October 2014
X2 Premium HD PVR FTA
Catching C atching S Signals ignals F From rom AS peeding S atellite Speeding Satellite
HUMAX HDR-1010S
Technomate TM-800 HD
Satellite Satellite Communication Communication
Pakistan Rs. 130.00 UAE Dh. 12.00
KSA Oman
R. 10.00 R. 01.00
Qatar India
R. 12.00 Rs. 125.00
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Lebanon LL. 5000 Nigeria N. 350
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Indonesia Rp. 25.00 Thailand Baht. 200
Bangladesh Taka. 95.00 Egypt Ep. 10.00
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AboutSatelliteTVQuality andService Satellite Television providers place satellites in the geosynchronous orbit about 22,236 miles above the earth's equator to deliver Television and Audio signals to homes and businesses. The Geosynchronous orbit, allows the satellite to stay aligned at one place and follow the rotation of the earth. Once the satellite dish is installed on Earth and pointed in the right direction, the dish will stay stationary and won't need to be moved to follow the satellite in the sky. Programming signals are transmitted to the satellite from the Uplink Center. Once the programming is uploaded the signals are transmitted back down to the dish antenna on Earth. The signal is processed by the receiver and channels are customized based upon the programming service. To receive Satellite Television services, it's required to have a satellite dish and receiver installed that is compatible for DISH Network or DIRECTV providers. The two services are not interchangeable so the equipment and subscription must be from the same company. Heavy rain, snow and clouds may cover the satellite signal blocking the reception. Make sure to maximize the satellite signal to help prevent rain and snow from
disrupting the service. It's important to hire only certified professionals by the (SBCA) Satellite Broadcast and Communications Association. Certified professionals are the best choice as they carry the right equipment to install and maximize the signal strength. Systems installed correctly are 99.9% reliable. Twice each year, the sun rotates to a position behind the satellite in Earth's orbit. At the exact time each year, depending on location comes at the beginning of spring and again at the beginning of autumn. Once the Sun is behind the satellite, solar energy overpowers the signal for a few minutes. This is a natural event that affects all satellite television program providers but is rarely noticed by the consumer. During these periods programming won't be available until the Sun has moved out from behind the satellite, then the programs will reappear. Satellite TV provides a wide range of services including music, movies, sports, news, education, comedy, shopping and much more. Subscription Service - the purchase of programming for an extended period of time that is billed on a regular monthly interval. Services remain active until the account is cancelled.
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Getting More Satellite Channels
Most Satellite TV systems can support over 250 channels of programming. All channels are of digital quality. One downside is satellite offers less local channels and may not have local channels in some areas. Most satellite companies also offer HD TV services that are compatible to your satellite TV service. Digital cable on the other hand can support over 300 channels of programming of digital quality. Digital Cable has more local channels available in most major cities. Most cable companies now offer Video on
Demand (a library of movies and TV shows that you can order at your leisure). HDTV services are becoming more popular amongst cable companies now and not just through satellite TV as in the past. Satellite equipment typically includes a satellite dish that is installed outside the home that is visible to everyone. A satellite receiver is also essential per TV. Most satellite receivers today also come with a PVR (Personal Video Recorder) which the cable company has not yet been able to offer as of now. Most satellite companies run specials on free installation and equipment when you agree to a 12 month contract. Digital cable also requires one receiver per TV but that is all the equipment needed. Should you disconnect your service the receivers will be turned into the cable company where as with Satellite TV you own the dish.
