Latest Satellite TV News - Satellite TV Asia

MUMBAI: UK-based producer of travel and adventure programming Pilot Productions, has co-produced with National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) the production of its fourth series of Treks in a Wild World.

Aimed at the adventure seeker the show charts journeys through some of the most beautiful and remote places on earth. From cycling to kayaking, climbing to skiing, each episode features a different mode of transport through gorges, oceans and rivers. Packed with practical tips, the series also exposes viewers to ecology, culture and anthropology.

Pilot Productions MD Ian Cross says, "With a growing interest in nature, the environment, and green issues, such as climate change, we are delighted to partner up with National Geographic Channels International in producing the fourth of our treks series, and bringing to the screen an original take on outdoor pursuits."

NGCI VP content Sydney Suissa says, "Treks in a Wild World 4 is a perfect fit for Nat Geo Adventure, with its thrill-seeking expeditions in some of the most ecologically and culturally rich areas in the world. The series is an excellent opportunity for us to further engage the dynamic interests of our viewers who are looking to learn more about their world through unconventional ways."

Treks in this series include, Trekking in Gabon, Diving Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Islands, China’s Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Rafting the Futaleufu River in Chile.

Three local pay TV operators have filed a legal complaint with the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) accusing the pay TV network Astro TV Indonesia of unfair business practices.

The local operators, PT Indosat Mega Media (IM2 Pay TV), PT Indonesia Telemedia (Telkomvision) and PT MNC Sky Vision (Indovision), said Friday that PT Direct Vision, which operates the Astro pay TV service in Indonesia, had unfairly secured the exclusive rights to live broadcasts of the Barclays English Premier League in Indonesia.

PT Direct Vision, which is controlled by Astro All Asia Network, Plc (Astro Malaysia), secured the rights to the English Premier League without going through normal procedures, they said.

Unlike in a normal bidding process, the three pay TV operators said that they were not given a level playing field in biding for the exclusive live broadcast rights by Singapore based ESPN Star Sports (ESS).

"All previous publications, which said that Astro won the exclusive right through a bidding process, are false. As the main players in the industry, we were never invited by ESS," Indovision president director Rudi Tanoesoedibjo told reporters after filing a report to KPPU.

Prior to August 11, TV viewers were able to watch English Premier League Matches live on all pay TV networks and local TV stations.

After ESS declined to respond to their complaints, the three operators decided to file a legal complaint against ESS, Astro Malaysia and PT Direct Vision to KPPU for the violation of the 1999 Anti-monopoly and Unfair Business Practices Law.

KPPU chairman Mohammad Iqbal said that the complaint filed by pay TV operators against Astro (Direct Vision) was the second he had received this month. The first was filed a week ago by a group of citizens, although he declined to name them.

"It is good that the operators are now filing a report. This will further clarify the situation, especially on the allegation of monopoly practices," he said.

Iqbal said the KPPU had formed a team to investigate the case and expected to summon all related stakeholders next week, beginning with those who reported the case.

Indosat M2 corporate secretary Andri Asian said that there was a systematic effort by certain parties to run a monopoly not only in the pay TV industry but also in the terrestrial TV industry as shown in the holding of the broadcast rights by Astro.

Astro TV Indonesia vice president for corporate affairs Halim Mahfudz told The Jakarta Post that the monopoly allegations had no legal ground because the English Premier League was categorized as an intellectual property, which is excluded by the anti-monopoly law.

Halim also said he had met with officials from the ministry and the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission and had delivered offers from ESS, which stated that together with Astro it would share one live broadcast of a match per week.

"If they continue to accuse us of being a monopoly, then Astro will fight for its rights and its consumers' rights," Halim said.

APB NEWS

KUALA LUMPUR – Astro All Asia Networks (AAAN) will enter the direct-to-home (DTH) market in India, as it secured its shareholders’ approval to invest US$166 million in a joint venture with DTH operator Sun Group in South India. This initiative is scheduled to commence by year-end.

AAAN is also in advanced discussions with strategic partners on content initiatives for distribution in India and other regional markets. AAAN is a cross-media operator with DTH satellite multichannel TV services in Malaysia, Brunei and, soon, in Indonesia.
Said AAAN CEO Robert Odendaal: “Across the region, the group is actively seeking to expand its distribution platforms and content development initiatives, particularly in under-catered markets such as Indonesia and India.

Pending final authorisation from the Indonesian authorities, we are in active discussions to formalise the basis of a corporate relationship.” Odendaal also revealed that the Astro service that was launched in the Indonesian market last year continues to grow, with approximately 80,000 subscribers to date, representing some 25% share of the DTH market.

