23/09/02

Tarbs has started testing to the U.S market. They have 4 transponders on Galaxy 10R at 123W, looks like they will transmit 13 channels on each. I expect they will add 1 or 2 more soon. They are broadcasting mostly testcards at the moment. Not available to us of course. No word on what conditional access system they are using.

Sky NZ on B1, has shuffled around a few services mainly on 12581V and 12608V, nothing new fta though. Also I see Sky Sport Extra is back.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Zapara

NSS703 57deg E

3980 H Sr 28000 Fec 3/4

The following additions have been made to the package

Sun Int Vid 70 Aud 69 PCR 70 SID 13 PMT 88 Encryption Irdeto
Surya Int Vid 73 Aud 72 PCR 73 SID 14 PMT 89 Encryption Irdeto
GCV Vid 52 Aud 51 PCR 52 SID 7 PMT 81 Encryption Irdeto

From Anon

A screenshot from Zee TV international (Asiasat 3) (yes i know its encrypted)

From Glenn Gibson 22/09/02

Astralinks testcard for TEN Rally seen on B1, 12428V, 6110, 3/4

Glenn

From Bill Richards 21/09/02

0600 UTC

Pas 2 3967 V "NTL UKI-175 E" Unidentified Feed Encrypted in NTL, Sr 5632, Fec 3/4 Vpid 308 Apid 256

Regards
Bill

From Zapara

Asiasat 2 3966V Sr 6666 Fec 3/4, U.K Football with Chinese Audio, Seen 21/09/02

(Craigs comment, this is probably the feed for the regional Chinese channels that are sharing the coverage of the U.K Soccer)

From the Dish

Intelsat 701 180E 10975 H "Star Academy" has started , Mediaguard, PIDs 512/650 and 513/660.

PAS 8 166E 4180 H A test card has started , Fta, SID 3, PIDs 7000/7010.

Measat 2 148E 4085 V "Occasional GMA Network feeds", PIDs 1360/1320.
Measat 2 148E 4085 V "Occasional GMA Network feeds", PIDs 1260/1220.
Measat 2 148E 11602 "Hafa TV, CTV and A-Skynet Info (clear)" have started on , Viaccess 1, PIDs 256/257, 480/481 and 512/513. Tzu Chi TV is now ftaAgila 2 146E 3890 H "Occasional feeds", Sr 14075, Fec 5/6.

Agila 2 146E 3923 H "Occasional feeds", Sr 2554, Fec 7/8.

JCSAT 3 128E 3960 V "ETTV Life, Unique Satellite TV, JET TV, SET International and BNE TV" are Fta

Palapa C2 113E 4040 H "Metro TV" has started , Fta PIDs 5153/5154.
Palapa C2 113E 4184 V "TPI is still Fta.

Koreasat 2 113E 12682 H EDU TV 1-7 have started , Fta , Sr 13737, Fec 3/4, SIDs 1-7,PIDs 512/650-518/710.
Koreasat 2 113E 12370 H "Cinema TV" has started, Fta, PIDs 1560/1520.

Yamal 102 90E 3527 L "Radio Tver" has started Fta, APID 256.

Express 6A 80E 4125 R "TV XXI" is now Fta.
Express 6A 80E 4125 R "EART Telenet has replaced Nasha Muzika" Fta, PIDs 165/100.
Express 6A 80E 4125 R "Radio Arsenal" has started Fta, APID 101.

And just for local interest, Tarbs U.S details

Galaxy 10R 123 West

Pink Plus, Alpha TV, RTS Sat, INN, Marco Polo, Alice, TV Moda, TelePace,
Syria Satellite Channel and a test cards have started on 11920 V, clear,SIDs 1-13, PIDs 512/640- 524/652.

13 TARBS test cards have started on 11720 V and 12080 V, clear, SR 28066, FEC 3/4, PIDs 512/640-524/652.

NEWS

Sahara TV Set To Go Digital

From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=18118

Kolkata: Sahara TV will go digital shortly, according to a Kolkata-based Sahara official.

The transformation work is in advanced stages and the conversion from analog mode to digital, is likely to be completed by November.

?Work on the digital system has been on for the past few months and an expert team is working hard to put the entire process in place,” he said.

The final switch-over of Sahara channel could also coincide with the channel’s earth station at Noida becoming fully functional. Sahara is aired by Singapore-based AsiaSat 3S satellite. Plans are on to start uplinking and beaming its existing channel and the proposed news channel through the digital route.

Pak. to launch first satellite by December

From http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/03222005.htm

Pakistan is to launch its first satellite by December, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Prof Attau-ur-Rehman said today.

"The first satellite will have 34 transponders, including six to be reserved for educational institutions which would be linked with one other," Rehman was quoted by the Dawn.

The government was committed to putting the country on the track of development and progress, he said and added that there was considerable increase in Budget allocations for science and technology.

FedSat Launch from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center Reset to December

From satnewsasia.com

Australia’s Federation Satellite-1 (FedSat-1) will be launched in December, a month later than originally intended, aboard Japan’s H-2A rocket.

FedSat-1 will be the first foreign satellite launched on the H-2A and is the first satellite built in Australia in over 30 years, The 60 kilogram FedSat-1 will carry out joint scientific experiments for both Australia and Japan. It will be carried into orbit along with the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite II (ADEOS-II). FedSat-1 was to have been launched June 2001, the centenary of the Commonwealth of Australia, but the launch was postponed for a variety of reasons. FedSat-1 is a low cost microsatellite that will give Australian scientists and engineers valuable data about the space environment, and experience in space engineering and in practical applications of space technologies.

The Cooperative Research Center for Satellite Systems (CRCSS), which developed the spacecraft, will supply NASDA with scientific data from the flight in exchange for the launch service. The FedSat microsatellite project began in 1998 and is designed to demonstrate Australia's capability to design, build and operate small satellites. FedSat-1 will carry advanced communication, space science, navigation and computing payloads. It is the first satellite built in Australia since WRESAT and Oscar V in the period 1967-1970.

CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Geoff Garrett said Australia has extremely high hopes for FedSat, which will end a long drought in Australian satellite flights. “The scientific data it returns will be helpful for our own research, and will also contribute to research efforts in Japan. The two countries have cooperated on scientific space projects and practical applications of space technology for decades and we are delighted to continue and strengthen this collaboration.”

NASDA President Shuichiro Yamanouchi said this cooperation through FedSat is a very significant mission for NASDA, especially since it will be the very first foreign satellite onboard the H-2A together with the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite II (ADEOS-II). “We would like to accomplish our role by launching FedSat successfully, and hope that FedSat will greatly benefit our scientific research. We are pleased to share this journey of FedSat with our colleagues in Australia," he said.

The H-2A rocket, over 53 m tall, is able to carry up to 6 tonnes into geostationary orbit, and a larger amount into lower orbits. It is powered by solid-fuel strap on boosters and cryogenic main engines burning liquid hydrogen and oxygen.

FedSat-1 was built by a team of about 15 engineers and scientists at the CRCSS Project Office at Auspace Limited in Mitchell, a suburb of Canberra. Most of the payloads were developed in other CRCSS laboratories in NSW, Queensland and South Australia. The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration supplied one payload.

Boeing Eyes Upgraded 601, Puzzled by Early 702 Flaw

From http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_space.jsp?view=story&id=news/aw092360.xml

Boeing Satellite Systems plans to offer an upgraded BSS 601 satellite next year, making newer technology from the larger BSS 702 spacecraft available in a medium-size satellite.