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Inside View Soaring high above Earth as they speed through space, satellites are difficult targets to track. Now a new approach developed in Europe is helping ground stations to acquire signals faster and more accurately than ever before. During launch, a satellite is flung into orbit with tremendous force, attaining speeds of over 28 000 km/h – about 40 times faster than a commercial airliner. A critical moment is when the satellite separates from its rocket and starts transmitting radio signals. A receiving station on the ground has to be ready and waiting, pointed at precisely the right spot in the sky to catch the transmission, which is a highly focused and narrow beam. And it's moving fast. “Traditionally, even the best stations – like ESA's 15 m and 35 m-diameter dishes – are only sensitive across an arc of just a few degrees,” says Magdalena Martinez de Mendijur, a systems engineer at ESA's Operations Centre in Germany. “If the antenna is not pointed perfectly, or if the satellite zips by out of its 'field of view' before acquisition, the signal could be missed altogether.” Once you have become a subscriber to Dish Network, you won't want anything to interrupt the fantastic Satellite TV programming that you will quickly grow
21 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
accustomed to. Yet, there are several things that you will need to do in order to maintain a clear and adequate Satellite TV signal at all times. If you fail to conduct regular maintenance, you may be in for a rude surprise one day when you find that your Satellite TV images fail to appear on your television screen! So, what's involved in maintaining your Satellite TV signal? First and foremost, once your Satellite TV dish has been installed, whether it is on the side of your home or on your roof, you must always make certain that your Satellite TV dish has a clear pathway to the southern horizon. Why? The southern horizon is where the Dish Network satellite is located in the sky. The satellite receives signals from Dish Network, your Satellite TV provider, and resends the Satellite TV signals back down to the earth in an encrypted form. Your Satellite TV receiver then, in turn, decodes the information and displays the images sent on your television for your viewing pleasure. Now, if there is any blockage in front of your Satellite TV dish, this could interrupt the service you receive. It is imperative that subscribers of Dish Network pay particular attention to their Satellite TV dish.
Catching Signals From A Speeding Satellite
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21 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
We are on the verge of great changes in the international structures and effects of that most pervasive of mass media, television. We are passing from the era of the lowpowered distribution satellite, which transmits programs through the filter of a broadcaster or a cable system, into the era of the Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS), with a higher-powered signal which can go straight into the individual home. Under a DBS system, all manner of nations, or even all manner of companies which make franchise deals with nations, will have the technical capacity to arrange these direct transmissions to the public the world over. This signal can be transnational and unfiltered. The transmissions have scant respect for existing markets, for national boundaries, for copyright and artistic properties, or for the established political and power structure of broadcasting. DBS will, in effect, create proximity between far-flung points; all countries across oceans and cultures could become as Canada to the United States, as Ireland to Britain, as the other islands of the Caribbean to Cuba. The economics of communications satellites are not distance-
sensitive. They destroy geography. The transmission cost is in sending the signal up and down rather than across. For a satellite with a signal range which spans a continent or an ocean, distances within the cone-like or oval shape of the area reached by the signal-the so-called cone of transmissionbecome of little economic importance. Direct Broadcast Satellites, even allowing for cultural differences, barriers of language, and the high cost of entry into the business, make possible an unregulated invasion into traditional domestic markets. With a working DBS, we could all become each other's neighbors, with everything that implies, to be enriched, influenced and irritated by each other. In that sense we may all become Canadians now. Such proximity has serious implications for the business and political structure of broadcasting. It will have long-term social and international policy implications, opening the way, at least technically, for exchanges of values, information and propaganda of unparalleled impact. We are used to arguments about cultural dominance and the free flow of information, but these have usually been in the context of the
Third World and North-South competition. By contrast, the changes that are now building up may initially have their greatest impact within the industrialized world, in the rich television markets of Europe in the first instance, but eventually including the United States. Nations, even advanced nations, risk losing control over the development of their own systems of television communication.
Direct Broadcast Satellites
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and
DTH Firms Satellite Transponder Space Direct -to-home television service firms are in talks to share satellite transponder space with each other that will allow them to offer more channels without large investments while also ensuring glitches in their own transponder do not affect their services. Taking a cue from an arrangement between Sun Direct and Big TV struck last year, other DTH companies are looking to replicate the telecom tower sharing model used by communication firms. While Dish TV and Tata Sky are in talks for a potential arrangement, Videocon d2h is negotiating with Airtel digital television for a similar deal, two persons familiar with the developments said. This could be crucial for loss-making DTH firms to cut costs in the future. Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said due diligence and technical deliberation are on for sharing infrastructure with rival firms but refused to share names of its potential partners. A Tata Sky spokesman declined comment. DTH players have been in talks for about 89 months to ink a disaster-recovery contract under which transponder space will be shared to beam channels to subscribers in case of technical snags in the companies' respective satellites. "This arrangement is more to protect business and consumer interest, though it involves several technical costs," the person said.
