W ith the regular production of HD pro-gramming in Europe, and the possibility

of a European HDTV standard being openly debated and planned for, European SNG ser-vice providers are beginning to think of how they might cope with HD.

Following a European HDTV Forum session at SES Astra headquarters in Luxembourg in June, attended by more than sixty European broadcast customers, hardware manufactur-ers and other industry partners, a potential European HD standard was announced based on formats of 720 lines progressive (50 fps) and 1080 interlaced (25 fps).

European satellite operator SES Astra has been transmitting Europe's first HDTV offer-ing - EURO1080 - at 19.2°E since January 2004. Additional HDTV channels are expected to launch this year on Astra.

Recently UK’s major DTH satellite broad-caster Sky announced plans to transmit HDTV to the UK in 2006.

A number of European broadcasters and programme makers have been shooting pro-ductions in HD for several years now, in order to make their product marketable in the U.S. and Japan, and the move to HD SNG will hap-pen sooner or later.

Although none of the US nets are as yet newsgathering in HD, it is inevitable that some or all of them will start to gather news in HD format by 2005-6.

The Japanese have already started HD newsgathering, so it is only a matter of time before HD SNG in Europe will be in demand by non-European broadcast-ers — and European broadcasters will follow once European HD transmissions begin.

NHK used their own HD SNG uplinks from the disaster zone of the Bam earth-quake in Iran late last year.

In late July 2004, NHK contracted a group of UK firms (Metro Broadcast, BowTie TV and NTL) to broadcast a live 4:2:2 MPEG-encoded HD transmission in Dolby 5.1 surround sound from Alexan-dra Palace, the birthplace of UK public television transmission.

The programme was Nodojiman, which literally translated, means "throat show-off". This hugely popular amateur

singing contest has been broadcast to millions of viewers in Japan every Sunday for 50 years.

UK uplink company NTL provided two up-links, one for the HD transmission and one for the standard definition backup. OB company BowTie TV supplied trucks with a total of six HD cameras. NTL have a number of HD encod-ers which they can use for HD jobs, and are assigned on a job-by-job basis.

NHK also used the same trio of companies for an HD transmission two weeks earlier — a two-hour broadcast from London’s Hampton Court Flower Show.

BT Broadcast Services are expecting a surge in demand for HD transmissions, and in order to establish themselves ahead of the game, they're investing heavily in HD equip-ment. BT have launched a new service ena-bling any of their current fleet of trucks or flyaways to be HD-enabled by using an HD flight case which works with most SNG trucks or flyaways.

Housed in an 18RU 19 in. shock-mounted flight case, the HD SNG unit contains the fol-lowing equipment, running from top to bottom: • 1 x Sony LMD-530 3 x 5.6 inch LCD Monitor • 1 x Dolby LM100 Loudness Meter

Volume 1, Issue 2

HD SNG ST I R R I N G S IN EU RO P E

Summer 2004

BeaconSeek offers:

• Satcomms Consultancy

• Project Management

• Systems Integration

• Broadcast Engineering

• Location Event Planning

• Training

• Market Studies

• Marketing Communications

• Regulatory Affairs Advice

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Found The Mark 2

Ka Band 3

U-Pod Pictures 5

Close to the Flange 6

Universal Access 6

SNG/ENG Safety 8

News 9

Useful Resources 10

L I N E O F S I G H T — S U M M E R 2 0 0 4

T H E Q U A R T E R L Y N E W S L E T T E R A B O U T S A T E L L I T E N E W S G A T H E R I N G

BT HD SNG UNIT

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Line Of S ight — Summer 2004

I t seems that the launch of Line Of Sight has hit a chord — we were very pleasantly sur-

prised to receive an impressive number of emails and comments welcoming and encour-aging the launch of a newsletter aimed at the SNG industry — both from the operators and the manufacturers points of view.

This, along with over 200 people request-ing a regular (free!) subscription after receiv-ing the first edition, as well as nearly 200 downloads of LOS from our web-site has en-couraged us in continuing with the venture, and we look forward to developing LOS into a reference point for our niche area of the satel-lite communications industry.