The working name of the new version is 601+, and it is to include later-generation avionics and xenon-ion propulsion system (XIPS) thrusters from the 702, as well as triple-junction solar cells with a higher power-to-weight ratio. The 601+ would be able to provide 10 kw. to the payload versus 8.5 kw. on the current spacecraft, which closes the gap in the product line--the 702 provides 10-18 kw. depending on the size of array chosen.

Though it is improving its medium satellite, Boeing does not see a particular trend toward that size. The company has a backlog of 702s and is bidding that bus for the Navy's Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) UHF follow-on satellite, while about 86 601s have been sold--the most popular satellite ever, an official noted. The standard 601 carries 48-60 transponders while the 702 goes up to 100 transponders, "so if you want 70-80 transponders you might want the 601+," he added.

Civil and military sales are about equal at Boeing. Around 1990 they were 70% military, then switched to about 70% commercial in the mid-1990s, and now have shifted to a 50/50 mix.

The long typical 15-year life of modern satellites may outlast their markets, and the company is moving toward reconfigurable satellites, company president Randy H. Brinkley recently told the International Satellite Communications Exchange conference in Long Beach, Calif. To handle new markets, their Earth-coverage patterns can be altered with phased-array antennas and communications schemes can be varied with onboard digital signal processing.

The three Spaceway 702 satellites being built for Hughes Network Systems will be reconfigurable with both the phased array antenna and onboard processing. The first one is set for launch next year. Capacity of the two-way Ka-band system is 10 gigabits per sec. and the two-meter (6.6-ft.) 1,500-element transmit antenna forms more than 100 hopping spot beams. The data rate is comparable to 5-8 current Ka-band satellites. Initial use will be high-speed business communications, in effect putting a T1 line and Internet protocol network into areas that are not so wired. The Wideband Gapfiller satellite for the Defense Dept., set for first launch in 2004, also has a phased array and onboard processing.

The 601+ will not immediately have both these reconfigurable features, but could in 3-4 years if there is customer demand, a company official said.

Boeing is still not sure what caused solar-cell reflecting concentrators to lose their shine on the first six 702s, but they know the problem is with the concentrators and not the cells themselves (AW&ST Oct. 15, 2001, p. 82). The trough concentrators were a clever way to boost solar power with less weight and cost (AW&ST Feb. 28, 2000, p. 56). But data show that the inflight loss of array power is averaging 6% per year--much higher than the 1.5% per year that would be expected from normal degradation of the solar cells themselves.

Subsequent 702s have abandoned the concentrators and incorporated the more-efficient triple-junction cells as well as adding another panel of cells to maintain power.

The six affected spacecraft were launched from December 1999 to May 2001 and their rates of degradation and power margin vary. Those with perhaps 80 conventional transponders lose capacity in tiny steps as they turn off one transponder at a time with dropping power, but others with fewer large blocks of digital equipment lose capacity in large chunks. The Thuraya-1 mobile communications satellite falls in the latter category, but fortunately has surplus power and a degradation rate of less than the 6% average. However, in June Thuraya's owners advanced the launch of Thuraya-2 to January 2003, but told the Long Beach conference that the date has now been relaxed to summer 2003.

Insurers for the six spacecraft are facing various losses, and have been wondering when Boeing discovered there was a problem in the 17 months from the first to the last launch. Company officials say they became aware of the problem in September 2001, four months after the last launch, and immediately started briefing customers. "There always is some decline in power output, and it wasn't apparent there was a fleet decline until that September," a company official said. The prelaunch tests of the new concentrator system were "extensive and beyond normal industry practice," he said. "But you can't simulate all of the space environment on the ground. We don't know for sure yet what we missed."

Manufacturers give their lifetime expectations for satellites but there is little or no warranty of that performance, said Peter D. Nesgos, a satellite finance attorney with the law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy. Instead they may lose incentive payments of 10-30%.

In the 702 case, the effect is not catastrophic loss but a shorter satellite life--for example, if Thuraya had the average 6% annual loss then the 11 kw. end-of-lifetime power would be reached in about three years rather than the expected 12 years. One result could be a prorated insurance payment to Thuraya.

But Nesgos said some insurance contracts have a "constructive total loss" clause, which states that if satellite capacity drops below a certain fraction, the satellite is considered to be a total loss from day one and the operator will receive full payment from the insurer. That threshold has historically been about 50% but has increased to 60-70% loss of capacity in the last 1-1.5 years. Likewise, the rates for on-orbit insurance have increased to 2-5% from a 1-3% range before, he estimated.

T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 38/2002 22 September 2002 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

FORMULA 1 MAY BE FREE-TO-AIR

Formula One digital broadcasts may be offered for free to terrestrial TV
stations around the world in a bid to stem falling audience figures, the
Financial Times reported on September 21. The change may hurt revenue at
Formula One teams and pay-TV companies such as the U.K.’s BSkyB, which
shows the auto races on a pay-per-view basis and charges subscribers £12
for each event. The Formula One holding company, SLEC, is 25 percent-owned
by Bernie Ecclestone. The rest is held by three banks that got the stake
from Kirch Holding after the German media company filed for protection from
creditors in June.

A S I A

NEW MEMBERS FOR CASBAA

The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) has
announced 17 new memberships taken out in the past six months. The addition
of 15 Corporate Members and 17 Associate Members since the beginning of
2002, and the widening membership is seen by the Association as an
endorsement of its role in promoting and growing the cable and satellite
industry in Asia. The new CASBAA member companies are MediaCorp News; CLSA
Emerging Markets; DST Innovis; Eutelsat Broadband Network and Singapore
Cable Vision along with new Associate members, Churchill Whitfield; CMM
Intelligence; On Media; Mindshare; NTL; Haldanes; RR Satellite
Communications; Lehman, Lee & Xu; Telecom Venture Group and Vivendi Universal.

AUSTRALIA

GLOOMY FUTURE FOR FOXTEL WITHOUT OPTUS

Kim Williams, chief executive of Foxtel, Australia’s largest pay-TV
company, said on September 17 the industry faces an uncertain future if the
country’s antitrust regulator rejects its merger plans with rival Optus TV
again. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission blocked their first
merger attempt in June, based on concerns the combination would create a
monopoly in major cities, where they have no other competitors. But Foxtel
and Optus TV argue that they haven’t made a cent out of subscriber
television, which has swallowed up A$8 billion since 1995, and say a merger
would give them more bargaining power with Hollywood studios. Foxtel is
Australia’s largest pay-TV company, with about 800,000 subscribers. Austar
is second, with about 430,000 subscribers, and Optus Television is third,
with about 270,000. Foxtel is half-owned by Telstra Corp., Australia’s
dominant telecommunications company. Its partners, each with a 25% stake,
are Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and Kerry Packer’s Publishing &
Broadcasting Ltd. Optus TV is owned by Singtel Optus Pty., a unit of
Singapore Telecommunications. Since their first merger proposal was blocked
by the ACCC, Foxtel and Optus TV have made further undertakings by offering
national network access to competitors, including Austar United
Communications, the nation’s largest regional pay-TV operator. They have
also agreed to spend more than A$600 million upgrading the sector for
digital transmission. Under the revised arrangement, Optus Television will
carry Foxtel channels, but no longer on an exclusive basis. Also, Optus
will allow a third party to use its cable to deliver services to some
customers. Optus Television will continue to offer at least seven channels
not currently offered by Foxtel for at least three years, and two
Optus-compiled channels for at least three years, starting with the Ovation
and MTV channels.