Separately Videocon d2h and Airtel digital television are also in talks for a deal, said another person close to the developments. In an email reply, Saurabh Dhoot, director, Videocon Group said: "We are in discussions with 2-3 operators to discuss the potential co-operation which two companies can do to make the service for their customers better and more reliable as well as better the economics of the business." Airtel digital television spokesman said the company does not comment on speculation. Satellite transponders that are leased by DTH firms to beam television channels to subscribers are in short supply. But expanding capacity is key to delivering more channels besides adding high quality premium content to spruce up revenues. Sharing infrastructure allows DTH service firms to do this without having to lease a new transponder and also comes as an insurance for disaster risk management. Last year, Sun TV's Sun Direct agreed to a deal where it switched to sending signals for some channels through Malaysian satellite Measat 3, which is used by Reliance ADA Group's Big TV. This was after its services were affected due to power supply problem in some transponders that Sun Direct had leased on INSAT-4B.
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DualLNB Dual LNB (Low Noise Block-Down Converter) is an LNB system that features two outputs rather than one and allows satellite television subscribers to watch multiple channels on separate television sets simultaneously. Dual LNB systems use only one parabolic satellite dish, but have two cable connections that are connected to separate televisions in the user's house. When the LNB collects television signals, it splits them into two equal signals that each television receives at the same time. Like dual LNB systems, triple and quadruple LNB systems are also available. An LNB is used to convert high microwave frequencies that transfer television signals across long distances into low digital signals that can be transferred through a cable line. LNBs do this by running a voltage from the user's receiver to power an oscillator found on the parabolic dish that produces a fixed frequency. This fixed frequency is then combined with the incoming frequency to produce two separate signals that equal the sum and the difference of the two frequencies respectively. The sum of the two frequencies is filtered out and the difference is redirected to the user's receiver as a digital signal that is proportional to the original incoming microwave frequency.
Both personal and commercial satellite television subscribers use dual LNBs to direct the same signals to multiple televisions sets, in much the same way cable television subscribers use multiple cables from the same line to watch different channels on separate televisions. Dual LNBs may also be required in environments in which a subscriber is dependent on a single satellite for both television and Internet services. Dual LNBs are advantageous because they provide subscribers with the same benefits that a regular LNB does, but also allow them to watch different channels on separate televisions. A dual LNB is no more complicated than a regular LNB as the system is connected directly to the parabolic dish and only requires the user to connect the appropriate cable to each television that he/she wishes to use. The quad LNB provides four outputs, each capable of providing each of the four frequency bands and polarizations. The LNB outputs are switched by the satellite receiver, as explained above, with a 22Hz tone and a switching voltage. This is like a universal LNB with four outputs. In a simple residential satellite TV installation it is normal to install a quad LNB.