He added that AAAN remains confident about the regional market opportunities and the significant value-creation potential for the company. “We are confident that extending our regional footprint is the right strategy to pursue while we continue to drive growth and optimise value from our domestic businesses,” he said.
Meanwhile, AAAN will also continue to pursue growth opportunities on the domestic front.
In AAAN’s recent fourth annual general meeting, chairman Dato’ Haji Badri Haji Masri, said:

“Our strategic objective is to profitably grow the domestic business in the short and medium term, while we invest in expanding our regional footprint to ensure long-term sustainable growth. The domestic business will continue to generate healthy cash flows to support our growth objectives as well as our commitment to a progressive dividend policy targeting 50% of Malaysian earnings.”

Dialog TV has launched Set Plans

Dialog TV has launched Set Plans For the first time in the world. This latest value added service gives Dialog Satellite TV customers the opportunity to add channels to their existing package.

Under the Dialog TV Set Plan system, customers can choose from a range of different channel groupings that will allow them to design the series of channels that best suit their varied needs.

Explaining the function of this latest innovation by Dialog TV, Business Development Manager, Dialog Television, Ramesh Anthony said, "It is possible for customers to have several Set Plans simultaneously. If the usual Dialog TV package does not satisfy the educational, religious or entertainment requirements sought for, a Set Plan will be their best option as it enables them to choose channels within specific categories."

The Set Plan opted to be activated depends on the customer's current package. Lile 100 users are able to go for Set Plans 1 to 13, Super 500 customers can opt for 5 to 10 and Great 900 users are able to use Set Plans 11 to 13.

"The Set Plan system is highly affordable and is introduced with the entity of catering to customers' info/entertainment needs with equality to all income groups," Anthony said.

At least two people died and 11 were injured when a massive earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra province, triggering tsunami warnings around the region, including Australia.

The 8.4 magnitude earthquake caused extensive damage to buildings along Sumatra's coast, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Office. Several big aftershocks were reported in the area.

Some residents of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand also felt the first quake and some buildings were evacuated.

"We received a report 20 minutes after the quake that a one-to-three-metre wave hit Padang," said Suhardjono, an official with Indonesia's meteorological agency, who goes by one name. "But communication has been difficult since then."

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology issued a tsunami alert for Australia's north-west coast between Coral Bay and Karratha and the Cocos and Christmas islands just after 10pm. The warning was lifted two hours later..

Dr Phil Cummins, from Geoscience Australia, said he was not aware of any flooding on Cocos or Christmas islands.

"There's a small tsunami observed in Indonesia itself and a 15cm tsunami observed on the tide gauge at Cocos Island," Dr Cummins said.

Indonesia issued two tsunami warnings, one after the first quake, and the second after a smaller tremor a few hours later in the same area.

Authorities ini Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh issued tsunami warnings, as did India for the Andaman and Nicobar islands, and France for the island of Reunion.

The Indonesian warnings and most others in the region were lifted hours later. An official at Indonesia's meteorological agency said gauges measured a wave surge of one metre after the first quake.

Across the the Indian Ocean, Mozambique warned a tsunami was due to hit its coast and urged citizens to evacuate and head to higher ground.

An earthquake off the north-west tip of Sumatra triggered a tsunami on December 26, 2004, killing more than 160,000 people in Indonesia and causing widespread casualties in Thailand and Sri Lanka.

The latest quake struck off the western coast of the province of Sumatra at 9.10pm (AEST), damaging buildings and cutting off power to the coastal city of Bengkulu, 160 kilometres east of the quake's epicentre.

MUMBAI: The Why Democracy? season is a multimedia event – exploring the state of democracy in the world today – with the BBC at its heart.

From next month, the season will run globally on TV, radio and online, on over 40 broadcasters, in over 200 countries and territories – a potential audience of 300 million people.

In the UK, BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC World, BBC Parliament, BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service will all run programming dedicated to the idea of democracy.

Central to the season are ten documentaries, made by filmmakers from around the world, taking a wide-ranging and in-depth look at the nature of democracy. Subjects include US torture in Afghanistan, the election of a class monitor in a Chinese primary school, Che Guevara and the Danish cartoons controversy.

Why Democracy? has teamed up with Metro Newspapers worldwide, and The Observer in the UK, to ask national leaders, celebrities and everyday people to answer ten questions about democracy. Their answers will appear online, in the press and in a series of short films. The same questions will be part of a global opinion poll.

And people all over the world can join in the discussion on the web. A global film premiere on MySpace.com will launch the online debate. whydemocracy.net will host discussion forums, chat rooms, educational resources and interviews with key figures who have had a direct hand in shaping democracy.

Please Vote For Me: Weijun Chen's comic but profound film charts the election of the class monitor in a Chinese school. At first all goes well, but soon the manipulation and dirty tricks start, posing the question of whether democracy could ever exist without them.