What’s particularly apparent in the market is that we’re seeing a number of new small companies entering the marketplace to offer low-cost easily-deployable SNG terminals (see the News page for more). It seems hard to believe that the market is big enough to sup-

port the number of manufacturers offering these products, and it will be interesting to see the range of new products at IBC2004.

It is particularly important to have contri-butions from SNG operators in the field, and I’m delighted that Tim Watson, a freelancer, has found the time to give us a personal in-sight into one aspect of life on the road for him. I hope that this will encourage others to share their experiences (and photos—we love photos!) for the mutual interest and benefit of us all.

Please feel free to email us with sugges-tions or even pieces that you’d like pub-lished — we depend on your support to sustain this exciting start.

Jonathan Higgins

Page 2

“…It is particularly important to have contributions from

SNG operators in the field ... ”

HD SNG UNIT IN USE

• 1 x Tektronix WFM700M waveform monitor • 1 x Canford Audio Patch Panel • 1 x Tandberg TT1280 Decoder • 2 x Tandberg E5780 Encoders • 2 x Evertz 7710HD Monitoring Downcon-

verter & Distribution Amplifier • 1 x Power Distribution Panel

The flight case and the rest of the network support flexible bandwidth (24 Mbps and 46 Mbps) and the 12 currently used HD video and audio formats.

BT launched their end-to-end HD network at an event in The Hospital in Covent Garden, London on 16 June, showing a live football match.

The end-to-end network consists of fibre and satellite routes between HD enabled hubs (currently London, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Tokyo). This will enable them to cope with the current demand for HD services in the US and Japan, and at the same time help promote the rollout of HD across Europe.

BT say that the reason they chose to pro-duce a flight case, rather than equipping one or two trucks as other SNG providers are do-ing, is because this kit can be shipped very quickly to work with any of their 27 trucks across the UK and Europe, or anywhere in the world using their flyaways.

BT have also struck up agreements with several of their preferred SNG suppliers in the US, thus offering transportable HD services in North America. BT say that when HD really takes off, their entire fleet will be upgraded, but at the moment the demand for HD is com-ing from major sports events around the world, and the flight case enables them to provide global HD coverage right from the start.

In the last few months, all of their SNG

operators have undergone detailed training on HDTV technology. The HD SNG unit has been used for coverage of the US Tennis Open at Flushing Meadows, as well as news feeds for APTN and NHK.

BT showed a demo version of the HD flight case at NAB in April, and expect to have a sec-ond flight case ready for service soon.

Unfortunately, BT are not exhibiting at IBC in Amsterdam this year, so we won’t get a chance to see their HD SNG unit there in the flesh. However, it won’t be long before other SNG operators in Europe step up to the line to equal or exceed BT’s offering - rumours are that there will be some revelations of other operators plans at IBC. ◙

HD SNG ST I R R I N G S IN EU RO P E

FOUN D THE MA R K

“The HD SNG unit has been used for coverage of the US

Tennis Open at Flushing Meadows, as well as news feeds for APTN and NHK.”

Line Of S ight — Summer 2004

T he idea of using the Ka band for SNG has-bobbed up and down into view as an idea

for a number of years, and with recent an-nouncements from a couple of satellite opera-tors, it has come to the surface again.

Just to be clear, Ka band generally refers to uplinking at 27.5 — 30.0 GHz and downlink-ing at 17.7 — 20.2 GHz. Remember that the issue of rain fade is much more prevalent at these frequencies.

Currently the principal application for Ka band capacity is broadband access. A number of satellite operators offer Ka band capacity, although one or two don’t quite know what to do with it. The development of Ka band capac-ity was predicated in part by a forecast in the mid-1990s of a shortfall in Ku band capacity by this decade. However, with a current sig-nificant amount of Ku band capacity to spare in many regions, some satellite operators are bravely pushing the use of Ka band for broad-band connectivity, using SITs (Satellite Interac-tive Terminals) or SUTs (Satellite User Termi-nals) depending on the operator (both amount to the same thing).

Of course, an enterprising uplink operator

Page 3

KA BA N D—HY P E OR RE A L I S T I C OP T I O N? J O N A T H A N H I G G I N S

could put together their own uplink station using Ka band equipment, as both amplifiers and antennas are now available.

At a conference late last year, I listened to representatives from two satellite opera-tors try to convince the audience about the advantages of using Ka band for SNG. The operators in question were Hughes and SES Astra, and both are particularly targeting the SNG market .

