InAPAC

1 APAC NEWS APAC NEWS APAC NEWS APAC NEWS APAC NEWS APAC NEWS www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 9 - Issue 9 | October 2019

Witbe has announced a partnership with PT Sofrecom

Indonesia, a consulting and engineering firm specialising in telecommunications.

This partnership will allow Sofrecom to offer support and consulting services on Witbe Technology to telecommunications companies, cable operators, broadcasters and OTT providers in Indonesia.

“Witbe, our new solution partner is a leading company in the Quality of Experience industry with its unique robot able to provide the technology and analytics that digital service providers need to proactively test and monitor the availability, performance and integrity of their service offering.”

commented Dominique Loth, CEO of PT Sofrecom Indonesia.

Witbe has developed an approach based on robots replicating users’ behaviours. Witbe Robots can watch a video, tune to a specific channel, use STB guides etc.

This technology can proactively detect any service deterioration, allowing services providers to improve their end users’ quality of experience.

Witbe’s President Marie-Véronique Lacaze, said: “We are pleased with this new partnership, which has been successfully concretized through the deployment of our technology with a major Indonesian online

sports network and which allows us to strengthen our presence in the Asia Pacific region.”

Sofrecom, an Orange Group subsidiary, serves telecoms operators worldwide, drawing on its expertise in prospective studies, business consulting, networks and IT.

Witbe Partners With Sofrecom For Indonesia

Sofrecom in QoE partnership with Witbe

Dicker Data recently received and began shipping the first

Australian delivery of FUJIFILM LTO Ultrium8 Data Cartridges (LTO-8).

Dicker Data National Business Development Manager Paul Tutton said: “To say the market has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of FUJIFILM LTO-8 tapes is an understatement. As such we pre-ordered the large amount of stock you see here, most of which we have already sold to our customers. Fortunately FUJIFILM, as the manufacturer, have plenty of available stock and that combined with our next day delivery means our customers are

always taken care of.”FUJIFILM LTO-8 tapes use its

patented Barium Ferrite magnetic particle technology with its outstanding recording/retrieval performance and long-term durability to offer a storage capacity of 30TB (12TB for non-compressed data), twice the capacity of the previous generation LTO-7. They are also capable of transferring data at 750MB/sec (360MB/sec for non-compressed).

Tutton concluded: “LTO tape is more relevant than ever to the market as it offers low cost of ownership, easy

scalability and excellent security and protection from threats such as ransomware.”

FUJIFILM LTO-8 tapes are available in WORM or in an ECO pack (20 carts or more).

Dicker Data ReceivesFirst Aussie LTO-8 Tapes

Dicker Data National Business Development Manager Paul Tutton

with Australia’s first deliveryof FUJIFILM LTO-8 tapes

Audio codec manufacturer Tieline has announced its new Gateway

IP audio codec.The codec is a compact multichannel

IP audio transport solution for radio broadcasters and streams up to 16 IP audio channels with support for AES67, AES3 and analogue I/O as standard.

Featuring Tieline’s SmartStream PLUS redundant streaming and Fuse-IP data aggregation technologies, the Gateway welcomes a new era in multichannel IP codec streaming.

“The new Gateway codec delivers up to 16 mono channels or eight stereo

streams of IP audio in 1RU to increase efficiency and reduce rack space requirements,” said Charlie Gawley, Tieline’s VP Sales APAC/EMEA. “The Tieline Gateway interfaces with legacy analogue and AES/EBU sources, as well as newer broadcast plants with AES67 IP audio infrastructure. An optional WheatNet-IP interface will also be available.”

Tieline Gateway is ideal for STL, SSL and audio distribution applications, as well as managing multiple incoming remotes at the studio. Its feature-rich and compact design is interoperable

with all Tieline IP codecs and compatible over SIP with all EBU N/ACIP Tech 3326 and 3368 compliant codecs and devices.

Configurable through an embedded HTML5 Toolbox Web-GUI interface, the Gateway can also interface with the TieLink Traversal Server for simpler connections and is fully controllable using Tieline’s Cloud Codec Controller.