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Fiber Optics, The Technology Of Future There is no doubt that fiber optic communication is our future. Over the last 15 years, the fiber optic communication industry has enjoyed an amazing growth globally. The driving factor behind the growth is technology advancement and ever-growing market demand. Fiber optic technology has revolutionalized video calls, cable TV, and Internet. To put it simply, fiber optic lines are the strands of optical glass, thinner than a single human hair. These strands carry digital signals over long distances. Data transmission starts at one end of a fiber optic cable and transfers all the way to the end where it is received and decoded. In metal wires, the signal strength degrades over distance and the wire becomes warmer, which may cause some problems that leads to unwanted noise in communication. But a fiber optic wire negates the possibility of data loss and transfers information without any noise. Hence, fiber optic is a more dependable and efficient medium to transfer information. Fiber optic communication system comprises transmitter that produces and encodes light signals; optic fiber that conducts light signals over a distance; optical regenerator that is necessary to boost the light signal (for long distances); and optical receiver that receives and decodes light signals. Finolex Cables is constantly working
toward innovative technologies and enhancing technical competencies. The company manufactures superior quality optic fiber at its modern, state-of-the-art manufacturing plant at Urse near Pune. The Finoptic LWPF fiber is designed for transmission systems over the entire wavelength range from 1260 to 1625 nm, and is characterized by attenuation at 13801386 nm band, being less than attenuation at 1310 nm. Finoptic LWPF is optimized for use in metropolitan and local access networks due to low attenuation across the entire band and low PMD (polarization mode dispersion). FinOptic LBLF and FinOptic NZDSF are other fiber optic cables from the house of Finolex. Less signal degradation. Light degrades much slower than electricity does. Hence, there is less transmission loss in fiber optic cable than copper wires. Light signals from one fiber do not meddle with those of other fibers in the same cable. This means clearer phone conversations, TV reception, or faster Internet. Inexpensive. Hundreds of thousands of miles of fiber optic cable can be made cheaper than the equivalent length of copper wire.There is a constant need to increase performance in all networks. Fiber optics has a combination of considerably larger distance between network nodes and substations and more unused overhead, which makes upgrades less of a task for network carriers.
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DTV will generally use the UHF portion of the radio spectrum with a 6 MHz bandwidth, just like analog TV signals do. This brings us to the first big misconception about HDTV. Some people believe that the United States is switching to HDTV -- that all they'll need for HDTV is a new TV and that they'll automatically have HDTV when analog service ends. Unfortunately, none of this is true.
How HDTV Works
When the first high-definition television (HDTV) sets hit the market in 1998, movie buffs, sports fans and tech aficionados got pretty excited, and for good reason. Ads for the sets hinted at a television paradise with superior resolution and digital surround sound. With HDTV, you could also play movies in their original widescreen format without the letterbox "black bars" that some people find annoying. But for a lot of people, HDTV hasn't delivered a ready-made source for transcendent experiences in front of the tube. Instead, people have gone shopping for a TV and found themselves surrounded by confusing abbreviations and too many choices. Some have even hooked up their new HDTV sets only to discover that the picture doesn't look good. Fortunately, a few basic facts easily dispel all of this confusion. For years, watching TV has involved analog signals and cathode ray tube (CRT) sets. The signal is made of continually varying radio waves that the TV translates into a picture and sound. An analog signal
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can reach a person's TV over the air, through a cable or via satellite. Digital signals, like the ones from DVD players, are converted to analog when played on traditional TVs. (You can read about how the TV interprets the signal in How Television Works.) This system has worked pretty well for a long time, but it has some limitations: Conventional CRT sets display around 480 visible lines of pixels. Broadcasters have been sending signals that work well with this resolution for years, and they can't fit enough resolution to fill a huge television into the analog signal. Analog pictures are interlaced -- a CRT's electron gun paints only half the lines for each pass down the screen. On some TVs, interlacing makes the picture flicker. Converting video to analog format lowers its quality. United States broadcasting is currently changing to digital television (DTV). A digital signal transmits the information for video and sound as ones and zeros instead of as a wave. For over-the-air broadcasting,
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Integration of Broadcast and Broadband There is little doubt that the broadcast industry should and will eventually move into the Internet Protocol (IP) world, but different parts of the world disagree on just how far and how fast broadcasters should move into IPTV. Broadcasters clearly agree. Australia is introducing the European-originated hybrid broadband-broadcast TV (HbbTV) system later this year. Japan and Korea are using their own hybridcast systems. At least two countries in Europe, Germany and Turkey, have adopted HbbTV system. And just about everyone is working on standards and technology for IPTV. The ABU and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are working on standards for IPTV interoperability; the European DVB organization plans a final release of its DVB-IPTV specification in the first half of next year; and the Open IPTV Forum has published a profile of HTML5, CSS3, DOM3, and other web technologies aimed at IPTV and connected TV services. But perhaps the most ambitious IPTV project in progress is at the US-headquartered Advanced TV Systems Committee (ATSC). While most of other IPTV systems under development mainly just embed clickable Internet links in the broadcast TV signal, the ATSC 3.0 standard now under way would use IP for the transport layer as well.