Hughes SpaceWay is a “next-generation” satellite system. In early 2005 (two years later than originally planned), Hughes will be launching the first of three Boeing 702 satel-lites for their (eventually) global SpaceWay system, with SpaceWay 1 covering North America at 103ºW.

SpaceWay satellites will have a total ca-pacity of 10 Gbps, offering direct site-to-site connectivity rates of 512 Kbps - 2 Mbps for small remote locations and up to 16 Mbps at larger locations. Designed as a broadband connectivity platform for consumers and businesses, the network is based on the use of IP.

(Continued on page 4)

“Ka band generally refers to uplink at 27.5 — 30.0 GHz and downlink at 17.7 — 20.2 GHz”

Line Of S ight — Summer 2004 Page 4

The satellites feature a high degree of on-board digital processing offering packet switching with spot beam technology. This technology will enable the satellite to provide services to small terminals within the area of a ‘micro-cell’ (structured much like GSM net-works), while on-board routers will enable mesh connectivity.

Users of the system will be able to directly communicate with any other user of the sys-tem without requiring connection through a central hub.

Ground terminals will have IP-based user interfaces, and it is at this point that the po-tential use for SNG becomes apparent.

Instead of using specialized equipment, the SpaceWay system will offer the possibility of using low cost integrated terminals which have been designed for a mass market These ground terminals will be a fraction of the cost of the traditional SNG rig, yet effectively offer the same capabilities such as those found with the Swe-Dish IPT Suitcase.

Hughes have not yet made clear how pointing at the satellite is achieved under SNG operational conditions (Ka band beams are obviously even narrower then Ku), but the is-sue of capital cost of the terminal is the atten-tion grabbing point — we’re looking at hun-dreds of dollars instead of thousands for the

equipment. The indoor unit is phonebook size, with an integral up /downconverter and satel-lite modem. With the advances in video com-pression and higher order modulation tech-niques, Hughes forecast that 1 metre anten-nas will be sufficient for SNG applications, and that the problems of rain fade will be over-come with higher power involved on the downlink (although what about the uplink?). The use of DVB-S2 is seen potentially as a way of adding link margin where it is needed and accommodating different rain zones and an-tenna sizes.

We’re also looking at a system which does-n’t involve co-ordination with an operator’s control centre; where the possibility of self-booking or on-demand access is offered.

And we mustn’t forget that as a mass-

K A B A N D — H Y P E O R R E A L I S T I C O P T I O N ?

“…there is an inherent weakness ...

only one uplink channel for every seven

downlink channels ...”

MICRO-CELL COVERAGE

Line Of S ight — Summer 2004 Page 5

market application, connection costs are likely to be proportionately lower, based presumably on a per-packet charge rather then per-minute.

However, there is an inherent weakness in the Hughes proposition in using this system for SNG — the SpaceWay satellite has only one uplink channel for every seven downlink chan-nels in each micro-cell. Like most IP-based connectivity, it is biased the wrong way round for SNG applications, where as we all know the emphasis is on uplink rather than downlink capacity.

In around a year’s time, Hughes hope to be trialing the system with selected North American broadcasters, and commercial ser-vice is currently slated for late 2005.

SES Astra are suggesting that their BBI (Broad Band Interactive) system is an opportu-nity for SNG. This is not a purely Ka band sys-tem — the uplink is Ka band, but the downlink is Ku band. Not quite as bullish as Hughes, SES concede that their BBI terminals would need some adaptation to be used as SNG up-links.

SES Astra is a European regional operator, and BBI is actually up and running using a current generation satellite (Boeing 601 HP). But their system is limited in coverage com-pared to SpaceWay, as it is based on a single orbital slot at 19ºE (currently two transpond-ers on Astra 1H provide coverage). Unlike SpaceWay, which will provide virtually contigu-ous coverage of North America, SES Astra’s BBI is based on the use of a number of ‘traditional’ large area spotbeams, and some parts of Europe are not fully covered (Western

Brittany in France, for example). BBI is based on DVB-RCS (Return Channel

By Satellite), and like SpaceWay, the capacity balance is the wrong way round for SNG — a bandwidth limit of 2 Mbps on the uplink (although there is up to 38 Mbps on the downlink). The terminal equipment is com-pact, and the price tag is similar to SpaceWay.