PBL TO SUPPORT FOXTEL POSITION

Publishing & Broadcasting is set to break ranks with its fellow Foxtel
shareholders to support a push by Australian FTA TV networks for a
restructuring of Foxtel’s A$1.3 billion proposed alliance with Optus,
according to the Australian Financial Review. PBL, which owns the
free-to-air Nine television network and has 25% stake in pay-TV concern
Foxtel, has agreed to support a joint submission from Seven Network,
Network Ten, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. and the Special Broadcasting
Service, calling for the guaranteed retransmission of their signals on
Foxtel’s future digital cable and satellite networks.

SINGTEL COULD SAVE A$30 MILLION IN CASE OF FOXTEL-OPTUS MERGER

SingTel Optus would save about A$30 million annually if its revised
Foxtel-Optus pay-TV merger is successful, SingTel Optus Chief Operating
Officer Paul O’Sullivan said on September 16. O’Sullivan is confident the
merger of Optus Television and Foxtel will be approved by the ACCC in the
coming weeks after the regulator has completed a three-week industry
inquiry into the proposal. SingTel Optus has already started to rationalize
capital expenditure on the pay-TV operations by exiting television
productions, he said.

ABC TV ARRIVES IN JAPAN

ABC Asia Pacific TV is now accessible across Japan, marking the first time
an Australian based TV channel has been broadcast in its entirety to that
country. The re-broadcasting of ABC Asia Pacific has been made possible
through an arrangement with Les amis Co Ltd - a Japanese based satellite
programme delivery platform, which transmits international services by
helping networks gain entry into Japan’s extensive cable network.
Internet - http://http://abcasiapacific.com

INDIA

SUN AND GEMINI TO BECOME PAY-TV SERVICES

Sun Network’s Indian cable channels Sun and Gemini TV will likely step up
from free-to-air to pay-TV, according to local press reports. Sun and
sister channel Teja are expected to be offered to viewers for an Rs10 per
month fee. Sun and Gemini are popular with Indian viewers and between them
account for a significant portion of the most-watched shows on cable.

INDONESIA

GOVERNMENT POSTPONES DECISION ON NEW MEDIA LAW

The Indonesian government has postponed a decision on a controversial new
broadcasting bill that would restrict the amount of foreign programming on
radio and television stations. Some media analysts suggested that the
government was attacking the freedom of the press. Now, Information and
Communications Minister Syamsul Muarif says that the purpose of the bill
has been widely misunderstood, and more time is needed both for campaigning
and for considering all the relevant factors. Muarif told reporters that he
hopes there will only be a short delay, and a decision can be reached by
the end of October. Under the proposed measures, domestic broadcasters
would be limited to 40 per cent foreign-made programmes, or risk up to five
years in jail. A number of international broadcasting organizations, such
as the BBC and the Voice of America, make extensive use of programme
placement on Indonesian stations.

22/09/02

No update sunday

21/09/02

Taking a break from updating the site this weekend, back Monday

20/09/02

Running late , not much to say up here today things quiet.

I hope to run the Linkchecker over the site later on tonight, and also add the last few months History into the history section

From my Emails & ICQ

Nothing to report

From the Dish

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3672 H Show TV has replaced TGRT on , clear, PIDs 2081/2082.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3923 H "Occasional Reuters feeds", Sr 4000, Fec 3/4.

Yamal 102 90E 3645 L "ART Telenet" has left , replaced by a Kultura test card.

ST 1 88E 3582 H "TVBS" has replaced SET International, enc., PIDs 38/39.

NEWS

Galileo Receivers - In Search Of Signals To Ignore

From http://www.spacedaily.com/news/gps-euro-02b.html

Developed by ESA in collaboration with the European Union and co-funded by the two organisations on a 50-50 basis, Galileo is a complete civil system, designed to be operational from 2008 and to provide the world in general and Europeans in particular with an accurate, secure and certified satellite positioning system. Credits: ESA - J. Huart

Galileo, Europe's billion-euro satellite navigation system, will provide a guaranteed service when it becomes fully operational in about 2008. However, radio signals broadcast by other users in the Galileo frequency band could interfere with reception in some areas. This summer the European Space Agency has been investigating where the interference is and what to do about it.

A Mercedes van has been touring the hotspots of Europe -- not beaches and resorts, but airports, military installations and similar venues where radio signals within the frequency band allotted to Galileo are sometimes used for legitimate purposes, such as helping aircraft to land safely. If nothing were done about it, these local signals could blank out the much weaker signals from the Galileo satellites resulting in 'outage' over the surrounding area.

The problem is not confined to Galileo. Outages of the US GPS signal over a 100 km radius have been reported in some parts of Europe.

When fully developed, Galileo will consist of 30 satellites in circular orbits about 24,000 km above the Earth. The satellites will broadcast signals from which users with Galileo receivers will be able to tell the precise time and determine their positions with greater accuracy than ever before.

There will be a number of different signals from Galileo each fulfilling well defined functions.

Some will be reserved for public services, such as the emergency services; some will be for operators of commercial services, such as road traffic information services; some will be for use where safety of life is critical, such as aircraft landing; and some will be for mass market applications(for example through an open access signal) for anyone with a hand held receiver. The impact of satellite navigation services on modern life is expected to be similar to that of the mobile phone, so taking steps to avoid outage due to interference signals is important.

The specially equipped van started its journey at Vienna airport in April, close to the home of the Joanneum Research group who designed the equipment in the van and then conducted the search campaign. The task was to locate interference sources and measure the characteristics of the signals. The plan is to design Galileo receivers in such a way that they can function in the presence of interference signals.

The van journeyed across five countries, visiting various hotspots including harbours and meteorological sites as well as military and civil airfields. "We made routine measurements as we went along, as well as when we got to our destinations," says Norbert Witternigg from the Joanneum Institute who travelled with the van. "When we found an unexpected source, we stopped to make directional measurements to find out where it was coming from."

Some of these unexpected signals could have come from legitimate sources, some could have been generated by malfunctioning equipment designed to transmit at a different frequency, but some could have been due to illegal transmissions. Broadcasters of signals require a licence, so the authorities will be investigating.

There were a few hitches along the way. In France, the van had to stop for two days for repairs. And in Le Havre the police wanted to know what this van was doing close to the harbour. "We were asked what we were exactly measuring, so we had to explain," says Witternigg.

The tour is now finished, and the results are being analysed. They will be presented to the Galileo project specialists in a workshop at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands) on 12 December 2002.

The design of Galileo will not only allow users to safely navigate in the presence of unwanted interference, it will also ensure inter-operability with the existing satellite navigation systems (the American GPS and the Russian GLONASS system) with which the frequency bands are shared.

Murdoch TV firm back in the dock

From http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,795470,00.html

A television company controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation was yesterday facing a second lawsuit in six months alleging that it defrauded a rival and misappropriated trade secrets.

DirecTV, the biggest satellite television firm in the US and a company that Mr Murdoch narrowly failed to buy last year, has launched the action against NDS, the Middlesex supplier of smart cards that prevent pirating.

The lawsuit comes six months after Canal Plus Technologies (CPT) of France began a $3bn legal action against NDS alleging it helped fund hackers who published secrets on the internet about its pay-TV technology.

The DirecTV suit, filed under seal in a US district court in Los Angeles, makes a series of allegations against NDS including breach of contract, fraud, breach of warranty and misappropriation of trade secrets.

Bob Marsocci, a spokesman for DirecTV, said: "We filed the complaint because NDS breached our contract and defrauded us. We have a very strong case and will present that in court."

DirecTV is seeking damages, the delivery of software which it claims is required by contract and an injunction to prevent any further breaches.

NDS, which has dismissed CPT's allegations as baseless, last night insisted the new case was without merit.

"NDS intends to vigorously defend the action and assert counterclaims against DirecTV," it said in a statement.