Tieline Unveils Gateway Multichannel IP Codec

Tieline GatewayMultichannel IP Codec

Telestream has announced a strategic contract with Taiwan-

based Pay-TV service provider, Chunghwa Telecom.

The contract sees Taiwan’s leading commercial broadcaster adopting Telestream’s Vantage media processing platform for its 4K broadcast operations. At the same time, Chunghwa Telecom will ensure its quality of service (QoS) standards are met using Telestream’s Vidchecker automated QC software for file-based media.

Chunghwa Telecom’s investment in Telestream Vantage is a strategic move by the broadcaster, enabling it to be 4K-ready in the future. It will be used across the broadcaster’s VOD and Live Catchup workflows.

Demonstrating Telestream’s extended market reach, Chunghwa Telecom has also selected Telestream to supply its iQ Inspector Live and iQ Surveyor video monitoring and analytics system.

Importantly, Chunghwa Telecom has supplemented its video monitoring network with Telestream’s iVMS management system, which manages and co-ordinates the video monitoring probe network.

This sophisticated system empowers operators to correlate all the alarms within a network in a single management platform, enabling rapid pinpointing of issues and resolution of faults.

Chunghwa Telecom will be able to monitor its customers’ quality of experience (QoE), checking the viewing experience quality and integrity throughout its video headend.

A series of alarms will alert operating staff to any issues in the headend, and iVMS will rapidly pinpoint the location of any issue within the network.

Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom Selects Telestream

2www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 9 - Issue 9 | October 2019

InAPAC

AV and entertainment technology company, Anna Valley, is the

solution architect and technology provider for the mixed reality “window on the world” feature in ITV’s Rugby World Cup 2019 studio.The studio in Maidstone is the base from which the host broadcaster will provide insight and analysis on the Rugby World Cup 2019 tournament, from the opening fixture on 20 September, through to the final on 2 November 2019. ITV’s Rugby World Cup 2019 studio combines live-action, augmented reality and mixed reality to provide a dynamic and engaging studio environment and the ITV Sport team enlisted a group of broadcast technology specialists, including Anna Valley, to collaborate on the technical design and delivery of the concept according to their specifications. The mixed reality “window on the world” element of the set created by Anna Valley uses high-resolution LED

screens to show an artistic impression of a Japanese cityscape that responds to on-set camera movements in the same way that an actual panorama view through a physical window would.The AV specialists achieve this effect by feeding positional data from Red Spy trackers fixed to the live studio cameras into a disguise server running Notch software.

The software then renders the cityscape content from the perspective of the cameras and feeds this back to the LED display “window” in real-time. Anna Valley is also providing in-set lighting, studio floor projection and static versions of the “window on the world” concept at ITV’s two satellite studios in Japan.

Anna Valley’s Mixed Reality Window On The World

ITV Sport Rugby World Cup studio

“ITV is the exclusive broadcasting rights holder for the Rugby World Cup 2019 and millions of fans will be tuning into our coverage of the tournament, both on the pitch and from the studio,” said ITV Sport technical director, Roger Pearce. “The studio concept and design play a critical part in our RWC 2019 delivery and, as trusted ITV technical partners, Anna Valley was a natural choice to help us deliver our mixed reality concept.”The ITV Sport team approached Anna Valley for the RWC 2019 project at the beginning of 2019 based on Anna Valley being a preferred ITV supplier, their track record on the broadcaster’s premier live shows and their experience in delivering studio solutions for sports shows across a variety of channels.The software required to deliver the RWC 2019 solution has only just moved out of Beta testing and Anna Valley’s technical innovation department has run full mock-ups at both the Maidstone studio and in Anna Valley’s demo space to ensure that this cutting-edge solution is broadcast-ready.

