AB IPBox 910HD - TELE-satellite International Magazine

invited other U.K. public service broadcasters and ISPs to join the
project, which could be as revolutionary as the hugely successful
U.K. digital terrestrial platform Freeview. The new service would
require a set-top box connected to an Ethernet connection enabling
audiences to access shows via broadband on their TV sets.
VIRGIN MEDIA TO LAUNCH FOUR HDTV CHANNELS
Cable company Virgin Media has launched a 50 Mbps broadband
service in the UK and announced plans to launch four high-definition
channels in 2009. The fibre optic cable network will give UK customers
nearly nine times the average headline broadband speed. CEO Neil
Berkett said Virgin Media would launch four new HD channels in March.
AVANTI TO LAUNCH SATELLITE
Avanti Communications, which plans to launch its first satellite in the
final quarter of this year, has recruited 28 wholesale customers around
Europe who will sell on broadband services. According to chairman,
John Brackenbury, the company hopes to benefit from government
initiatives in both the UK and Europe, where the European Commission
last week announced further funding to help the 30 per cent of
EU homes that have no access to high speed internet services. Avanti
already supplies some customers via leased satellite capacity.
UK LEADS HDTV TAKE-UP
In Europe the UK leads HDTV take-up largely as a result of Sky’s
800,000 HD subscribers. Freesat, the free-to-air satellite service offers
a much smaller choice of HD programming with BBC HD and ITV
HD, but has around 200.000 users which are growing rapidly. Virgin
Media with around 400.000 subscribers to its V+ box, with access to
the BBC HD channel takes the total in the UK to around 1.5 million.
HD TERRESTRIAL TESTS LAUNCH IN LONDON
HD test transmissions launched in February via London’s Crystal
Palace transmitter, equipped with a modulator using the
new DVB-T2 transmission standard which was provided by
Enensys. Last September, the BBC successfully performed
test transmissions in the UK to receive high def pictures compliant
to the DVB-T2 standard using a real-time demodulator.
N O R T H A M E R I C A
CANADA
SASKTEL TO DEPLOY MARINER’S IPTV PLATFORM
SaskTel is commercially deploying xVu, Mariner’s IPTV Service Assurance
platform. xVu will be deployed to SaskTel’s over 70,000 IPTV
subscribers to provide continuous monitoring and real time feedback
of customer’s Quality of Experience. The platform will allow SaskTel to
proactively manage its IPTV service quality, and to identify and resolve
issues often before the customer even realizes there is a problem.
BELL TV OFFERS NEW BOXES FOR HD SUBSCRIBERS
Bell TV subscribers with a first generation HD DTH satellite receiver
were sent a letter this week notifying them their old ExpressVu 6000
HD receivers would no longer work after April 1. Bell has offered
to exchange the old HD receivers with the company’s new model
6131 HD receiver free of charge. In April, Bell will roll out a new
signal modulation scheme called 8PSK which will allow Bell TV to
transmit more HD satellite signals without using more bandwidth.
UNITED STATES
RAINBOW DROPS VOOM HD SERVICE
Cable operator Rainbow Media Holdings is dropping the Voom-branded
suite of 15 HD channels, after losing domestic carriage on the satellite
platform Dish Network. Dish dropped the Voom channels in May
2007, reportedly after a contract dispute, leaving just Rainbow parent
Cablevision Systems as the channels’ only US platform. Rainbow has
since filed a lawsuit against Dish for breach of contract but has now
axed the channels while it focuses on the US$1 billion legal action.
ZCOM NETWORKS TO INTEGRATE IPTV WITH SATELLITE
In order to link its IPTV Broadcasting with Satellite, Zcom Networks
has commenced discussion with Globecast for the transport
of signals via satellite and fiber. Harnessing the power of
IP, Zcom will capitalize on its broadcast expertise from program
origination to play out and from assembling to reformatting
and encoding utilizing the broadband IP connection.