DirecTV has worked alongside NDS to develop conditional access to its satellite network since the service was launched in 1994. Three years ago they signed an agreement to transfer the technology to DirecTV, effectively ending the relationship. The lawsuit is partly to ensure that transfer still takes place.

Mr Murdoch was bitterly disappointed when News Corp lost the race to buy DirecTV from General Motors.

Zee launches channel for Mideast viewers

From http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=63573

India's Zee TV expects to generate higher advertising revenues from its Middle East operations with the launch of a dedicated channel for regional viewers.

Down the line, there will also be increases in regional subscriber numbers for Zee's pay television services, which currently stand at 150,000. The number of overall viewers is about one million.

This is also a market segment that is seeing heavy duty competition for viewer attention, with the likes of Sony Entertainment Channel, Star TV and a host of Indian regional language channels in the fray.

"Dubai and the whole Middle East is a very important market for us. We have had consistent feedback from our viewers here that sometimes they miss out on their favourite programmes due to inconvenient airing time - too early for UAE prime time," said Sandeep Goyal, group chief executive of Zee Telefilms Ltd.

With the launch of a separate channel for the Middle East, Zee expects to move in step with the prime time viewing trends here. Earlier, it was governed by the requirements of its Indian viewership, which was effectively 90 minutes ahead of the time here.

The new channel will continue to have programming primarily developed for the Indian broadcast. However, there will be emphasis on developing some of its more popular programmes locally.

The uplink will be done out of Singapore on an Asiasat satellite. Apart from the Middle East, the coverage extends to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. There are plans to add Maldives or Mauritius at a later date.

There are no moves on Zee's part to shift its uplink closer to the Middle East, confirmed a senior official.

"Singapore already provides the uplink for our Indian operations. At the moment, we do not see any economic sense to effect any changes," said Abhijit Saxena, senior vice-president for international business, Zee Telefilms.

Since there are no major changes to content, the cost of setting up a new channel has not been "heavy".

"Our Middle East revenues had flattened out since advertising was restricted to post 11 pm Indian standard time. This has changed with the creation of the new channel," said Saxena. "Our start up costs mostly relate to technical aspects."

Zee TV became a pay channel in July, 2001. In the region, it and its sister channels - Zee Cinema, Zee Music and Zee News - are distributed by Add-Pehla, E-Vision and BRTC.

TV access about to get better off base

From http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=10575

They’re on their way.

Military exchange managers throughout the Pacific are awaiting delivery later this month of decoders and satellite dish antennas now being shipped to base exchanges.

The technology will let American troops, Defense Department employees and their families off base watch the same television programming now offered to those living on base.

Jerry McMahan, services operations manager for the Navy Exchange’s Japan District, said Wednesday decoders already have been received in stores at Yokosuka, Atsugi and Sasebo Naval bases.

?We’re just waiting for the antennas to arrive, maybe by the end of the month,” he said. “Then we’ll be in business.”

NEX will require a $50 deposit for each decoder and a monthly leasing fee of $25, the same as AAFES.

?We’ll be selling the smaller size dish antenna at $69,” he said.

?We expect a shipment to arrive by the end of the month,” Master Sgt. Howard Smith, Army and Air Force Exchange Service spokesman in Okinawa, said Tuesday.

Only selected AAFES exchanges in mainland Japan, Okinawa and South Korea will have decoders for rent at $25 monthly.

Customers also will have to purchase one of two small dish antennas to capture the American Forces Network Direct-to-Home satellite signal.

On Okinawa, Kadena Air Base and Camp Foster will sell antennas and lease decoders.

Mainland Japan AAFES stores at Misawa and Yokota Air Bases and Camp Zama will offer the equipment, as will Osan Air Base, Yongsan, and Camps Casey and Walker in South Korea.

Smith said customers at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan, and those living in Okinawa, will have to buy a 88-centimeter dish antenna retailing for $99.

In mainland Japan and South Korea, where bases and camps are more directly positioned under the orbiting satellite’s signal “footprint,” a smaller 64-centimeter dish can be purchased for $69.

Antennas come with hardware to mount on a wall or pole. AAFES stores will recommend local sources for installing and aligning antennas.

A coaxial cable for linking the antenna and television to the decoder also must be purchased at nominal cost.

Smith said AAFES Power Zone electronic departments will carry the antennas.

Customers wanting to rent decoders will have to use AAFES Military Star Card accounts.

Once hooked up, off-base residents’ televisions will receive AFN Plus, a five-channel package offering a range of entertainment on the Direct-to-Home service.

?Viewers will see AFN news, sports, Spectrum, and AFN Pacific and Atlantic feeds,” said Master Sgt. Tracie Adams, superintendent of AFN-Tokyo at Yokota Air Base near Tokyo.

She said future expansion of satellite offerings also is planned.

*s we expand, we’ll be adding the Family Channel but there is no specific date when that will happen,” she said.

Also, Adams said, “We’re testing equipment right now that will allow AFN to insert local information like now being seen on the commander’s access channel.” The information, inserted at the March Air Reserve Base headquarters of AFRTS in California, then will be sent to individual bases in the Far East. The exact start date for this service still is being determined.

Smith said the decoder is part of an elaborate security system to prevent those not from the U.S. military community, but living near military installations, from intercepting the AFN signal. Only authorized exchange customers will be able to rent the decoders.

When all stores have supplies of decoders and satellites, Smith said, a widespread advertising campaign will be launched announcing that the equipment is available for leasing and sales.

American Forces Radio and Television Service officials in California have estimated that 13,000 to 15,000 military and DOD people live off bases in the Far East.

Based on sign-up rates in Europe, where Direct-to-Home service has been available for several years, almost all of them could be potential customers.

Jail for Falun Gong TV hackers

From http://asia.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/09/20/china.falun.gong/

HONG KONG, China -- Prison terms of between four and 20 years have been handed down to 15 members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement for hijacking state television broadcasts in China, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Falun Gong followers were convicted by Changchun Intermediary People's Court in northeastern China's Jilin province of damaging radio and television property and of conspiring to use the outlawed group to undermine law enforcement, the Xinhua report said.

State television broadcasts in the northeastern city of Changchun were interrupted on March 5 by footage of Falun Gong's U.S.-based leader Li Hongzhi and a film accusing the government of staging the fiery deaths of alleged followers in Tiananmen Square last year.

The television takeover was one of the most defiant protests by members of the Falun Gong, whose once regular demonstrations in Tiananmen Square had diminished since a government crackdown arrested group leaders and sent thousands of followers to "re-education" camps.

In June this year, state-run satellite signals were also hijacked during the soccer World Cup finals and Falun Gong propaganda was aired. The hacking was on a channel the Chinese government uses to beam TV to remote areas of China that have little access to outside news.

Falun Gong, based on traditional Chinese religions and meditation exercises, acquired millions of followers in the mid-1990s before it was banned by Beijing in July 1999 and denounced as an "evil cult."

Since it was outlawed, thousands of members have been detained and activists based outside China claim hundreds have died and been tortured while in custody.

19/09/02

Can those who usually get TPI off Palapa C2, try it and see if its FTA still or if it was just encrypted for certain programs due to copyright issues. If it has encrypted which encryption format are they using. I will try my contact at Satelindo and see if they can give furthur details on whats happening with it.

George TV, Optus B1, Sky NZ mux is running the D.J event and FTA not sure what will be the next event on this service.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Zapara

Asiasat 2 100.5 Deg E

3923 H "Reuters Singapore" FTA Sr 4000 Fec 3/4 Vid 312 Aud 256 Text 273 Sid 1 PMT 32
3800 H Sr 5632 Fec 3/4 APTN Asia running FTA, all parameters still the same.
3774 H Sr 5632 Fec 3/4 Reuters World News Service running FTA, all parameters still the same.