ADTH recently announced that its Conista Go conditional access

technology has been chosen to power a new service from one of APAC’s leading media and entertainment organisations.Also forming a core element of the new service is the ADTH DGI 1012 miniature mobile DTV receiver, a dongle that attaches to the USB port of Android phones.Mobile devices have become extremely popular in recent years as tools for communication, information and entertainment. Content providers around the world are rising to this challenge, offering a broadcast range of content which viewers can access easily from practically any location. The DGI 1012 sources from secured terrestrial digital transmissions rather than internet delivery so viewers can watch as much content as they like

without eating into their mobile platform’s data allowance. The receiver can decode HD or SD video encoded with MPEG-2 and MPEG-4/H.264. It can also decode transport streams, including conditional access content, along with multi-format audio and video.“Our Conista Go Mobile conditional access system supports this service by protecting content against unauthorised piracy,” adds ADTH Strategic Partnerships Manager, Alex Day. “It provides a high level of security for pre-recorded and offline content. Conista Go Mobile integrates quickly and easily into existing IP, terrestrial, cable, satellite, mobile and hybrid networks without interrupting subscriber services.

Software-based, it is routinely updated against evolving security issues.”Conista CAS comes in two forms providing two levels of security and convenience.Conista Plus is a hardware-based system which can be configured as a standalone traditional solution employing secure chip technology plus full headend support to prevent piracy.

ADTH Conista Go PowersAPAC Television Service

Basic structure of ADTH Conista Go CAS

This configuration can be deployed as a primary CAS or used in simulcrypt applications.Conista Go is a software-based variant which can be configured to operate as a secure bridge. It provides content security between the set-top box and smart devices which are allowed access within a home network environment.

Conista CAS is regularly updated and evolved to remain proof against evolving security threats. Both versions offer broadcasters and TV operators the highest level of control over their content, guaranteeing content security even during viewing of pre-recorded or offline programmes.

Conista CAS can operate in conjunction with multi-room and multi-screen environments, sending encrypted content to multiple devices within a home network and delivering the content to multiple network services.For mobile or tablet devices, it acts through a central subscription in the home to monitor content viewing from multiple devices.

ADTH Conista Go conditional access system and DGI 1012 mobile digital TV receivers power new APAC subscription TV service...

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 9 - Issue 9 | October 20193

AppointmentsAppointments

Tata CommunicationsAppoints MD / CEOIND: Tata Communications has appointed Mr Amur S Lakshminarayanan (Lakshmi) as Managing Director and Group CEO – Designate of Tata Communications.Lakshmi has more than 35 years of experience in a broad range of leadership roles across industries and regions around the world.Most recently at TCS, he successfully managed and developed scalable businesses. His roles in the company included President and CEO of TCS Japan, Global Head of Telecom, Media & Information Services, HiTech and Utilities, and Head of TCS UK & Europe.

As MD & CEO – Designate, Lakshmi will advise the Interim Management Committee of Tata

Communications

Globecast APACManaging DirectorFRA: Globecast has announced the promotion of 18-year company veteran Shakunt Malhotra to Managing Director, Asia.In his new role, he will spearhead operations across Asia and manage four key areas of focus: teleport services; media management services; channel operations and engineering; and new technologies.Philippe Bernard, Chairman and CEO, Globecast, said: “Shakunt’s distinguished leadership and ability to drive a multi-faceted business in Asia are what make him perfectly suited for the role of Managing Director. We know

his knowledge of these vibrant markets that we serve will continue to be an asset to our customers.”

Prior to his promotion, Shakunt was VP – Asia Operations.

Dario ChoiJoins IrdetoNED: Dario Choi has been appointed as Head of Sales, North & South East Asia for Irdeto.Mr Choi said: “This is a very exciting time for the media and entertainment industry in Asia as it undergoes a rapid evolution, driven by advances in technology and changes in consumer needs.”Mr Choi joins Irdeto from Huawei, where he was VP of Digital Services, Cloud & Data Center and responsible for assisting its global customer base with digital transformation strategies.

With extensive experience in the technology and media and entertainment sectors, he has held senior management positions at Asianet,

Harmonic, Avid, Harris Broadcast and Ericsson.

The Institute of Technical Education (ITE Central) in

Singapore has deployed Riedel’s Bolero wireless intercom and RiFace universal radio interface to support theatre production communications over a broad coverage area with a minimum number of antennas.

The versatile Riedel systems allowed for plug-and-play integration with the institute’s legacy two-wire systems.