So, returning to the initial question—hype or realistic option? At this time it’s probably hype. But, Ka band may very well be used for SNG in the future, and the likely routes are either via systems such as SpaceWay, or by an uplink operator putting together their own set of kit, and establishing a co-operative relation-ship with a satellite operator to use some spare Ka band capacity, .

There does appear to be a lack of under-standing by some proponents of using broad-band Ka services of the requirements of SNG — a big pipe up to carry the feed, and a smaller pipe back for carrying ancillary ser-vices such as IFB-over-IP, newsroom computer access, VOIP etc.

So it would be fair to say that the jury is currently still out on the use of Ka band for SNG. ◙

K A B A N D — H Y P E O R R E A L I S T I C O P T I O N ?

“SES concede that terminals for their BBI system would need some adaptation to be used as SNG uplinks …”

ASTRA 1H BBI SERVICE (SHADED)

A s promised in the last issue, we have got hold of pictures of SISLink’s new U-Pod. SISLink is buoyed up by a contract for the

U-Pod system from UK’s ITV network. In July. SISLink won a five-year contract to supply U-Pods for ITV’s regional news network centred on 15 trucks for its regional newsgathering operation across the UK. The first of the trucks, built on the Mercedes 416 medium

SISLI N K U-PO D

wheelbase van, is due to be delivered in No-vember, with production rolling out one unit a week thereafter. U-Pod will be on show at IBC Amsterdam in September. ◙

“In July SISLink won a five-year contract to supply U-Pods ...”

Line Of S ight — Summer 2004 Page 6

CL OS E TO THE FLA N G E … E X P E R I E N C E S O N T H E R O A D

you’re ready to access the satellite. For this particular job we opted to take

advantage of the IPT’s two-way capability. With base transmitting a narrow comms car-rier back to us over the same satellite, we had the benefit of two IP telephone circuits at the dish location and, even more usefully, an Internet connection.

Back at the studio, live-shot picture quality was judged almost indistinguishable from a conventional feed, yet we were occupying just the minimum 2 MHz satellite slot at a 24-hour price of less than $1000.

The performance of this little unit was im-pressive and as other manufacturers join the field, a new era of versatile, low-cost satellite newsgathering has finally arrived. ◙

Tim Watson is a freelance editor/uplinker. +44 20 7435 8873

timwatson@dial.pipex.com

Swe-Dish Suitcase IPT in action Newsgathering budgets are under pressure but the new generation of portable satellite uplinks is ena-bling news management to cover stories in novel ways—for far less money. UK-based freelance up-linker Tim Watson talks about what it’s really like taking a SWE-DISH IPT system on the road.

T ry “May we put our SNG uplink in your taxi?” The answer,

when you travel around the Middle East with a dish the size of a suit-case, is always a cheery “No prob-lem!”

On this assignment the client, a US broadcaster, wanted 24-hour live surveil-lance of a potential trouble spot on the West Bank. Sending out a SWE-DISH IPT uplink together with a Sony PD-150 camera and a lone shooter/editor/uplinker, meant the costs of crewing, excess baggage and even satellite time were a fraction of those associated with a conventional dish.

Set-up is straightforward and typically takes about fifteen minutes. Pretty much any laptop computer with Internet Explorer may be used to drive the unit and SWE-DISH appears to have listened to the concerns of customers and made its operating software far more user-friendly.

Select a satellite from the drop-down list and the built-in GPS and compass will point the dish to within a degree or two. Peak up, enter the frequencies, bit-rate, power etc and

... May we put our SNG uplink in your

taxi ? ...”

If you want to share your on-the-road ex-periences, please send an email to los@beaconseek.com — we really like to feature individual sto-ries about life out on the road ...

WEST BANK — TIM SETTING UP ...

T he satellite industry continues to refine and obtain agreement on Universal Access

Procedures. The idea is to achieve a standard-ized procedure for use by uplink operators accessing space segment.

The World Broadcasting Unions Interna-tional Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG), which includes broadcasters, satellite opera-tors, transmission service providers and in-dustry groups have unanimously approved a set of Universal Access Procedures (UAP) for all satellite uplinks aimed at significantly re-ducing satellite interference.