From the Dish

JCSAT 3 128E 3960 V "ETTV Life" has started, Viaccess 1, PIDs 1040/1041.New PIDs for ETTV News: 1152/1153.

Palapa C2 113E 4184 V "TPI" is now encrypted. (Anyone have more reports of this maybe temp only? not sure why they would encrypt this)

PAS 10 68.5E 4105 H Occasional feeds, Sr 5632, Fec 3/4.

NEWS

The great pay TV swindle

From http://www.illawarramercury.com/articles/2002/09/17/1032054796377.html

Wollongong has become a hotbed of pay TV piracy in NSW.

Hacked digital smart cards are being sold on the black market operating in Illawarra pubs and clubs.

The cards allow pirates to tap into unlimited channel packages (worth up to $385 a month when including special events) for the cost of a basic subscription ($46 a month).

"It's rampant in Wollongong," Detective Senior Constable Jason Stevenson, of Wollongong police, said.

But unfortunately for the industry, which loses about $50million a year through illegal connections, police can't do much about it.

Snr Const Stevenson said that although using hacked "smart cards" to unlawfully access pay TV signals was common in the Illawarra, arrests and successful convictions were rare.

"From the dealings we have with people, we know it's pretty common, but it's not illegal to own one of the cards," he said.

"We have to actually prove people are using them to obtain benefit."

Snr Const Stevenson's comments came after the August 23 conviction of a Figtree man for using a pirated smart card and the August 29 arrest of a Unanderra man for selling or supplying the pirated devices.

The latter charge is more serious, carrying a maximum penalty of a $60,000 fine and five years' jail.

The Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association is the governing body for the industry in Australia.

Executive director Debra Richards said the subscription television industry lost about $50million in revenue annually because of piracy, a figure she called a "conservative estimate".

"We look at about five to 10 per cent of connections being done illegally," she said.

"We've invested more than $8billion in the industry in terms of infrastructure and jobs and we don't want to see that undermined. It's not fair.

"We have also technical countermeasures that we implement so pirate cards don't work anymore. But those countermeasures can be circumvented (by the pirates) so we've got to implement further countermeasures."

Ms Richards said Austar and Foxtel regularly received calls from people whose pirated cards had been rendered useless by the industry's technological code scrambling.

"We have to tell them that they're not subscribers. Some people aren't aware that they actually bought a pirated service," she said.

Ms Richards said ASTRA's agenda was to inform people piracy was a crime, and prevent them from being hoodwinked into criminal activity.

This was despite Austar and Foxtel spokespeople as recently as last year describing subscription television piracy as a "minor problem" and "not a major business inhibitor".

"We've taken the view that pirate activity hasn't stopped simply from us saying 'it's not a problem'. We're now saying it's a problem," Ms Richards said.

She said ASTRA had increased its activity in the past three months to combat piracy.

That means more private fraud investigators "in the field" (that is, at pubs and clubs suspected of harbouring pirate activity), more technological code scrambling of existing signals and greater liaison with police.

ABC heavyweight steps into the pay TV stoush

From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/18/1032054866037.html

Russell Balding believes that all ABC channels and services should be carried on all platform so they are accessible to all Australians.

ABC managing director Russell Balding used his first official public speech to weigh into the pay TV debate, supporting the Ten Network's proposal for a common digital set-top box to accommodate the free-to-air broadcasters.

Ownership of the set-top box has become a key battleground for the pay TV operators and their free-to-air rivals, particularly since Foxtel produced its undertakings to allow the $1.3 billion content merger with Optus to proceed.

Mr Balding also pushed the idea of a "dual-tuner" box, an argument supported by Ten executive chairman Nick Falloon. The technology would enable receiving free-to-air and subscription television signals.

"The ABC believes that all its channels and services should be carried on all pay TV platforms and any common free-to-air/pay platform so they are accessible to all Australians," he told a Melbourne Press Club function yesterday.

He used the opportunity to lobby for a legislated access regime instead of just undertakings, and pressed for a "must carry" provision that guarantees the public broadcaster a platform on commercial pay TV.

"You can have all the retransmission agreements in the world, but they can still be quite easily undone further down the track," he said. "Legislation though, can only be undone by the parliament."

Mr Balding said the ABC would be instrumental in driving growth of digital TV in Australia because of the rich content it would offer.

Delaying the introduction of quotas for high-definition television, which enhances picture quality, for three to five years would accelerate the growth of digital TV. This gives the broadcaster breathing space to assess audience demands of its programs offered in digital.

Scrapping genre restrictions for multi-channelling would help the ABC broaden the appeal of programs broadcast on digital channels.

Meanwhile, Mr Falloon yesterday cautioned that consumers would be hugely disadvantaged if common set-top box ownership was overlooked. Viewers would be forced to spend more on hardware to receive free-to-air and pay TV digital signals.

He also said the $1.3 billion programming alliance effectively eroded consumer choice as Optus would act as reseller of Foxtel programming. This argument will be highlighted in Ten's submission to the regulator on September 27.

Kerry Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting has also apparently agreed to support a joint submission by Seven, Ten, ABC and SBS pressing for the guaranteed retransmission of their signals on Foxtel's future digital cable and satellite networks.

All are concerned the Foxtel-Optus deal does not guarantee future interactive services by the free-to-air networks. Kerry Stokes' Seven Network is also questioning Foxtel's annual cost estimates for third-party access. Seven will argue that Foxtel's proposed $750,000 access fee could blow out to $2.5 million, rendering the investment economically unviable.

Foxtel partners play the waiting game

From http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/18/1032054866019.html

Will their performance convince the ACCC? It won't be long before we find out.

It's white-knuckle time for Foxtel shareholders News Corp, PBL and Telstra.

In a couple of weeks they'll know whether their concessions have been generous enough to shift the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission from its original position that Foxtel's plan to share pay TV programming with rival Optus could create a pay TV monopoly.

Foxtel has bet the farm on the Optus deal going ahead, claiming it's the pay TV industry's (and therefore Foxtel's) only hope of making a buck one day.

Foxtel chief Kim Williams has opted for the tunnel vision approach - refusing publicly to even contemplate the prospect of the deal not getting up. Sources say he has only recently begun to talk privately of Plan B.

Knocked back the first time around, Foxtel has seemingly bent over backwards to modify its proposal to ensure it doesn't stifle competition. Infrastructure players such as TransAct will be able to resell the Foxtel service, just like Optus and Telstra. And aspiring pay TV content providers will be able to broadcast their channels over the Foxtel cable and satellite for a minimum charge of $1.25 million (although some claim the real cost will be closer to $2.5 million).

To convince the ACCC it is acting in the best interests of the nation, Foxtel has also pledged to spend $600 million upgrading the Telstra analog cable network to digital, paving the way for interactive services.

Market commentators have roundly praised Foxtel's undertakings as eminently fair. But the competition issues are a little less clear-cut when the implications for News, PBL and Telstra are taken into account.

It's no secret PBL and Telstra originally invested in Foxtel for defensive reasons - the Packers to ensure what advertising dollars their Nine Network lost to pay TV eventually flowed back to PBL via Foxtel, and Telstra to protect its dominance in telecommunications.

Some find it difficult to believe their motivations have changed much since then. (It could be argued News Corp, having prospered from the success of its UK pay TV play BSkyB, is really the only Foxtel shareholder which wants the company to succeed for its own sake.)

The ACCC is struggling to view the Optus deal as anything other than a way for Telstra to entrench its telephony dominance. Publicly the commission is reserving its judgement on the undertakings until it gauges the market's reaction.

