Focus: Broadcasting

[Satellite TODAY 04-20-10] SES Astra signed a capacity agreement with South African pay-TV operator On Digital Media (ODM), the DTH satellite system provider announced April 19.     ODM, which is 20 percent owned by SES Astra, will lease three transponders on the Astra 4A satellite to deliver its pay-TV offering, TopTV, which is scheduled to...

The improvement in general atmosphere at NAB 2010 was noticeable. While still cautious about the future, the communications industry is decidedly more upbeat about its prospects than at the close of the 2009 show. A lot of the outward excitement was over 3-D broadcasting — both for special events at cinemas and for the future...

[Satellite News 04-19-10] Nagravision, a Kudelski Group company, will work with Korean DTH pay-TV provider SkyLife to expand SkyLife’s 3-D TV offerings, the companies announced.     SkyLife launched the Sky 3D channel in January and recently announced an investment of 5 billion won ($4.4 million) to extend its 3-D activities. SkyLife plans to begin producing...

Nagravision, a Kudelski Group company, will work with Korean DTH pay-TV provider SkyLife to expand SkyLife’s 3-D TV offerings, the companies announced. SkyLife launched the Sky 3D channel in January and recently announced an investment of 5 billion won ($4.4 million) to extend its 3-D activities. SkyLife plans to begin producing a variety of 3-D...

Ericsson has signed a deal with ESPN to provide its 3-D channel with a complete standards-based video processing solution, featuring encoders and receivers for 3-D broadcasts, Ericsson announced.     The complete, end-to-end Ericsson solution aims to support ESPN’s 3-D and HD picture quality from venue to viewer.     “Having pioneered HDTV with our first to...

Vizada has launched a new video software program, which aims to enable users operating in remote areas to edit, compress and send video images over a mobile satellite terminal, the company announced April 15.     Vizada’s new SkyFile Video program was built on software developed by SeaMobile Europe, a mobile satellite service provider and specialist...

Sirius XM Radio expects to add 500,000 new subscribers in 2010 after adding 257,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2009 and ended the year with a customer base of 18.8 million, the satellite radio broadcaster announced.     Sirius XM Radio attributed the subscriber gains to increases in new car sales. “With auto sales showing...

A total of 147.8 million set-top boxes will ship worldwide in 2010, an increase of 11.5 percent from 132.6 million units last year, according to an iSuppli Corp. study.     The report, “Global Set-Top Box Shipment Forecast,” asserted that shipments will continue to rise in the next few years and reach 193.9 million units by...

As broadcast subscribers have upgraded from standard- to high-definition services, DTH operators have steadily grown their ARPU numbers, according to an NSR study.     The study, “HD to 3-D – A Harder Mountain to Climb,” shows that increases in service picture quality are consistent with DTH ARPU increases — from $50 to $80 levels.    As...

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) unveiled details of a 3-D TV roadmap in a Jan. 14 report that concentrates on standards to ensure 3-D TV lives up to its potential.     David Wood, chairman of ITU’s Working Party 6C (WP 6C), told Satellite News that the ITU can play a key role in helping usher...