, DIRECTV will begin airing several new high-def channels, but will be using the MPEG-4 transmission system which is incompatible with the HR 10-250. According to TVPredictions.com, DIRECTV said the new channels will be available only on its MPEG-4 STBs like the H20, HR20 and HR21, and the Ka/Ku band dishes.
DIRECTV said owners of the TiVo HR 10-250 will still be able to view the current offering of HD channels, but eventually all high-def channels will be delivered with the updated MPEG-4 technology. The software download DIRECTV announced last week for the TiVo boxes will not enable the units to display the new HD channels, the website said.
DIRECTV also is offering an upgrade program for 10-250 owners to switch to the company's HR20 for $99.