“Our theatre production space is expansive, so we needed a communications solution that could provide coverage over a large area with fewer antennas and greater beltpack functionality,” said

Joshua Chong, Technical Officer at ITE Headquarters. “Riedel’s Bolero and RiFace integrated seamlessly with existing legacy communications gear, including radio systems, and addressed all of our requirements, providing reliable, low-latency communications that sound great.”

ITE Central is a public vocational school in Singapore that provides pre-employment training to secondary school graduates and continuing education and training to working adults.

The institute is using Riedel’s Bolero and RiFace to support a variety of theatre productions.

ITE Central EstablishesSeamless Comms Coverage

Technicolor Australia has chosen Etere’s MAM solution

to upgrade their existing systems.In order to streamline their

workflow and ready the company for challenges ahead, Technicolor Australia enlisted Etere to provide a MAM, Production system, and client access to upgrade its systems.

Technicolor’s implementation of the Etere MAM solution provided a full end-to-end workflow solution that is able to streamline the process of ingesting, indexing, storage, and retrieval of all of Technicolor’s digital assets. The nature of the fast paced

business of Technicolor required a user friendly interface that allowed users to find information quickly. Etere’s client portal was implemented as the perfect solution that was able to regulate client access depending on the nature of the material, and provide a straightforward and streamlined

process of asset retrieval.The custom Technicolor

Portal that Etere devised was only the peak of the iceberg for the MAM solution, as Etere also ensured that Technicolor had their own full content library, with a customisable client library rights to protect any

sensitive material.The MAM solution includes an

automated ingest that is able to quickly prepare Technicolor’s files for either broadcast or archiving.

Each of the aspects of the MAM solution are fully integrated with an effective QC workflow.

Technicolor Australia Deploys Etere MAM

Etere MAMat Technicolor

Amagi has launched a broadcast monitoring facility in New Delhi,

India.“As large and traditional

broadcasters are starting to make cloud as their primary playout and distribution platform, the need of the hour is a complete platform that can accommodate all operational needs of broadcasters on the cloud platform,” said Baskar Subramanian, Co-Founder, Amagi. “In this context, apart from cloud playout, it’s imperative that broadcasters also focus on comprehensive monitoring capabilities as well to manage broadcast

operations on the cloud. Amagi’s new monitoring facility is a direct response to evolving needs of the industry.”

Amagi has invested in building automation across the workflow, starting from live and media ingest, pre-processing of content to explore automated delivery mechanisms.

“Amagi’s new monitoring facility allows global broadcasters across linear TV and OTT enhance their broadcast operations - be it for live sports, news or thematic content. The

extended capability sets us apart in the market as we can scale operations in no time as per our client needs,” added Srini, Co-Founder, Amagi.

The state-of-the-art facility can monitor up to 1,000 channels with 24x7 support, and is powered by playout monitoring platform on the cloud, complete with ML-ready advanced automation capabilities.

Amagi Launches Broadcast Monitoring Facility

Amagi broadcast monitoring facility

Rajveer Singh, Riedel; Joshua Chong, ITE; Beng Yeow Chua, Ideal Systems

SATELLITE NEWS SATELLITE NEWS SATELLITE NEWS SATELLITE NEWS SATELLITE NEWS www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 9 - Issue 9 | October 20195

InSAT

Newtec is being incorporated into ST Engineering as part of the

company’s satcom business within ST Engineering Electronics.

Over the coming months, Newtec’s business will be integrated with that of ST Engineering iDirect.

The move brings two satellite industry leaders together to establish a new powerhouse to serve customers’ biggest ambitions with the companies’ joint goal to create the world’s most advanced satellite ground capabilities.

As one combined business group,

the organisation will execute a streamlined process to fully integrate the two entities, covering business operations, sales and marketing, and the corresponding product portfolios, with the result being a unified go-to-market strategy and over time a converged technology offering.

A joint “deep dive” into the combined products and technologies will take place, enabling ST Engineering to identify the best offerings from both entities and options for leveraging them in ways that most effectively address customers’ needs.

Newtec has been renamed as ST Engineering iDirect (Europe) NV. In line with the name change, it will adopt ‘ST Engineering’ as its corporate brand.