The UAP covers a the range of responsibili-ties incumbent on both the uplink operator and the satellite operator’s control centre for occasional use access.

For those who have been doing uplink op-erations for years, most if not all of it looks

like straightforward common sense. For instance, the uplink operator must

check all their parameters with the satellite control centre before commencing transmis-sion — including whether they actually have a booking! (some don’t apparently)

The satellite control centre must check correct transponder, frequency, polarization and cross-pol before giving the go-ahead for the uplink operator to come up on the chan-nel — first at reduced power, clean carrier, then with modulation, and then finally up to nominal power.

During the transmission, the satellite con-trol centre must have a direct phone number for the uplink operator in case of a problem.

At the end of the transmission, each side agrees the end time — and the uplink operator drops the carrier.

UN I V E R S A L AC CE S S PRO CE D U R E S T A N D A R D S A T E L L I T E A C C E S S M E T H O D

TIM SETTING UP IN WEST BANK

AuraSat - 1.2m ultra low profile - Eutelsat approval - Auto-pointing

- Auto-peaking

- Auto-everything - Low cost !!!

erators are most concerned about the remain-ing 10% of “rogue” or malicious access inci-dents.

Dick Tauber, Chairman of WBU-ISOG and Vice-President, Transmission Systems and New Technology for the CNN News Group at CNN in Atlanta says, "It's important that broad-casters, satellite operators and uplink service providers work together to reduce and elimi-nate interference caused by equipment mal-function and human errors so we, as an indus-try, can focus on and thwart those who don't play by the rules and purposely interfere with global satellite broadcasts. We anticipate adoption and approval from the ITU. Our rec-ommendations have the full support of key satellite industry groups."

The UAP recommendations were devel-oped by the Rogue Carriers Working Group on Satellite Interference (RCWG), a WBU-ISOG sub-committee, and were adopted by the fol-lowing industry organizations:

• Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Associa-tion of Asia (CASBAA)

• Global VSAT Forum (GVF) • Satellite Industry Association (SIA) • Satellite Users Interference Reduction

Group (SUIRG) • World Teleport Association (WTA) ◙

Line Of Sight — Summer 2004 Page 7

Might seem like pretty obvious stuff, but it seems that for many uplink operators, some of this is not something they normally do —they just bang a carrier up without a concern about the consequences.

The WBU-ISOG submitted a new draft rec-ommendation to the International Telecommu-nication Union Study Group 4B (ITU-R SG 4B) , for satellite newsgathering (SNG), at the Study Group 4B meeting in April, 2004 in Geneva. It’s expected to be ratified by the ITU in Octo-ber.

Members of the WBU-ISOG are calling on broadcasters and satellite operators to collec-tively help eliminate satellite interference, with special concern for deliberate events of inter-ference caused by rogue carriers. These rogue carriers intentionally transmit to satel-lite capacity that has been assigned to legiti-mate users, interrupting network broadcasters who use the satellites for newsgathering, pro-gram acquisition and distribution to their cus-tomers.

Satellite operators are anxious to minimize the problems caused by unauthorized access, although one anonymous spokesman admit-ted that over 90% of unauthorized access inci-dents are caused by operator error—technically referred to as “finger trouble”. However, he went on to say, the satellite op-

UN I V E R S A L AC CE S S PRO CE D U R E S

“ over 90% of unauthorized access

incidents are caused by operator error —

technically referred to as “finger trouble”.

Take a closer look at Sat-Comm … this IBC (stand 4-271)

95 Hampstead Avenue, Mildenhall, Suffolk, IP28 7AS, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1638 515000 Fax: +44(0) 1638 515055

Email: sales@sat-comm.com Web: www.sat-comm.com

- SNG Vehicles - Flyaway Systems - Antenna Systems - IP Systems -

NEW

Line Of S ight — Summer 2004 Page 8

happens more in some countries—it’s particu-larly prevalent in the U.S, partly because this is the country with the highest density of SNG/ENG trucks, combined with the increased number of overhead hazards.

Fire is often a result of hitting overhead power cables (as is electrocution), or faults in on-board power generators. Sometimes, it is

the result of covering a forest fire, and being too close and not getting out fast enough.