Using IP for the transport layer provides a high level of flexibility and facilitates interoperability with other Internet-based services and technologies. The use of IP transport and higher-level IP-based protocols for ATSC 3.0 will allow broadcasters to easily create content using well-knows and understood tools and systems. He adds that the inherent flexibility of IP provides broadcasters with many options for creation and delivery of enhanced content now and in the future. Adding IPTV to ATSC 3.0 is not difficult from a standards development perspective, Richer says, while noting that there is a great deal of work to do on selection and integration of the higher level protocols into the system. The final version of DVB-IPTV specifications that are due next year will add support for Dynamic Service Management and delivery over IPv6 networks, Siebert declares. Dynamic Service Management is a new feature that enables more efficient use of in-home media services, by defining a message set to signal equivalent services in case the access bandwidth capacity has been reached. DVB's final IPTV specification will not be difficult to achieve, he indicates, as most of its building blocks already exist and it is just a matter of combining them.
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BOX
SD99010A
Android Digital Satellite Receiver
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KA-Band Satellite Communications
Ka-band satellite communication (satcom) services are designed to augment and replace Ku-band very small aperture terminal (VSAT) services – the enterprise fixed (that is, non-mobile) satcom mainstay since the 1980s. Higher-frequency Ka-band offers much higher data rates than Ku-band. For broadband Internet access, Ka-band satcom services available from satellite service providers, resellers and system integrators primarily fill a large and important special role: to serve geographic regions and locations that aren't being served, and aren't likely to be served, by terrestrial systems, such as wireline or cellular networks. These regions include rural, low-population density areas; remote islands and large swaths of Africa and Asia (such as Siberia); and offshore oil and gas platforms. In addition to enterprise market segments, Ka-band sitcom is targeted at consumers and small or midsize businesses (SMBs) in such underserved areas. All fixed-service Ka-band satcoms are geosynchronous, orbiting about 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) above the Earth. The inherent latency significantly constrains their use for voice and videoconferencing applications mostly to when Ka-band is the only service available. Hence, the primary Ka-band services are data and video broadcasts. The O3b Networks Ka-band satcom system will use so-called “medium” orbits (about 8,000 kilometers) to reduce latency below 150 milliseconds and is targeting throughput of up to 1.2 Gbps per beam. O3b began
launching its first eight satcoms in 2H13. Ka-band enables a common networking solution for all sites, such as big-box retail chains. Satcoms, by their nature, have wide applicability in disaster recovery and business continuity. For example, Ipstar helped restore cellular service after the 2011 tsunami in Japan. Gilat Satellite Networks' Spacenet provided mobile VSAT units to enable data connectivity for a number of large northeastern U.S. commercial customers following “Superstorm Sandy” in 2012. However, advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular networks eventually may emerge as a key competitor of Ka-band in certain remote markets and disaster recovery applications. As aging Ku-band systems reach their end of life, Ka-band is an attractive, nextgeneration-system replacement. Ka-band services typically use remote earth terminals with antennas of 1 meter or less in diameter – more than 40% smaller in area than Ku-band. Services are offered in the multimegabit range in remote uplinks (Ku-band has typically been limited to submegabit speeds); on a per-bit basis, Kaband is typically 50% less expensive than Ku-band. Ka-band satcom services are becoming available in key markets, such as North America (for example, through ViaSat or Telesat), Western Europe (for example, through Eutelsat) and the Asia/ Pacific region (for example, through Ipstar).
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New Installation Of Dish Antenna When installing a new satellite dish the first step is to conduct a site survey to select the location for the install. You can either hire someone to do this, or you can do it yourself. Satellites used in the broadcast industry are in a Geostationary orbit and thus reside on an arc in the sky, positioned above the equator. Your future dish site needs to be able to “see” this arc, or at least the portion of the arc that holds the satellite you want to receive programming from. By using a compass and inclinometer you can check the arc from your proposed site. Inclinometers are available at most hardware stores and are sometimes called an “angle finder”. Determining the site's ability to see the arc should be the first step in your site survey. Refer to the azimuth and elevation chart to find out where your dish will need to “look” for the satellite you wish to tune to.