Newtec Integrated IntoST Engineering iDirect

Management Team (l-r): Tang Kum Cheun, President Satellite Systems, ST Engineering; Kevin Steen, President & CEO, ST Engineering iDirect; and Thomas Van den Driessche, President of the Strategic Board & COO, ST Engineering iDirect

Kartina TV, an OTT content provider, will leverage the reach of satellite

at SES’s prime neighbourhood to deliver Russian-language TV channels for households across Western Europe.

The content, which is available over IP networks, will be made available on a new FTV (Free-to-View) encrypted DTH platform on ASTRA 1N satellite at 19.2°East.

“As OTT content providers, we want to be delivering content to everyone, but there are limitations when it comes to terrestrial networks. By combining our offering with satellite, we will be able to broadcast channels for viewers who have limited broadband connectivity, and open up a new market for Kartina,” said Oleg Jecov,

Head of Satellite Project, Kartina TV.The Verimatrix encrypted Kartina

Satellite FTV platform will carry around 30 to 40 SD channels in HEVC encoding and is available for users who have a dedicated 4K/UHD HDR Android-based hybrid cardless STB with categorised lists of FTA channels and extended EPG support.

Håkan Sjödin, Vice President, Sales

Nordic, Baltic and Eastern Europe of SES Video, described the deal as setting “a new standard for OTT platforms in expanding the reach, viewership and value of multi-genre content”.

Kartina TV caters to the Russian-speaking diaspora who can access Russian-language content via OTT set-up boxes and apps.

Kartina TV Expands Coverage Via SES

A major Indian broadcaster has selected NovelSat’s content

security solution for its network’s satellite broadcast feeds for live and non-live high value content.

According to Novelsat, the customer is implementing “the highest level of content security available today for satellite broadcast”.

“Nowadays content security is vital for content producers and owners,” said Gary Drutin, CEO, NovelSat. “This major powerhouse of content joins major broadcasters with its adoption of our content security solution that protects valuable content from the

growing threats while ensuring the highest level of safety and quality viewing experiences. I’m confident this solution will bring significant value to the broadcaster and its customers throughout Asia, paving the way to a successful deployment.”

NovelSat’s content security solution is a multi-layer solution which includes AES 256-bit encryption to secure valuable content, AES keys encryption, a secured OTA channel for exchanging AES keys and access protection based on each receiver’s viewing entitlement

rights, defined per video channel (PID). With easy-to-use management tools for key generation, distribution and activation, and for event scheduling and content entitlement, the broadcaster will be able to secure and easily distribute its content

to thousands of satellite broadcast receivers.

Parvinder Singh, Director of Sales, India & SAARC, at NovelSat, said that while content security was “the key driver” for this project, spectral efficiency was an added advantage.

NovelSat Teams Up With Asian Broadcaster

NovelSat CEOGary Drutin

SatADSL highlighted the the company’s most recent

developments at IBC2019.These included the completion of

SatADSL’s capital increase, and the appointment of Serge Van Herck as President of its Board of Directors.

As a result of its latest funding round, SatADSL was provided the means required to accelerate the deployment of its global PoP, reaching out to new markets and communities, to deliver its solutions and extensive value-added services portfolio globally.

The company provided insights into its innovative satellite networking solutions, including the Cloud-based Service Delivery Platform (C-SDP). Providing a complete OSS/BSS, carrier-grade, fully redundant platform, the C-SDP enables - via the cloud - satellite services over any frequency band, bringing significant advantages. SatADSL’s Platform as a Service (PaaS) allows universal access to the C-SDP to every satellite, hub or IP service operator.

Operators are expected to provide always-on, reliable and cost-effective connectivity, Satellite technology is being increasingly deployed to bridge digital divides and serve remote areas.

SatADSL’s solutions combine satellite with cloud technology to provide operators with options to deliver the benefits satellite-based connectivity.

Furthermore, they can utilise satellite without incurring the hurdles often associated with fixed broadband roll-outs, such as high CAPEX, uncertain returns and slow time-to-market.