RF burns are normally suffered from dam-aged or incorrectly made waveguide joints, or damaged flex-twist waveguide, rather than direct exposure from the front of an antenna.

Weather hazards come mostly from high winds, hurricanes/typhoons, or very heavy

rain resulting in flooding. Falls result often from either from a fall

from the roof of a truck or working at heights on a building roof rigging equipment — and are often the result of poor weather conditions, failing light (or just being in the dark!)

And the lowest risk statistically is injury in war or civil disturbance — despite the high profile of this hazard in the news industry, up-link operators or ENG trucks tend to be further back from the action.

Check out safety expert Mark Bell’s web-site — www.engsafety.com. While many acci-dents can be traced to carelessness, inexperi-ence, lack of training, or just sheer bad luck, the majority of accidents can be traced to time pressure. As the old news adage goes, “No story is worth a life…” ◙

T alk to any SNG/ENG operator, and see if they can list the most common hazards

and risks they face in doing their job. The list looks like this, in approximate or-

der of statistical occurence: • Driving fatigue • Truck accidents • Back injuries • Dish/mast striking overhead object • Fire • RF burns • Electrocution • Falls • Weather • War/civil disturbances

A number of fatalities and injuries have resulted from hazards on this list. Surprisingly perhaps, considering the nature of the equip-ment used, that the first two are the most common hazards — and commonly shared with other industries where driving is a signifi-cant part of their job. They are also sympto-matic of where the operator faces pressure —whether self induced, from the newsroom, or their line management.

Back injuries come from lifting heavy equipment, often in bulky flight cases, and usually involve lifting on and off trolleys or baggage belts, as that can typically involve a twisting action in the lower back.

The hazard of hitting overhead objects

SNG/ENG SA F E T Y H A Z A R D S F A C E D B Y O P E R A T O R S

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“No story is worth a life ...”

“ … symptomatic of where the operator

faces pressure — whether self induced, from the newsroom, or

their line management.”

Line Of S ight — Summer 2004 Page 9

NE W S

Industry

S WE-DISH Satellite Systems — Type ap-proval has now been obtained for the IPT

Suitcase from Intelsat, Eutelsat and Europe*Star. This will make registration of terminals with these satellite operators much simpler . SWE-SISH have also obtained an FCC licence for an IPT Suitcase, which is notable for a 90 cm terminal transmitting 2 Mbps traf-fic.

T raining Courses — Two training courses are running in the next few months. There is

the annual NAB Satellite Uplink Operators Training Seminar, which be held at NAB Head-quarters in Washington, DC, September 27-30. The Digiworkz Mobile Uplinks Refresher Courses will be running in Singapore on Sep-tember 21 — 22, October 19 — 20, and No-vember 4 — 5.

N D SatCom — Has won a multi-million Euro contract to equip the Turkish Dogan Me-

dia Group with a new fleet consisting of a total of 7 Mercedes Sprinter "classicSNG" vehicles.

N D SatCom — At IBC ND will introduce its new Automatic Pointing Systems for mo-

torized antenna subsystems and the Auto-matic Pointing Assistant for their SkyWAN Fly-Away IP, where the spectrum analyzer has been replaced with a software product that helps the user to put the FlyAway into opera-tion easily. ND will also be showing their SkyRAY series of latest generation aerody-namic SNG antenna subsystems.

B ritish airports — UK airports run by the BAA (British Airports Authority) have im-

posed a checked baggage limit of 32 kg per item. This is particularly significant if you are moving through London Heathrow or London Gatwick with a flyway system.

A yen Technology — Yet another manufac-tuere has entered the mobile IP terminal

field. Swedish company Ayen Technology, owned by Magnus Lundbäck and Jan-Olof Sänkelä, has developed a compact 1.0 m ter-minal called Raptor. Output power is 59 dBW EIRP, offering a 5 Mbps “IP Bridge” running on AC mains or 12 VDC. It features an "Easy Aim System", with guide LEDs to assist in aiming the antenna. With a carbon fibre reflector, it can be carried as a backpack in a package weighing less than 30 kg.