Looking For The Revolution: Here Rodrigo Vazquez travels to Bolivia to see whether the idea of a revolution started by Che Guevara 40 years ago is still alive today. Evo Morales seems to be trying to keep revolution on the agenda, but others wonder whether it can ever actually happen.

Taxi To The Dark Side: Dilawar, a young Afghani taxi driver, was arrested and tortured to death by United States forces in Bagram. Oscar-nominated director Alex Gibney provides a forensic account of how such abuses became possible, and finds a trail leading to the door of the White House.

Bloody Cartoons: Life and livelihood were at stake when a small Danish newspaper chose to print a selection of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Karsten Kjaer looks at the events that followed and travels the world to question the protesters and explore their motivations. Could the Muhammad cartoons have affected the future of free speech?

MUMBAI: Viacom's Vh1 will unveil a reality show called Laguna Beach on 11 September at 9 pm.

The show documents the lives of several teenagers living in a seaside community located in Orange country in California.

Vh1 India VP and GM Keerthan Adyanthaya said, "It has been our constant endeavour to bring to our audiences the best of international music and lifestyle entertainment and Laguna Beach is another example of that."

The program also gives an insight to the real-life drama of Laguna Beach's Lauren (aka LC), Lo, Christina, Kristin, Morgan, Trey, Talan and Stephen who grew up together with enough money to spend their day doing what they please. But their lives were not perfect, and soon they were to discover that money didn't buy everything.

"If you enjoyed Pimp My Ride, Hogan Knows Best, Call to Greatness, then wait till you have seen the Laguna Beach - it will redefine the word reality for you," added Adyanthaya.

MUMBAI: Neo Sports is set to go live with broadcast management system ForeTV from MSA Focus. This follows the solution's recent implementation at Neo's Mumbai headquarters for $4 million.

The deal believed to be the first for ForeTV on the Indian subcontinent, was signed following a competitive pitch process. The Fore TV Broadcast management system allows Neo Sports the ability to efficiently manage the proliferation of new revenue streams that these rights will inevitably generate.

Unlike traditional systems which treat each stream separately, ForeTV offers a consolidated solution for total revenue management, encompassing income from Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), advertising, sponsorship, pay-per-view (PPV), interactive (iTV) and video on demand (VOD).

As part of the core system, MSA Focus is developing a new live events scheduling module for Neo Sports and is also developing a further module to enable Neo Sports to carry out secondary events selling and capitalize on advertising opportunities in the region.

This system will be fully integrated into workflow of the channel, automation, editing and financial software allowing seamless process from acquisition, production and post production, transmission and billing at the end of the process. This system is new to India and Neo is its first installation, the company said.

On the production front, the broadcaster has installed Vizrt Virtual studio, a virtual studio for sport production. This allows Neo to create a number of different sets for each sport and change it at the flick of a button. There is no need for storing and changing physical sets.

The advantages of using Vizrt virtual studio are flexibility in different backdrops, virtual monitors in the set and incorporation of sport results directly to the set. Vizrt Graphics are template based, allowing for rapid changes especially suited for the ever changing sport environment.

Ubalance partners MatrixStream for HD IPTV in South Korea

Indiantelevision.com Team

(8 September 2007 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: IPTV solution provider UBalance has partnered with MatrixStream Technologies, Inc. to launch the first Video on Demand (VOD) and Live HD 1080p IPTV deployment in South Korea.

With the world’s highest rate of broadband penetration, South Korea is already wired and adapted for massive IPTV deployment.

MatrixStream CEO Jack Chung says, "Increasingly fast and affordable broadband that is widely available throughout South
Korea, primes the market here for HD streaming video which is of course an ideal market for our XMS based Video on Demand and IPTV solution that will optimise performance efficiencies over the existing public network."

MatrixStream's patent-pending fully integrated end-to-end turnkey HD IPTV system will allow UBalance clients to deploy quickly and readily scale up to millions of users over existing broadband IP infrastructure without major network upgrades – delivering the home theater experience over the Internet to living rooms across South Korea for both live broadcasting and Video on Demand.

Unlike previously tried bandwidth hungry streaming IPTV solutions, typically requiring between 9 Mbps – 30 Mbps to stream high definition, that for the most part do not work over a public network, MatrixStream’s HD IPTV solution works with as little as 3.5 Mbps to stream HD 1080p encoded videos or as little as 1.5 Mbps to stream HD 720p encoded videos.

MatrixStream’s IPTV solution can deliver full HD quality videos over the internet. In addition to streaming HD videos, the MatrixStream IPTV platform is already designed to easily add
features such as time shift DVR (digital video recorder), t-commerce, interactive gaming, VoIP, personal photo sharing, personal music library, among other applications.