Ten Network chairman Nick Falloon has already accused Foxtel of pricing third-party access so high as to deter any potential competition. Fairfax and Seven have yet to comment publicly on the undertakings, but both maintain the pay TV deal amounts to a virtual monopoly. And the free-to-air TV networks want Foxtel to guarantee it will retransmit their signals.

But the key issue is whether Foxtel's proposed undertakings can be enforced. Despite being legally granted access to the Telstra cable, Seven Network's C7 pay TV sports channel never made it to air on Foxtel and folded this year. ACCC chairman Allan Fels has admitted the new undertakings will have to eventually be made into law if the deal proceeds.

Even if the ACCC says no again, it may not kill the deal. There have been indications the Foxtel shareholders might have a bit left to give.

But if Foxtel's sole reason for striking the deal is to spur pay TV subscriber growth and therefore profitability, is it focusing on the wrong issue? Sure, Optus delivers an extra 270,000 customers, and there is the chance Hollywood studios will have a fit of magnanimity and renegotiate Foxtel's crippling movie contracts.

But sport is the real lure for potential subscribers.

PBL and News know this - the profits they receive from their Fox Sports channels (cunningly included in the basic service every Foxtel subscriber receives) offset the losses they incur on their Foxtel investment.

Unfortunately for the Australian pay TV sector, the Government's stringent anti-siphoning laws which prevent popular sports being shown live on pay TV have denied the industry this growth driver.

Some argue Foxtel's energies would be better spent persuading the Government to water down these laws, rather than pursuing the Optus deal, which will lumber it with an extra $600 million in programming costs.

That's unless the conspiracy theorists are right, and the deal is more about furthering the interests of News Corp, PBL and Telstra than it is about Foxtel.

APT Satellite Expands Capacity with Harmonic Digital Headend Systems

From http://www.harmonicinc.com/ah_press_release_text.cfm?ID=455

-DiviCom® Digital Video Encoders and Statistical Multiplexers-

SUNNYVALE, CA - September 18, 2002 - Harmonic Inc. (Nasdaq: HLIT) today announced APT Satellite Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 1045 or ATS) ("APT") has significantly expanded the broadcast capacity of its existing satellites by deploying Harmonic’s DiviCom® digital video encoders and statistical multiplexing systems. By fitting more television channels into the existing bandwidth, these highly efficient MPEG-2 video solutions enable APT to increase its revenue potential and the return on its satellite network investments while maintaining the original picture quality.

A leading provider of satellite network services throughout the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Asia-Pacific region, APT leases capacity to content providers and other broadcast networks. International broadcasters such as Disney, HBO, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Galaxy and Viacom are leasing bandwidth on APT’s Apstar-I and Apstar IIR satellites while, at the same time, prominent regional broadcasters—including CCTV, China Entertainment, One Leader and Po Hsin—are leasing capacity on Apstar-IA.

Satellite network bandwidth, unlike that of a land-based network, is extremely expensive to upgrade once deployed. Typically, adding bandwidth means launching a new satellite. The advanced compression and noise reduction capabilities of Harmonic’s DiviCom MPEG-2 encoders combined with Harmonic’s powerful DiviTrackXETM statistical multiplexing increase the effective bandwidth of their existing network, yielding a more practical way to expand their revenue generating capacity. By implementing this Harmonic-based solution, APT was able to more than double the number of leasable channels it offers.

?We chose Harmonic for a number of reasons,” said Mr. Chen Zhaobin, Executive Director and President of APT Satellite Holdings Limited. “First, the DiviCom encoders and statistical multiplexing systems enable us to increase our revenue generating capacity while providing excellent channel quality to our broadcast customers. Second, the Harmonic solution is MPEG-2/DVB compliant and fully meets our high standards. And third, Harmonic has provided exceptional support services in addition to a comprehensive system solution.”

?In a competitive market, APT is enhancing the economics of its business and, at the same time, offering new options, such as managing the encoding systems, that reduce the internal operating costs for its broadcast customers, ” said Dr. Yaron Simler, President of Harmonic’s Convergent Systems Division. “By providing the encoders and statistical multiplexing equipment, APT is better able to support its customers’ diverse broadcast requirements, while maximizing available bandwidth and maintaining the highest video quality. We look forward to working with APT as it further develops its service offerings.”

NTT DoCoMo Communications Satellite in Operation

From http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=3858

Tokyo (JCNN) - NTT DoCoMo (TSE: 9437 / NYSE: DCM) announced September 17 that its third communications satellite, N-STAR c, began operating on September 14.

The satellite was launched on July 6, 2002, by Arianespace, a European space transportation company. Since its launch, the N-STAR c has been undergoing orbital testing to insure that it was functioning properly before attempting communication services.

Up until now, NTT DoCoMo has been using two satellites, the N-STAR a and N-STAR b, to provide its WideStar(R) satellite mobile communications services. NTT hopes that the use of a third satellite will insure its high-quality mobile communications services.

(Craigs comment I think this bird is at 136E, I don't think it offers TV)

China to launch two more satellites in 2005

From http://www.chinadaily.net/news/cb/2002-09-19/86890.html

China will send two oceanic and meteorological satellites to the skies in 2005 in its run-up to building a sophisticated earth observation system, utility officials said yesterday in Beijing.

The satellites will be more advanced than the HY-1A and FY-1D satellites launched atop a Long March rocket in mid-May.

After four months of in-orbit testing, both satellites were delivered by their maker, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, for use by the meteorological and oceanic agencies yesterday.

One of the new satellites, the HY-1B (HY are the initials for the Chinese word for "ocean"), will be sent into orbit in 2005 to replace the HY-1A, when the life-span of the country's first-ever oceanic satellite expires, said Lin Mingshen of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).

The 395-kilogram new satellite, which costs 300 million yuan (US$36 million) to manufacture, will provide the image of the entire globe's waters and lands every 24 hours, compared with the 72 hours it takes the HY-1A, said Lin, deputy chief designer of the satellite's ground application system.

Like its precursor, the HY-1B is also an ocean colour monitoring satellite, but it will provide more precise data about the colour and temperature of the ocean's surface, and also monitor pollution and aid in mitigating disasters, Lin said.

The other new satellite is a second generation polar orbiting weather satellite, the FY-3 (FY are the initials for the Chinese words for "wind and cloud").

The pictures returned from the FY-3 will aid not only accurate weather prediction but also give a better understanding of global weather systems, according to Zhang Guangwu, an official with the China Meteorological Administration.

Yesterday's kick-off preparations for the new oceanic and meteorological satellites indicate China has moved closer toward its ambition of forming a stereoscopic observation system by 2010 to dynamically monitor the country's land, atmosphere, and oceanic environment, experts said.

Following these two satellites scheduled to be launched in 2005, China also plans to place into space a chain of satellites to monitor the dynamic environment of the oceans and then focus on the comprehensive oceanic environment, said SOA's Lin.

The State Council budgeted 5.2 billion yuan (US$626 million) in 2000 to support development of meteorological satellites to meet the demands of national economic development, Zhang said.

Development of a new generation geo-stationary weather satellites is expected to start by the end of 2005, he said.

KEO satellite targets end 2003 launch

From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k2/sep/sep74.htm

MUMBAI : The KEO satellite scheduled to orbit around 1800 kilometers above earth for 50,000 years will be launched at the end of next year.

The announcement was made on Tuesday at a media briefing organised by the French Embassy in Mumbai. The winged satellite will be a secondary passenger on an Ariane rocket and will carry billions of messages from all parts of the globe free of cost. These will consist of what we wish to tell our descendants about our lives and our hopes for the future. As of now, the cut off date for sending messages is the end of the year.