H olkirk Communications — A new UK com-pany, founded by Bob Holcombe (ex-

SISLink Engineering Manager), is launching their first product — a small light weight but powerful flyaway — at IBC this year. Utilising a motorised 1.2 m antenna and 125 W SSPA, the unit is available with MPEG-2 DVB-S or

MPEG- 4 DVB-S2 options. The MPEG-2 single thread configuration packs away into four flight cases, all under the 32kg airport han-dling weight (IBC Stand 1.550).

U Pstream Communications — Another vet-eran of the UK satcomms industry, Steve

Rogers, (ex-Vislink/Multipoint Communica-tions), has set up UPstream Communications, offering a number of IP streaming packages. The UPstart 0.9 / 1.0 / 1.2 m satellite termi-nals connect automatically to the UPstream IP network at 1, 2 or 4 Mbps rates. Available in both Man Portable and Vehicle mounted ver-sions, the compact UPstart terminals auto deploy and auto connect for instant communi-cations. UPstream also provide high speed IP connection anywhere within the wide Euro-pean and Middle Eastern beams covering over 50 countries (IBC Stand 1.570).

NAB/BroadcastAsia - 2004

A vL Technologies — Launched their 1000- iSNG flyaway, featuring a 1.0 m 4-piece

carbon-fibre antenna and one-button auto-acquisition controller. The controller automati-cally compensates for static tilt or rocking of the unit, and also automatically maintains optimum cross-pol. The 1000 iSNG weighs just over 40 kg, depending upon case options (light-weight or rugged), and is available in man-pack form.

A dvantech — Announced that their AMT 70 satellite modem will be available with

DVB-S2 from Q4/04. Advantech also an-nounced the INTRAC-215 mobile antenna con-troller for use in DSNG systems even allowing inclined orbit tracking designed for wither ve-hicle or flyaway-based sytems. Instead of pro-viding a display on the unit, it is controlled remotely by a PC using either Advantech’s remote M&C application, or the user’s own control application. INTRAC-215 uses a GPS, flux gate compass and clinometers to deter-mine the physical positioning and pointing of the dish and to adjust the antenna pointing automatically.

S WE-DISH Satellite launched the DVB Suit-case, based on the IPT design, for journal-

ists to transmit live reports using 3 - 6 Mbps DVB transmission. A small sized DVB encoder package is available as an option; alterna-tively existing standard DVB encoders can be used. The DVB Suitcase can later be upgraded to the IPT Suitcase, giving it built-in broadband IP transmit and receive functionality.

People

S teve McGuinness, one of the original three founders of Advent Communications, has

been appointed International Sales Director for North Carolina-based AvL Technologies. ◙

BeaconSeek Ltd. Hithermailes, 212 Mancroft Road, Aley Green, Luton, Beds LU1 4DR United Kingdom

Phone: +44 (0)1582 842 717 Fax: +44 (0)1582 849 013 Email: los@beaconseek.com

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• Looking to rent an uplink? Then look at TVZ, which has both current and upcoming news events around the world, and contact details for who’s covering what — www.tvz.tv

• Not too many chat forums on SNG — but we found one which focuses on ABC’s ABSAT newsfeed participants, but still makes interesting reading — www.abcnewsabsat.com/inv_forum/index.php

• Want to keep up to date with latest industry news? Try our news page, updated monthly — www.beaconseek.com/news/news.htm

Web addresses for organizations/companies featured in this edition Ayen Technology www.ayentech.se Bow Tie TV www.bowtietv.com BT Broadcast Services www.broadcast.bt.com CASBAA www.casbaa.org GVF www.gvf.org Holkirk Communications www.holkirk.com Hughes Spaceway www.spaceway.com Mark Bell ENG Safety www.engsafety.com Metro Broadcast www.metrobroadcast.com NTL www.ntl.com/broadcast SES Astra www.ses-astra.com SIA www.sia.org SISLink www.sislink.co.uk SWE-DISH www.swe-dish.com SUIRG www.suirg.com WBU-ISOG www.nabanet.com/wbuArea/members/ISOG WTA www.worldteleport.org

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Line Of S ight — Summer 2004 Page 10

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Here are some of the items we hope to cover in the next issue ... • Highlights from

IBC2004 • DVB-S2 for DSNG? • RF Safety

N E X T I S S U E

A U T U M N 2 0 0 4

US E F U L RE S O U RC E S