Ubalance president Dr In Sup Kwon says, "MatrixStream offers UBalance a technically advance, robust system that allows us to provide our clients superior quality and a cost differential that distinctively sets us apart from the competition. Moreover, due to the incredible growth of the IPTV market in South Korea, we project that Ubalance can sell up to 10 million MatrixStream set top boxes within three years."

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications are two companies which are all set to enter the Indian Direct to Home market by launching their services.

They would take on the existing players in the segment including Zee Dish TV and Tata Sky DTH.

However, one interested aspect of their upcoming services is that both Reliance and Airtel are planning to offer satellite-based broadband internet services along with regular DTH services.

Bharti Airtel president, broadband and telephone services, Atul Bindal spoke about their plans: “Satellite internet is a North American model. There are a lot of areas where Bharti would possibly never lay copper cable as it does not make economic sense. In these areas, Bharti will look at a offering broadband through Wi-Max or through DTH.”

Reliance in addition to internet services is also considering offering other services like video on demand to attract more customers to their upcoming BlueMagic service.

Videocon Wants Six Transponders

Another player enters the market, Indiantelevision.com:

Videocon is looking initially at six Ku-band transponders for launching its direct-to-home (DTH) service and has approached the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), a source says.

The consumer electronics major is awaiting a DTH licence and can expect to start the service only next year as ahead of the queue are telecom majors Reliance-ADAG (Bluemagic) and Bharti (Bharti Telemedia).

"Videocon has signed a contract with Isro and has asked initially for six Ku-band transponders which can be scaled up later," the source says.

After Insat-4B has gone to Kalanithi Maran's Sun Direct, the next Isro satellite providing Ku-band transponders will be up only in September-October. Bluemagic is likely to get Insat-4CR (replacement) and can hope to launch its service earliest by December-January. Reliance has asked for eight Ku-band transponders and Isro is reserving the remaining four for other users like National Informatics Centre.

Bharti's DTH launch can get delayed to early 2009 with Insat-4G launching only by 2008-end unless Isro approves of Measat-3, a foreign satellite launched from the Astro Group. Insat-4G has 18 Ku-band transponders but the demand from DTH operators could outstrip supply even at that stage.

Measat has made their Ku-band transponders available and Isro is still studying it technically and making an internal evaluation. "The coordination with Measat is not yet complete but we are at the last leg of it. We will take a decision probably after a month," says Isro contract management and legal services director SB Iyer.

After the launch of Insat-4G, Isro will have exhausted the spectrum. "We have filed an application with the World Administration Radio Conference (WARC), which is part of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), for orbital slot and frequency," says Iyer. WARC determines the allocation of spectrum for various services.

New DTH Channels in India

Rapid TV News is reported hundreds of new channels waiting for approval:

India’s broadcasting ministry has received formal applications from more than 50 companies representing 130 channels, planning to launch over the next 12-18 months. Applicants include Zee TV, BAG Films, INX Media, Viacom-18, NDTV, and UTV Broadcasting. If approved, and most international applicants have their local partners in place to ensure success, the number of channels available to viewers will jump from today’s 200 to around 300.

Local reports suggest that there’s more than $1bn of potential investment ready to be made on infrastructure, and a commensurate amount on new programming and content to fill the inevitable quotas which the ministry is likely to impose. UTV alone says it is planning for nine channels and has lined up $200m to fund the operation. That is spurred on by forecasts that suggest India will be Asia’s most lucrative pay-TV market by 2015, growing from today’s 110m TV households, of which some 70m are connected to cable, to nearer 140m paying in one way or another for their TV.

But income for international players is modest, with the average amount currently paid for “pay-TV” as being just $3 a year. More programming, plus the ever-expanding Indian middle class, is seen as key to the growth of pay-TV, and helped by the growing number of new DTH aggregators on the scene. The Indian pay-TV market is predicted to be worth about $10.5bn by 2015, helped by spectacular annual advertising growth of 13%-15% pa.