The project has over 30 companies working and collaborating for free. They include Arianespace, Intespace which is providing flight conformity and wing deployment tests, International Space University, Carre Noir who created the KEO logo, Radio France Internationale, Sokatel, Air Franceand Lingway which provides solutions in language processing.

There will also be a glass disk containing a mosaic of faces representing diverse ethnic groups on Earth. So far, KEO claims to have received thousands of messages from over 60 languages. Though the bulk are from the US, Canada and Europe the company is trying to reach out to the developing regions and India marks a starts towards that endeavour. The creator of KEO Jean Marc Phillipe says UNESCO has elected it as the project of the 21st century. "We chose the name KEO as it reflects the spirit of sharing. This is not simply another satellite orbiting into space. This is a humanitarian concept which gives people from different cultures, races a chance to bury their differences and come together in order to collectively express themselves. 50,000 years is the mirror date to a milestone in the evolution of our species. 50,000 years represents only one per cent of the evolution of the human species that appeared on earth five million years ago."

For orbit KEO has two choices. Since its mass was recently lightened, it may be injected into an elliptical orbit or into a circular one with a range of several thousand kilometres. For symbolic reasons, KEO has been adorned with two wings. Folded in the cap of the rocket during the launch, the wings will function once the satellite is in orbit due to the sublimation of the small naphthalene spheres under the Earth's shadow and its exposure to the sun's rays. To allow the wings to flutter KEO is using a technology called ‘shape memory alloys’. The metallic alloys are able to assume different shapes according to different temperature ranges. After a couple of years, the unprotected wings will be shed leaving the core sphere to continue its journey alone in space.

SN TV Shuts Shop After Year-long Run

From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=17828

Mumbai: SN TV has wrapped up its operations after a year-long run, as it failed to obtain permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and information & broadcasting ministry to remit foreign exchange.

Launched in February 2001, SN TV was a comedy and shopping network channel, promoted by the Kolkata-based Emami Group, Mumbai-based advertising agency Prachar Communications, Atul Saraf, who is a partner in the 7 Star cable network and Kishore Mohta, who runs the Sanskar Channel.

SN TV was on Thaicom and couldn’t pay the Bangkok-based satellite its transponder fees as it did not have the permission to remit foreign exchange from RBI. According to sources, Thaicom was paid consultancy fees for the first year of the channel’s operations, but it was not sufficient to cover the transponder charges. The channel still owes Thaicom an undisclosed amount, the source added.

SN TV could not garner adequate advertising revenues and faced major financial problems ever since its launch. Atul Saraf, one of the promoters blames it on faulty marketing strategy. “There was no proper push towards programming and marketing. We were waiting to get RBI permission,” he said.

Meanwhile, the promoters have parted ways. “If I re-launch the channel, I will change its name. I am looking for new investors and will make a fresh bid for the RBI permission,” said Mr Saraf, adding that 500 hours of comedy programming was with the company, yet to be exploited.

18/09/02

For those that can no longer get into the chat room, it's because WIN XP does not come with the Java Engine installed you need to download it if you are running XP and the chatroom isn't working. Use the Windows update site to get the link.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Zapara

Pas 10 screenshots, "Feeds"

From horst

new programm started on intelsat 701-180e
10975-h-30000-3/4

btla-test card replaced with "star academy"programm
sid 1-vpid 512-a pid 650
2-vpid 513-a pid 660

found at 5 am on the 18sept.2002

yours horst

From Rudino Penny

Pal c2 4040 sr 28125,Channel 4 video pid 4129 audio pid 4130,Scopus video pid 5153 audio pid 5154,only blank screens at the moment.

From the Dish

PAS 8 166E 3860 H "TTV, CTV, CTS and FTV" are FTA.

Palapa C2 113E 4040 H "Quick Channel" has left .
Palapa C2 113E 4040 H "A test card has started" Fta, PIDs 4129/4130.

Koreasat 2 113E 12370 H The test card has left .
Koreasat 2 113E 12731 H A test card has started Fta, SID 29, PIDs 1872/1873.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3713 H "MSTV" has started , Fta, SID 2, PIDs 650/651.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3551 H "TV Moda" has started Fta, PIDs 2529/2530.

PAS 10 68.5E 4184 H Five test cards have started, Fta, Sr 19850, Fec 3/4,SIDs 5001-5005, PIDs 1160/1120-1560/1520.
PAS 10 68.5E 3808 V "A Ten Sports test card" has started Fta, PIDs 39/42.

NEWS

Austar to rejoin customer hunt next year

From http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/18/1032054823355.html

After a self-imposed 18-month hiatus, Austar will resume its push for regional pay TV customers next February, regardless of whether the proposed Foxtel/Optus program-sharing deal proceeds.

Austar chief John Porter said yesterday there was little point in pursuing subscriber growth while the deal hung in the balance. Instead, the unprofitable regional pay TV company has spent the past nine months conserving cash and cutting costs.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will reveal next month whether Foxtel's promises to digitise its cable network and provide third party access to its pay TV content and infrastructure alleviate competition concerns.

Regardless of the outcome of the ACCC's decision, Austar will begin actively chasing new subscribers again in February when it starts transmitting its service on the Optus C1 satellite. The C1 satellite extends Austar's coverage into far north Queensland, Alice Springs and Tasmania, delivering it a potential 250,000 extra homes.

"We'll pursue a more profitable growth strategy at this point, attracting customers we can maintain," Mr Porter said.

To persuade its bankers to refinance its $400 million loan, Austar was forced to restructure its business last December, selling non-core assets, sacking a third of its 1200 staff, writing down the value of assets and booking a $682 million 2001 loss.

As part of its renewed focus on the regional market, Austar sold its metropolitan ISP business AustarMetro to Virtual Communities yesterday. Mr Porter refused to quantify the sale price, other than saying it was less than $5 million and more than $2 million.

Should the ACCC block the revised Foxtel deal, Mr Porter claimed this would have little impact on Austar. "There is no real downside to Austar if the deal doesn't go through, but there is some upside if it goes ahead."

(Craigs comment, February? wishfull thinking how many times has this thing been delayed?)

Prime cuts coming if no Austar deal

From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/17/1032054819496.html

Prime Television has warned it will have to cut back local TV services unless it can strike a deal with rural satellite broadcaster Austar over retransmission of its digital free-to-air signal.

Prime chief executive Brent Harman said the viability of local TV services would be under threat unless the free-to-air signal was independently transmitted through Austar's digital set-top boxes.

He said rural advertisers would cut the amount they spent with the regional affiliate stations as audience levels declined. Regional audiences would have to buy separate digital set-top boxes to get a free-to-air signal from the local networks.

"It is barely economically possible to provide local services now," Mr Harman said.

The Ten Network has previously argued that rural TV advertisers could lose their audiences as the pay TV networks would carry city channels into the bush, making it harder for country broadcasters to sell advertising.

It supports the use of a dual tuner in the rollout of digital set-top boxes, which would allow a single box to be used for both pay and free-to-air television.

Austar chief executive John Porter said he had held preliminary talks with some regional TV executives and the Federal Government about the issue. "Redistributing those regional signals is, I think, a good idea - it's probably the only way I can see that the regional networks can have a comprehensible regional strategy," he said.

"The only barrier is the fact that you have in the regions a plethora of licence areas - nobody could afford to put up a separate signal on satellite, it would be a prohibitive investment."

Southern Cross Broadcasting chief executive Tony Bell said: "All we want is to ensure our digital signal can be received, even on a terrestrial level, through the pay TV set-top box. "We believe that's what the consumer will demand otherwise they will only receive the analogue service without them attaching another digital receiver to their TV."