A check of local ordinances and zoning laws should also be conducted. Be sure there are no regulations on land use such as historic district rulings. The next consideration should be the distance from the future dish location to where the satellite receiver will be located. As the distance increases so does the amount of cabling needed between the two points. The more cable you have the more it costs. More importantly as the distance increases the amount of signal to the receiver decreases. Also be sure the dish and any cable routing will be entirely on property you own or lease. Terrestrial interference is also a concern for satellite downlink points. Interference can come from telephone company microwave links, cellular phone towers and even airport radar sites. Roof locations for a dish installation are not uncommon but present unique concerns. These include access to the dish location, ability to properly anchor the dish mount, and terrestrial interference that may not be a concern at a ground level location. As with anything else purchasing a new dish will provide you with many choices, some more suitable than others. Your first decision is between a solid or mesh dish design. Solid dishes offer many advantages over a mesh dish and should be the choice for nearly every situation. Solid dishes hold up better against wind stress, retain their shape better and have a much longer life expectancy than a mesh dish.
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Pay TV and operator opportunities and challenges
People all over the world still love to watch TV. The number of households that subscribe to pay-TV, an umbrella term that encompasses cable, satellite and IPTV (internet protocol television) services, currently stands at 804 million, having grown 8 percent last year, and is expected to pass the one-billion mark by 2017, according to a recent report from Multimedia Research Group (MRG). Although cable still accounts for the largest segment of pay-TV households, satellite services increased by 12 percent in 2014, while IPTV grew a remarkable 36 percent. Gone are the days when a single cable operator or satellite TV provider was the only option consumers had if they wanted to receive broadcast and pay-TV channels. Consumers today have choices. As broadband access continues to expand worldwide, competitive offers from telco operators continue to roll out IPTV solutions at a time when over-the-top (OTT) service providers are becoming more prevalent and diminishing the stronghold of the cable industry by offering alternatives for consumers. And if that's not enough, consumer expectations have risen, in part because of the “always on” Internet experience. Operators that wish to retain their customers and persuade them to be advocates are well aware of increasing demands, but meeting those demands is
often easier said than done. And as reports of pay-TV subscribers “cutting the cord” continue to trickle out, the trend is obvious: customers are craving choices when it comes to the way they receive TV services in their homes and on multiple devices beyond the traditional television set, just as they crave the ability to watch what they want when they want. But how customers make their choices hinges on how they are treated by their service providers. Operator opportunities and challenges As with any opportunity for growth, challenges can impact success. There are two key areas where operators will need strategies and solutions in place to leverage the potential of the pay-TV market: redefining competition, and focusing on the customer. The competitive pressures faced by pay-TV operators include cord cutting, breaking up the bundle to offer customers more choices, and the ability to differentiate. While reports of cord cutting aren't yet extensive, a shift has already begun to take place. Leichtman Research Group “found that the 13 biggest U.S. cable, satellite and telco TV providers lost about 80,000 subscribers for the 12 months ended March 31, 2013,” wrote Variety's Todd Spangler back in May. “It's the first tangible proof that the pay television sector is shrinking.”