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Info Guide		NEWS HOME Headlines ( Sep 19 2007 ) > Nat Geo, Pilot Productions collaborate on a new 'Wild World' > Pay TV operators file legal complaint against Astro > AAAN to provide DTH service in India > Dialog TV has launched Set Plans > Tsunami fear after quake > BBC launches season asking 'Why Democracy?' globally > Vh1 to launch reality show 'Laguna Beach' on 11 Sept. > Ubalance partners MatrixStream for HD IPTV in South Korea > Airtel and Reliance to offer internet through DTH > Videocon Wants Six Transponders > New DTH Channels in India ( Hundreds of new channels waiting for approval ) > Neo Sports spends $4 million on technological systems Nat Geo, Pilot Productions collaborate on a new 'Wild World' Indiantelevision.com Team (17 September 2007 1:00 pm) MUMBAI: UK-based producer of travel and adventure programming Pilot Productions, has co-produced with National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) the production of its fourth series of Treks in a Wild World. The series will air on NGCI’s Nat Geo Adventure channel. Aimed at the adventure seeker the show charts journeys through some of the most beautiful and remote places on earth. From cycling to kayaking, climbing to skiing, each episode features a different mode of transport through gorges, oceans and rivers. Packed with practical tips, the series also exposes viewers to ecology, culture and anthropology. Pilot Productions MD Ian Cross says, "With a growing interest in nature, the environment, and green issues, such as climate change, we are delighted to partner up with National Geographic Channels International in producing the fourth of our treks series, and bringing to the screen an original take on outdoor pursuits." NGCI VP content Sydney Suissa says, "Treks in a Wild World 4 is a perfect fit for Nat Geo Adventure, with its thrill-seeking expeditions in some of the most ecologically and culturally rich areas in the world. The series is an excellent opportunity for us to further engage the dynamic interests of our viewers who are looking to learn more about their world through unconventional ways." Treks in this series include, Trekking in Gabon, Diving Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Islands, China’s Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Rafting the Futaleufu River in Chile. Pay TV operators file legal complaint against Astro Business News - Saturday, September 15, 2007 Andi Haswidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Three local pay TV operators have filed a legal complaint with the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) accusing the pay TV network Astro TV Indonesia of unfair business practices. The local operators, PT Indosat Mega Media (IM2 Pay TV), PT Indonesia Telemedia (Telkomvision) and PT MNC Sky Vision (Indovision), said Friday that PT Direct Vision, which operates the Astro pay TV service in Indonesia, had unfairly secured the exclusive rights to live broadcasts of the Barclays English Premier League in Indonesia. PT Direct Vision, which is controlled by Astro All Asia Network, Plc (Astro Malaysia), secured the rights to the English Premier League without going through normal procedures, they said. Unlike in a normal bidding process, the three pay TV operators said that they were not given a level playing field in biding for the exclusive live broadcast rights by Singapore based ESPN Star Sports (ESS). "All previous publications, which said that Astro won the exclusive right through a bidding process, are false. As the main players in the industry, we were never invited by ESS," Indovision president director Rudi Tanoesoedibjo told reporters after filing a report to KPPU. Prior to August 11, TV viewers were able to watch English Premier League Matches live on all pay TV networks and local TV stations. After ESS declined to respond to their complaints, the three operators decided to file a legal complaint against ESS, Astro Malaysia and PT Direct Vision to KPPU for the violation of the 1999 Anti-monopoly and Unfair Business Practices Law. KPPU chairman Mohammad Iqbal said that the complaint filed by pay TV operators against Astro (Direct Vision) was the second he had received this month. The first was filed a week ago by a group of citizens, although he declined to name them. "It is good that the operators are now filing a report. This will further clarify the situation, especially on the allegation of monopoly practices," he said. Iqbal said the KPPU had formed a team to investigate the case and expected to summon all related stakeholders next week, beginning with those who reported the case. Indosat M2 corporate secretary Andri Asian said that there was a systematic effort by certain parties to run a monopoly not only in the pay TV industry but also in the terrestrial TV industry as shown in the holding of the broadcast rights by Astro. Astro TV Indonesia vice president for corporate affairs Halim Mahfudz told The Jakarta Post that the monopoly allegations had no legal ground because the English Premier League was categorized as an intellectual property, which is excluded by the anti-monopoly law. Halim also said he had met with officials from the ministry and the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission and had delivered offers from ESS, which stated that together with Astro it would share one live broadcast of a match per week. "If they continue to accuse us of being a monopoly, then Astro will fight for its rights and its consumers' rights," Halim said. AAAN to provide DTH service in India APB NEWS KUALA LUMPUR – Astro All Asia Networks (AAAN) will enter the direct-to-home (DTH) market in India, as it secured its shareholders’ approval to invest US$166 million in a joint venture with DTH operator Sun Group in South India. This initiative is scheduled to commence by year-end. AAAN is also in advanced discussions with strategic partners on content initiatives for distribution in India and other regional markets. AAAN is a cross-media operator with DTH satellite