Southern Cross and Prime plan to lodge submissions to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the government in the next fortnight.

Mr Porter also said Austar would resume its push for regional pay TV customers next February, regardless of whether the proposed Foxtel/Optus program sharing deal proceeded.

Meanwhile, Austar yesterday announced it had sold its metropolitan Internet business, AustarMetro, to Internet service provider Virtual Communities for an undisclosed amount.

The sale allows Austar to focus on its core regional businesses which include pay TV, Internet and mobile phones.

Orbital Completes On-Orbit Delivery Of N-STAR c To NTT DoCoMo

From http://www.spacedaily.com/news/satellite-biz-02zv.html

Orbital Sciences Corporation has completed the final on-orbit delivery of the N-STAR c satellite has been made to NTT DoCoMo after the spacecraft successfully completed a comprehensive series of tests and performance check- out procedures.

Built by a Lockheed Martin/Orbital team, N-STAR c is the first spacecraft based on Orbital's state-of-the-art STAR-2 small geosynchronous (GEO) communications satellite platform.

Since its launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket on July 5, 2002, a team of Lockheed Martin and Orbital engineers conducted a thorough evaluation of the operating systems of the satellite platform, the onboard communications payload and the ground system. In late August, operational control of the satellite system was transferred to NTT DoCoMo.

"We are delighted with the performance of the first spacecraft based on our STAR-2 platform," said Dr. Ali Atia, head of Orbital's GEO communications satellite business unit.

"The performance check-out of the STAR-2 satellite platform went very smoothly, reflecting the confidence we have in our industry-leading small GEO satellite products."

For the N-STAR c program, Lockheed Martin served as prime contractor, providing the entire payload, which was integrated onto Orbital's STAR-2 small GEO platform. The satellite was assembled and integrated at Lockheed Martin facilities in Newtown, PA.

NTT DoCoMo, Inc., Japan's premier mobile communications company, provides wireless voice and data communications to tens of millions of subscribers. NTT DoCoMo is the creator of W-CDMA air interface technology, the new de facto global industry standard, as well as the groundbreaking mobile i-mode service.

NDS hits 30 m mark on pay-TV subscribers


From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k2/sep/sep66.htm

AMSTERDAM (HOLLAND): News Corp subsidiary NDS claims that it has become the world's first company to supply smartcards to 30 million active digital pay-TV subscribers.

The declaration comes after the highest-ever revenues in any quarter for NDS announced in August 2002 , which were £65.0 million and a 20 per cent increase over the last quarter of the previous financial year. For the full year, revenues increased 12 per cent from £215.6 million to £240.8 million, with conditional access revenues at £41.7 million for the quarter, a company release states.

2002 continued to be a record year for NDS and growth has been strong in US, UK, Israel and Asia-Pacific. In addition, NDS recently reached an agreement with Scientific-Atlanta to implement its conditional access technology into Explorer® digital interactive set-tops that will be provided to Cablevision.

In June this year, Motorola agreed to integrate NDS interactive and conditional access solutions with their digital set-top boxes. In the UK and Israel NDS customers have continued to experience growth in subscriber numbers as they offer advanced interactive television on low cost set-top boxes. Asia-Pacific has been boosted by the launch of SkyLife in Korea and initial roll-out of set-top boxes is now occurring in China. Sichuan Provincial Network launched its digital interactive TV service in May 2002, using NDS's end-to-end solutions, including the Open VideoGuard™ conditional access system.

Martial-Arts Channel Aims To Leap Onto Cable TV

From http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/020918/72/32vlf.html

JACKIE CHAN and Jet Li may be big action stars, but do they have enough juice to justify a cable network devoted solely to fists of fury?

Larry Kasanoff hopes so, and despite long odds, he plans to launch a martial-arts channel early next year. The producer of "Mortal Kombat" films, who also worked with "Terminator" director James Cameron to create production company Lightstorm Entertainment, has a big vision for Blackbelt TV, which will telecast fights, movies and even some Japanese animation.

"We want to do the same thing for the martial arts that MTV did for music," says Mr. Kasanoff, who expects the Los Angeles-based channel to hit the market with at least four million cable and satellite subscribers.

It's no secret that fights and violence are big business on cable television. Wrestling shows often pull in top ratings on Viacom Inc.'s MTV and TNN channels. And for all the hype HBO gets for "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City," the AOL Time Warner Inc. channel's heavy load of boxing is just as important in keeping many subscribers on board. Zuffa LLC, which produces ultimate fighting, a mixed martial arts-style of battle, has had growing success with pay-per-view bouts. And as ever, advertisers are clamoring for ways to reach men 18 to 34 years of age: Violence and action are proven lures.

Still, getting Blackbelt TV to audiences may be tougher than surviving a bout with "The Replacement Killers" star Chow Yun Fat. For starters, most successful cable channels are owned by big media concerns with the clout to launch new networks. Convincing cable operators to pick up a new independent channel is made harder due to their difficulty in passing on the cost of new programming to subscribers: Congress could impose new rate regulations if fees go much higher.

Mr. Kasanoff, who has assembled a team of executives with experience at the Discovery Channel and Walt Disney Co., declines to say how many cable operators have agreed to carry the channel. Instead, he talks about its low costs, putting the break-even point at $60 million, and appeal to viewers.

He has secured international rights to about 15,000 hours of programming so far, from Hong Kong movies to David Carradine's Kung Fu television program. Blackbelt aims to offer an international version of the service at some point. Sony, which sold programming to Blackbelt TV, has warrants to invest in the channel.

Most of the movies and fights that Blackbelt has acquired are inexpensive because they are from overseas, often in Mandarin or Cantonese, or were sitting on big studios' shelves. "The prices we're spending per hour of programming vary from $2,500 to a few hundred thousand dollars per hour, Mr. Kasanoff says. By contrast, reruns of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" on TNN fetch $1.6 million per episode.

Blackbelt doesn't plan to invest much on original programming at first, but will enhance the fights with visual effects and graphics. If that's not enough, Mr. Kasanoff says, "our entire network is hosted by women."

The upstart channel may face a match down the road. The Martial Arts Action Network, an Orlando, Fla., channel, is hoping to launch service in the late spring. Tony Interdonato, CEO of Martial Arts Action Network and a former producer, says his channel has about 17,000 hours of programming. He concedes he's targeting a small niche but says he "won't go down without a fight."

To make itself more appealing to operators wary of adding new services, Blackbelt TV may offer itself as a free service for a year or two. While on the surface that sounds like a no-lose deal, operators don't see it that way.

"We have a saying in this industry, `The first bag of heroin is always free,'" says Fred Dressler, senior vice president of programming at AOL's Time Warner Cable, the nation's second-largest operator. The problem, he says, is that adding new channels no longer translates into new subscribers. Eventually, he adds, a channel will want a license fee and it's hard to charge subscribers to cover the expense. Mr. Dressler declined to comment on Blackbelt's prospects.

Mr. Kasanoff knows he'll have to chop through a few industry bricks to make Blackbelt a success, but he remains confident. "We know people like to watch this stuff," he says. Being small, he adds, may even give his outfit an edge: "Conglomerates by their nature are not entrepreneurial. They'd rather spend $100 on a sure thing than $110 on something risky."

Not that he sees Blackbelt fighting solo for life. He wouldn't mind if it followed the same path as the Sci-Fi Channel, which began as a small network dependent on reruns and is now part of Vivendi Universal SA. "A scrappy independent that sold out and became big and huge?" he says. "That would be great."