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21 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Satellite Communication A satellite is basically a self-contained communications system with the ability to receive signals from Earth and to retransmit those signals back with the use of a transponder—an integrated receiver and transmitter of radio signals. A satellite has to withstand the shock of a launch into orbit at 28,100 km (17,500 miles) an hour and a hostile space environment where it can be subject to radiation and extreme temperatures for its projected operational life, which can last up to 20 years. In addition, satellites have to be light, as the cost of launching a satellite is quite expensive and based on weight. To meet these challenges, satellites must be small and made of lightweight and durable materials. They must operate at a very high reliability of more than 99.9 percent in the vacuum of space with no prospect of maintenance or repair. The main components of a satellite consist of the communications system, which includes the antennas and transponders that receive and retransmit signals, the power system, which includes the solar panels that provide power, and the propulsion system, which includes the rockets that propel the satellite. A satellite needs its own propulsion system to get itself to the right
orbital location and to make occasional corrections to that position. A satellite in geostationary orbit can deviate up to a degree every year from north to south or east to west of its location because of the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun. A satellite has thrusters that are fired occasionally to make adjustments in its position. The maintenance of a satellite's orbital position is called “station keeping,” and the corrections made by using the satellite's thrusters are called “attitude control.” A satellite's life span is determined by the amount of fuel it has to power these thrusters. Once the fuel runs out, the satellite eventually drifts into space and out of operation, becoming space debris. A satellite in orbit has to operate continuously over its entire life span. It needs internal power to be able to operate its electronic systems and communications payload. The main source of power is sunlight, which is harnessed by the satellite's solar panels. A satellite also has batteries on board to provide power when the Sun is blocked by Earth. The batteries are recharged by the excess current generated by the solar panels when there is sunlight.
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Inside View With today's increasing technology in all areas of life, there have been noticeable changes in the television industry. Satellite use is quickly gaining popularity each year. This kind of TV is accepted for being more suitable and diverse as compared to the ordinary cable TV. This diversification has brought many players in the market, and a person should know what to expect from satellite television service providers. What you should know is that these providers have expanded their programming in order to cater for all target groups in the market. However, there are many factors to consider before signing a contract with any of these providers. Supposing you overlook these significant factors and sign a contract with a random provider, you might not have a good experience. The first consideration to make are the channels you would prefer watching. Thus, you need to conduct a self-assessment test to know the kind of program that really fits your viewing, for example, sports, action, comedy, or even talk shows. After determining what you need, search for a provider who offers these packages. The other consideration to make is about the cost of the package. You must ensure
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that the package being offered to you is within the budget. It is easy to know about the rates for different packages because one easy way to find out is to a company's website and check. One important thing about cost is that you have to set a clear budget to know how comfortable you can make payments. With the current high competition in this industry, obtaining a favorable price is not an uphill task. This is because, with the lowest rates, you can get good offers of packages. The other thing you need to consider about costs is that they are different. The first one is the monthly subscription and the other being installation costs. Providers charge differently, so it is up to you to select the provider whose rates are economical. Installation cost normally includes equipment and labor. However, you can also shop around and check whether there are other third parties selling the equipment's at a cheaper rate. Normally, dealers are cheaper as compared to these companies when it comes to purchase of equipment's. Moreover, before buying the equipment, make sure that the third party offers installations and repair services.
Satellite Television Service Providers
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Video Delivery:
Why Fiber Works? The creativity employed by service providers and operators to offer IP services is being smothered by slow, decrepit access networks. Although the initial installation is expensive, everyone's getting the idea pretty quickly that fiber broadband is where it's at, especially in terms of streaming video. As an added bonus, once you've got fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) hooked up, you can tell your cable or satellite operator to take its ugly box/dish and expensive subscription package and get bent. And consumers have indicated they're ready to do just that. By 2018 there will be 940 million fiberbroadband subscribers around the world, according to the UK analysis firm Point Topic, a 46 percent increase from last year's final tally of 643.8 million. And the number of consumers of online video will swell to nearly two billion by 2017, as indicated by Cisco's Visual Networking Index Services Adoption Forecast, encompassing 81 percent of residential internet users. Consumers want their TV and internet to work together seamlessly anywhere they go. Now providers such as Google Fiber have taken that idea and run with it, and are poised to revolutionize the way video content is delivered and consumed. The idea isn't all that new: cable companies have realized how easily they could convert a cable customer into a broadband one, because TV and internet are the PB&J of residential services—they just go well together. Plus, when customers have the
benefit of a single bill, a single provider and great service, the proposition becomes a pretty easy sell. Google Fiber and other fiber-broadband providers like CenturyLink understand that once you've got fiber providing lightning-fast internet speeds, a slick TV-and-gaming offering is the next logical step. Google Fiber's TV service is a boob-tube aficionado's dream come true Although it's only available in Kansas City at the moment, the company's internet-and-TV bundle, or what those cheeky Googles call “the full Google experience,” goes for a relatively reasonable $120 a month with Google Fiber agreeing to waive the $300 network-construction, or installation, fee for new subscribers. Those who sign up still get traditional over-the-air (OTA) channels like CBS, PBS and Univision, but with a full slate of pay-TV faves, from Bravo and FX to MSNBC and the Disney Channel. Subscribers also receive speeds of up to one gigabit per second (1 Gbps) for uploads and downloads, a terabyte (1 TB) of storage that covers Gmail, Google Drive and Google+ photos, and a spanking new Google Nexus 7 tablet that doubles as a remote control.