multichannel TV services in Malaysia, Brunei and, soon, in Indonesia. Said AAAN CEO Robert Odendaal: “Across the region, the group is actively seeking to expand its distribution platforms and content development initiatives, particularly in under-catered markets such as Indonesia and India. Pending final authorisation from the Indonesian authorities, we are in active discussions to formalise the basis of a corporate relationship.” Odendaal also revealed that the Astro service that was launched in the Indonesian market last year continues to grow, with approximately 80,000 subscribers to date, representing some 25% share of the DTH market. He added that AAAN remains confident about the regional market opportunities and the significant value-creation potential for the company. “We are confident that extending our regional footprint is the right strategy to pursue while we continue to drive growth and optimise value from our domestic businesses,” he said. Meanwhile, AAAN will also continue to pursue growth opportunities on the domestic front. In AAAN’s recent fourth annual general meeting, chairman Dato’ Haji Badri Haji Masri, said: “Our strategic objective is to profitably grow the domestic business in the short and medium term, while we invest in expanding our regional footprint to ensure long-term sustainable growth. The domestic business will continue to generate healthy cash flows to support our growth objectives as well as our commitment to a progressive dividend policy targeting 50% of Malaysian earnings.” Dialog TV has launched Set Plans Tamara Nissanka - Dailynews Dialog TV has launched Set Plans For the first time in the world. This latest value added service gives Dialog Satellite TV customers the opportunity to add channels to their existing package. Under the Dialog TV Set Plan system, customers can choose from a range of different channel groupings that will allow them to design the series of channels that best suit their varied needs. Explaining the function of this latest innovation by Dialog TV, Business Development Manager, Dialog Television, Ramesh Anthony said, "It is possible for customers to have several Set Plans simultaneously. If the usual Dialog TV package does not satisfy the educational, religious or entertainment requirements sought for, a Set Plan will be their best option as it enables them to choose channels within specific categories." The Set Plan opted to be activated depends on the customer's current package. Lile 100 users are able to go for Set Plans 1 to 13, Super 500 customers can opt for 5 to 10 and Great 900 users are able to use Set Plans 11 to 13. "The Set Plan system is highly affordable and is introduced with the entity of catering to customers' info/entertainment needs with equality to all income groups," Anthony said. Tsunami fear after quake www.theage.com.au September 13, 2007 - 5:52AM At least two people died and 11 were injured when a massive earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra province, triggering tsunami warnings around the region, including Australia. The 8.4 magnitude earthquake caused extensive damage to buildings along Sumatra's coast, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Office. Several big aftershocks were reported in the area. Some residents of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand also felt the first quake and some buildings were evacuated. "We received a report 20 minutes after the quake that a one-to-three-metre wave hit Padang," said Suhardjono, an official with Indonesia's meteorological agency, who goes by one name. "But communication has been difficult since then." The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre also said a small tsunami hit Padang. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology issued a tsunami alert for Australia's north-west coast between Coral Bay and Karratha and the Cocos and Christmas islands just after 10pm. The warning was lifted two hours later.. Dr Phil Cummins, from Geoscience Australia, said he was not aware of any flooding on Cocos or Christmas islands. "There's a small tsunami observed in Indonesia itself and a 15cm tsunami observed on the tide gauge at Cocos Island," Dr Cummins said. It was possible that isolated areas could experience some flooding, he said. Indonesia issued two tsunami warnings, one after the first quake, and the second after a smaller tremor a few hours later in the same area. Authorities ini Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh issued tsunami warnings, as did India for the Andaman and Nicobar islands, and France for the island of Reunion. The Indonesian warnings and most others in the region were lifted hours later. An official at Indonesia's meteorological agency said gauges measured a wave surge of one metre after the first quake. Across the the Indian Ocean, Mozambique warned a tsunami was due to hit its coast and urged citizens to evacuate and head to higher ground. An earthquake off the north-west tip of Sumatra triggered a tsunami on December 26, 2004, killing more than 160,000 people in Indonesia and causing widespread casualties in Thailand and Sri Lanka. The latest quake struck off the western coast of the province of Sumatra at 9.10pm (AEST), damaging buildings and cutting off power to the coastal city of Bengkulu, 160 kilometres east of the quake's epicentre. BBC launches season asking 'Why Democracy?' globally Indiantelevision.com (13 September 2007 6:00 pm) MUMBAI: The Why Democracy? season is a multimedia event – exploring the state of democracy in the world today – with the BBC at its heart. From next month, the season will run globally on TV, radio and online, on over 40 broadcasters, in over 200 countries and territories – a potential audience of 300 million people. In the UK, BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC World, BBC Parliament, BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service will all run programming dedicated to the idea of democracy. Central to the season are ten documentaries, made by filmmakers from around the