Focus: Broadcasting

Mobile TV is one of the hottest topics in the video arena globally, but in 2008 it seems as though the role of satellites and satellite technology in this area has come under sharper focus than ever before. In Europe, competitors SES Astra and Eutelsat formed a joint venture, Solaris Mobile, to serve the mobile...

[Satellite Today 11-26-08] Pace has delivered a next-generation hybrid satellite/IP set-top box to Canal+ Group in France, Pace announced Nov. 26.     The set-top box, dubbed +Le Cube, is the first high-definition personal video recorder for Canal+ Group and has a 320 gigabyte hard drive that can store up to 100 hours of HD programming....

[Satellite Today 11-26-08] SES won a multi-year satellite capacity deal with EchoStar, as the DTH provider looks to expand into the Mexican pay-TV market, SES announced Nov. 26.      Capacity on the new QuetzSat-1 will be used by Dish Mexico, an EchoStar joint venture, to provide DTH services in Mexico. EchoStar also will use the...

[Satellite Today 11-25-08] T-Home SatTV, Hungary’s newest DTH service, has commenced operations using the Amos-3 satellite, operator Spacecom announced Nov. 25.     Magyar Telecom, the largest telco in Hungary, is trying to position itself as the leading triple-play company in Hungary. Following the introduction of the nationwide satellite service, Magyar Telecom now offers TV services...

[Satellite Today 11-25-08] AtlanTecRF launched a new series of Ka-band loop test translators in support of the next generation of ground based transmit and receive stations, the company announced Nov. 25.     The new rack mount instruments receive samples of uplink frequencies in the range 27.5 to 31.0 GHz and convert that signal to the...

[Satellite Today 11-25-08] MVS Comunicaciones, a Mexican telecommunications conglomerate, and EchoStar Corp. have formed a joint venture, Dish Mexico, that will launch Dish satellite TV service across Mexico, the companies announced Nov. 25.     EchoStar is providing satellite capacity and uplink facilities for transmitting the service. Additionally, EchoStar is contributing digital satellite TV equipment including...

[Satellite News 11-25-08] The failure of the Nigcomsat-1 satellite is a significant blow to the nascent African fixed satellite services (FSS) industry, according to analysts.     Nigcomsat, which already was making plans for future satellites, lost the services of its first spacecraft, Nigcomsat-1, was shut down Nov. 9 after suffering power problems. According to reports,...

[Satellite Today 11-24-08] Polish DTH operator Cyfrowy Polsat has deployed an advanced high-definition set-top box, EchoStar Europe announced Oct. 24.     The launch of the DBS-7100HD product is intended to boost Polsat’s DTH offer in Poland. The set-top box designed to provide consumers with reception of HD digital television services. The unit is equipped with...

[Satellite Today 11-24-08] UDcast has rolled out with WANcompress for its UDgateway security and performance solution, the company announced Nov. 24.      UDgateway offers bandwidth optimization to reduce the high operating expenditure associated with satellite communications. WANcompress is a standard feature of version 4.1 for the UDgateway. WANcompress is a software-based caching and data compression...

[Satellite Today 11-21-08] TNTSat, a digital terrestrial offering via satellite, is now in 750,000 households in France, SES Astra announced Nov. 18.     TNTSAT targets regions where TV households cannot receive signals from terrestrial transmitters. It offers French TV viewers a full range of digital terrestrial free-TV channels over the Astra satellites, allowing 100 percent...