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OCTOBER 2014
Inside View
21 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Migration to Digital Transmission
TRANSMITTERS:
Broadcasting in India has continually evolved through the application of the latest technologies, starting with radio, and then moving onto digital television and HDTV. Digital TV broadcasting by satellite, cable, and terrestrial networks is currently an area of intensive development and standardization. With the ongoing digitalization process of terrestrial television and radio networks, content transmission is headed toward a new era. Convergence is taking place not only in technology but also in distribution infrastructure and related equipment. Major driver of convergence is digital technology. Continued digitalization of transmission networks has led to spectrum efficiency along with being a major factor to promote digital revolution. Amidst the popularity of DTH and Cable TV, the national broadcaster Prasar Bharati is trying to create a strong digital network for Doordarshan and All India Radio as digital transmission will offer numerous advantageous over its analog counterpart viz. multi-channel operation, vastly superior and uniform reception quality, reception possible in moving vehicles, and less power requirement. In addition, it is highly spectrum efficient. The transmitters market for 2013-14 is estimated at Rs. 60.41 crore. Doordarshan constituted 52 percent of the market, while All India Radio with orders for its FM and SW channels contributed the balance. AIR at Rs. 29.02 crore saw a major dip in 2013-
14, down from an order procurement of Rs. 141 crore in 2012-13. In 2013-14, DD has placed orders for 19 numbers of 6 kW DVB-T2 SD transmitters and 3 numbers of 10 kW of Solid State UHF analog transmitters to Harris Broadcast (now Imagine Communications and GatesAir) and 12 numbers of digital upgradable VHF analog transmitters to Rohde & Schwarz. Budget for an additional 21 numbers of transmitters has been approved and are planned to be procured through a global tender. These would have DVB-T2-Lite feature in addition to DVB-T2-Base. Doordarshan will go for M-PLP transmission with these transmitters. Doordarshan maintains its 1415 terrestrial transmitters that are scattered in every corner of India so that free-to-air services continue to be availed. The national broadcaster is reaching remote and uncovered areas through its DTH services and upgrading its low-power transmitters (LPTs) to high-power transmitters (HPTs). Very-low-power transmitters (VLPTs), on completion of their life cycle, are scheduled to be replaced by DTH services, requiring set-top boxes (STBs) and dish antennae. Complete transmission is planned for VLPTs/LPTs and 50 percent for HPTs. Having operated with DVB-T and DVB-H transmitters, DD has plans to migrate to DVB-T2 and MPEG-4 transmission.
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
78
OCTOBER 2014
21 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Complete Guide of Digital Channels
t e cy rity at EC nd nc en ola S/R F Ba /E r u l q P C re
Channels
DIGITAL CHART
am
Be
F
Dish Size 08-10 ft
Express AM 3 (140°E) AM 3
Dish Size 06-10 ft
Dish Size 06-08 ft Dish Size 08-10 ft
Apstar 6 (134°E) 6
Dish Size 08 ft
ChinaSat 6A (125° E)
Dish Size 10-12 ft
JCSAT 4A (124° E)
Vinasat 1 & Jcsat 5A (132°E)
Telestar 18 (138°E)18
Dish Size 08 ft
JC Sat 3 (128.8° E) 3
Dish Size 08 ft
OCTOBER
81
Asiasat 4 (122° E) 4
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2014