world, taking a wide-ranging and in-depth look at the nature of democracy. Subjects include US torture in Afghanistan, the election of a class monitor in a Chinese primary school, Che Guevara and the Danish cartoons controversy. Why Democracy? has teamed up with Metro Newspapers worldwide, and The Observer in the UK, to ask national leaders, celebrities and everyday people to answer ten questions about democracy. Their answers will appear online, in the press and in a series of short films. The same questions will be part of a global opinion poll. And people all over the world can join in the discussion on the web. A global film premiere on MySpace.com will launch the online debate. whydemocracy.net will host discussion forums, chat rooms, educational resources and interviews with key figures who have had a direct hand in shaping democracy. The ten films in the season include: Please Vote For Me: Weijun Chen's comic but profound film charts the election of the class monitor in a Chinese school. At first all goes well, but soon the manipulation and dirty tricks start, posing the question of whether democracy could ever exist without them. Looking For The Revolution: Here Rodrigo Vazquez travels to Bolivia to see whether the idea of a revolution started by Che Guevara 40 years ago is still alive today. Evo Morales seems to be trying to keep revolution on the agenda, but others wonder whether it can ever actually happen. Taxi To The Dark Side: Dilawar, a young Afghani taxi driver, was arrested and tortured to death by United States forces in Bagram. Oscar-nominated director Alex Gibney provides a forensic account of how such abuses became possible, and finds a trail leading to the door of the White House. Bloody Cartoons: Life and livelihood were at stake when a small Danish newspaper chose to print a selection of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Karsten Kjaer looks at the events that followed and travels the world to question the protesters and explore their motivations. Could the Muhammad cartoons have affected the future of free speech? Vh1 to launch reality show 'Laguna Beach' on 11 Sept. Indiantelevision.com (10 September 2007 9:44 pm) MUMBAI: Viacom's Vh1 will unveil a reality show called Laguna Beach on 11 September at 9 pm. The show documents the lives of several teenagers living in a seaside community located in Orange country in California. Vh1 India VP and GM Keerthan Adyanthaya said, "It has been our constant endeavour to bring to our audiences the best of international music and lifestyle entertainment and Laguna Beach is another example of that." The program also gives an insight to the real-life drama of Laguna Beach's Lauren (aka LC), Lo, Christina, Kristin, Morgan, Trey, Talan and Stephen who grew up together with enough money to spend their day doing what they please. But their lives were not perfect, and soon they were to discover that money didn't buy everything. "If you enjoyed Pimp My Ride, Hogan Knows Best, Call to Greatness, then wait till you have seen the Laguna Beach - it will redefine the word reality for you," added Adyanthaya. Neo Sports spends $4 million on technological systems Indiantelevision.com (8 September 2007 6:30 pm) MUMBAI: Neo Sports is set to go live with broadcast management system ForeTV from MSA Focus. This follows the solution's recent implementation at Neo's Mumbai headquarters for $4 million. The deal believed to be the first for ForeTV on the Indian subcontinent, was signed following a competitive pitch process. The Fore TV Broadcast management system allows Neo Sports the ability to efficiently manage the proliferation of new revenue streams that these rights will inevitably generate. Unlike traditional systems which treat each stream separately, ForeTV offers a consolidated solution for total revenue management, encompassing income from Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), advertising, sponsorship, pay-per-view (PPV), interactive (iTV) and video on demand (VOD). As part of the core system, MSA Focus is developing a new live events scheduling module for Neo Sports and is also developing a further module to enable Neo Sports to carry out secondary events selling and capitalize on advertising opportunities in the region. This system will be fully integrated into workflow of the channel, automation, editing and financial software allowing seamless process from acquisition, production and post production, transmission and billing at the end of the process. This system is new to India and Neo is its first installation, the company said. On the production front, the broadcaster has installed Vizrt Virtual studio, a virtual studio for sport production. This allows Neo to create a number of different sets for each sport and change it at the flick of a button. There is no need for storing and changing physical sets. The advantages of using Vizrt virtual studio are flexibility in different backdrops, virtual monitors in the set and incorporation of sport results directly to the set. Vizrt Graphics are template based, allowing for rapid changes especially suited for the ever changing sport environment. Ubalance partners MatrixStream for HD IPTV in South Korea Indiantelevision.com Team (8 September 2007 6:00 pm) MUMBAI: IPTV solution provider UBalance has partnered with MatrixStream Technologies, Inc. to launch the first Video on Demand (VOD) and Live HD 1080p IPTV deployment in South Korea. With the world’s highest rate of broadband penetration, South Korea is already wired and adapted for massive IPTV deployment. MatrixStream CEO Jack Chung says, "Increasingly fast and affordable broadband that is widely available throughout South Korea, primes the market here for HD streaming video which is of course an ideal market for our XMS based Video on Demand and IPTV solution that will optimise performance efficiencies over the existing public network." MatrixStream's patent-pending fully integrated end-to-end turnkey HD IPTV system will allow UBalance clients to deploy quickly and readily scale up to millions of users