Focus: Broadcasting

[Via Satellite 05-12-2014] Tigo Star, a telecommunications company owned by Millicom International Cellular (MIC), launched its Direct-to-Home (DTH) services in Bolivia, and its new platform is now available in more than 100 new municipalities in El Salvador. The basic package by Tigo Star includes 56 satellite television channels for $12.75 per month. The full package...

[Via Satellite 05-08-2014] DirecTV announced its first quarter 2014 financial results, with revenues increasing by 4 percent to $7.86 billion for the broadcast satellite service provider. First quarter adjusted net income for DirecTV increased by 2 percent to $842 million. Adjusted diluted earnings per share amounted to $1.63, a 14 percent increase compared to first...

[Via Satellite 05-06-2014] The International Media Associates (TIMA) signed a three-year contract with Eutelsat for capacity on the Eutelsat 10A satellite for serving its customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and for reporting from its central London studios. TIMA provides services in international news broadcasting, content production, and events coverage, with offices in...

[Via Satellite 05-05-2014] The Vienna State Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, has selected Elemental Technologies to stream the world’s first live broadcast in 4K using High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) delivered via MPEG Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) over the Internet. The live production is set for 7:00 p.m. CET (1:00 p.m. EST) on Wednesday, May 7,...

[Via Satellite 05-01-2014] Tata Elxsi revealed its Reference Design Kit (RDK) reference deployment suite for operators. The RDK is an integrated software bundle that is used by TV service providers, Set-Top Box (STB) manufacturers and System on a Chip (SoC) vendors. The RDK provides a framework for powering Customer-Premises Equipment (CPE), such as STBs, gateways...

[Via Satellite 04-29-2014] NovelSat introduced a new satellite transmission technology, the Second Generation Digital Video Broadcast Standard-Satellite (DVB S2) Plus. This new standard is a backward-compatible alternative to the DVB S2X that was approved by the DVB Project consortium in March of 2014. The DVB S2 Plus is fully backward compatible with the DVB S2...

[Via Satellite 04-28-2014] International telecom and media company Millicom began its first Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV service in Bolivia. The new service targets the 6.5 million out of 10.5 million people in Bolivia who live out of range of cable coverage. Millicom’s service, which comes from Tigo Bolivia, is promoted under the brand name “Tigo Star,”...

[Via Satellite 04-25-2014] Advantech Wireless announced a 5 percent Roll-off Factor (ROF) on its AMT 75E DVB S/S2 High Speed Broadcast Modem. The modem is used for video distribution and VSAT networks, and has been deployed globally in many locations. “Advantech Wireless has been deploying systems with 12 percent roll-off for over five years and...

[Via Satellite 04-24-2014] Elemental Technologies has upgraded its Software Defined Video (SDV) solutions to run on multiple processing architectures including appliances, blade solutions, virtual machines and the cloud. SDV enables more efficient video streaming — one of the most bandwidth-hungry uses of satellite capacity. Over time the company expects the software approach to become more...

[Via Satellite 04-24-2014] Kazteleradio has chosen Hughes’ HX System for monitoring and controlling Kazakhstan’s national Second Generation Terrestrial Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB T2) television network. The solution includes more than 800 HX260 mesh terminals, which will provide voice and data connectivity to monitor and control all transmissions. “The Hughes HX solution provides us with satellite...