over existing broadband IP infrastructure without major network upgrades – delivering the home theater experience over the Internet to living rooms across South Korea for both live broadcasting and Video on Demand. Unlike previously tried bandwidth hungry streaming IPTV solutions, typically requiring between 9 Mbps – 30 Mbps to stream high definition, that for the most part do not work over a public network, MatrixStream’s HD IPTV solution works with as little as 3.5 Mbps to stream HD 1080p encoded videos or as little as 1.5 Mbps to stream HD 720p encoded videos. MatrixStream’s IPTV solution can deliver full HD quality videos over the internet. In addition to streaming HD videos, the MatrixStream IPTV platform is already designed to easily add features such as time shift DVR (digital video recorder), t-commerce, interactive gaming, VoIP, personal photo sharing, personal music library, among other applications. Ubalance president Dr In Sup Kwon says, "MatrixStream offers UBalance a technically advance, robust system that allows us to provide our clients superior quality and a cost differential that distinctively sets us apart from the competition. Moreover, due to the incredible growth of the IPTV market in South Korea, we project that Ubalance can sell up to 10 million MatrixStream set top boxes within three years." Airtel and Reliance to offer internet through DTH TechWhack.com Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications are two companies which are all set to enter the Indian Direct to Home market by launching their services. They would take on the existing players in the segment including Zee Dish TV and Tata Sky DTH. However, one interested aspect of their upcoming services is that both Reliance and Airtel are planning to offer satellite-based broadband internet services along with regular DTH services. Bharti Airtel president, broadband and telephone services, Atul Bindal spoke about their plans: “Satellite internet is a North American model. There are a lot of areas where Bharti would possibly never lay copper cable as it does not make economic sense. In these areas, Bharti will look at a offering broadband through Wi-Max or through DTH.” Reliance in addition to internet services is also considering offering other services like video on demand to attract more customers to their upcoming BlueMagic service. Videocon Wants Six Transponders Another player enters the market, Indiantelevision.com: Videocon is looking initially at six Ku-band transponders for launching its direct-to-home (DTH) service and has approached the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), a source says. The consumer electronics major is awaiting a DTH licence and can expect to start the service only next year as ahead of the queue are telecom majors Reliance-ADAG (Bluemagic) and Bharti (Bharti Telemedia). "Videocon has signed a contract with Isro and has asked initially for six Ku-band transponders which can be scaled up later," the source says. After Insat-4B has gone to Kalanithi Maran's Sun Direct, the next Isro satellite providing Ku-band transponders will be up only in September-October. Bluemagic is likely to get Insat-4CR (replacement) and can hope to launch its service earliest by December-January. Reliance has asked for eight Ku-band transponders and Isro is reserving the remaining four for other users like National Informatics Centre. Bharti's DTH launch can get delayed to early 2009 with Insat-4G launching only by 2008-end unless Isro approves of Measat-3, a foreign satellite launched from the Astro Group. Insat-4G has 18 Ku-band transponders but the demand from DTH operators could outstrip supply even at that stage. Measat has made their Ku-band transponders available and Isro is still studying it technically and making an internal evaluation. "The coordination with Measat is not yet complete but we are at the last leg of it. We will take a decision probably after a month," says Isro contract management and legal services director SB Iyer. After the launch of Insat-4G, Isro will have exhausted the spectrum. "We have filed an application with the World Administration Radio Conference (WARC), which is part of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), for orbital slot and frequency," says Iyer. WARC determines the allocation of spectrum for various services. New DTH Channels in India Rapid TV News is reported hundreds of new channels waiting for approval: India’s broadcasting ministry has received formal applications from more than 50 companies representing 130 channels, planning to launch over the next 12-18 months. Applicants include Zee TV, BAG Films, INX Media, Viacom-18, NDTV, and UTV Broadcasting. If approved, and most international applicants have their local partners in place to ensure success, the number of channels available to viewers will jump from today’s 200 to around 300. Local reports suggest that there’s more than $1bn of potential investment ready to be made on infrastructure, and a commensurate amount on new programming and content to fill the inevitable quotas which the ministry is likely to impose. UTV alone says it is planning for nine channels and has lined up $200m to fund the operation. That is spurred on by forecasts that suggest India will be Asia’s most lucrative pay-TV market by 2015, growing from today’s 110m TV households, of which some 70m are connected to cable, to nearer 140m paying in one way or another for their TV. But income for international players is modest, with the average amount currently paid for “pay-TV” as being just $3 a year. More programming, plus the ever-expanding Indian middle class, is seen as key to the growth of pay-TV, and helped by the growing number of new DTH aggregators on the scene. The Indian pay-TV market is predicted to be worth about $10.5bn by 2015, helped by spectacular annual advertising growth of 13%-15% pa.
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2007 Sat TV Asia.com - Satellite TV Asia

Dialog TV has launched Set Plans

Videocon Wants Six Transponders

New DTH Channels in India