SatADSLTo Highlight C-SDP Growth

Serge Van Herck has joined as President of the Board of Directors

An SES ground station

SATELLITE NEWS SATELLITE NEWS SATELLITE NEWS SATELLITE NEWS SATELLITE NEWS www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 9 - Issue 9 | October 20197

InSAT

SES recently announced it is developing a broadcast-grade

managed cloud service offering on Microsoft Azure as a result of an expanded collaboration with Microsoft.

Benefitting from Azure’s extensive cloud and AI capabilities, and its own expertise in providing managed services for leading broadcasters and media companies worldwide, SES is transforming media service delivery via the cloud.

This service will provide end-to-end, service-level agreement (SLA)-based media delivery services on Azure, giving broadcasters and media companies the flexibility and scalability that are essential in today’s rapidly changing media environment.

Bringing the most relevant content to the cloud and providing innovative services covering the entire video value chain - ingest, playout, and delivery - will enable media companies

to scale and address the consumer’s growing demand for a premium viewing experience on every screen.

“Our collaboration with Microsoft Azure will enable us to take our portfolio of media services and distribution solutions to the next level,” said Ferdinand Kayser, CEO of SES Video. “Our cloud-enabled media service will be unique to the industry and will offer scalability and flexibility, along with increased broadcast quality of service, thanks to the latest AI and machine learning capabilities.”

SES also announced an expanded relationship with Microsoft that enables connectivity between SES’s multi-orbit satellite systems and Azure ExpressRoute.

SES Develops BroadcastCloud Service On Azure

Ferdinand Kayser, CEO, SES Video

ND SATCOM has announced the acquisition of Dakar-based TECNA.

The strategic move will further enhance outreach and interaction between the company and its customers, partners and leading communication companies in the West Africa region.

TECNA Suarl has been renamed ND SatCom SENEGAL.

“We see very positive potential for our satellite communication solutions here,” said Alexander Mueller-Gastell, CEO, ND SATCOM. “This decision to acquire TECNA underscores this potential and the opportunity to expand further

afield. The office location is close to several of our existing customers and provides an excellent base where we can share our latest technology and insights. With our new Director Charly Nakache, our customers and partners in the region can expect excellent responsiveness, collaboration and tailored solutions that meet their unique communications needs.”

Nakache, who brings a wealth of industry experience in satellite communications, has been appointed as General Manager of ND SatCom SENEGAL and, together with a team of sales and technical professionals, will be responsible for managing the

day-to-day business in the region and expanding the reach of ND SatCom.

With new business growing for ND SATCOM in West Africa, it was important to establish a local presence in the region.

ND SATCOM Acquires TECNA Suarl

ND SATCOM SENEGAL is based in Dakar

Newtec teamed up with DVB to showcase the future of universal

OTT television services.Taking place at DVB’s IBC stand,

the DVB demonstration - which used Newtec’s MCX7000 Multi-Carrier Satellite Gateway as a receiver - revealed the ‘single hybrid offering’ that DVB-I brings. DVB-I is an ongoing

initiative to develop technical standards for delivering television services over IP.

“Historically, satellite has been overlooked as an enabler of OTT services, but its synonymity with broadcast and its capability to deliver high-quality, reliable transmissions anywhere makes it ideal to enable universal OTT television services,” said Thomas Van den Driessche, CEO, Newtec.

“We have a long history of being involved in developing DVB standards and we are pleased to be able to support this latest initiative which will significantly increase service

availability, especially for users who don’t have access to broadcast television.”

With DVB-I, which will stand alongside the existing DVB-T, DVB-S and DVB-C broadcast standards, deployments can be standalone, or can combine broadcast and IP delivery to create a single hybrid offering. The latter would incorporate services delivered via both methods, making optimal use of the different characteristics of each channel.

For broadcasters, DVB-I will provide the opportunity to take advantage of the capabilities of IP delivery, both technically and commercially.

Newtec Teams Up With DVB For OTT Services

DVB showcase at IBC2019

C-COM Satellite Systems has successfully integrated its

74cm Flyaway antenna system with NSLComm’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) nanosatellite.

This successful test completes a significant development project between the two companies and will open new markets and create new opportunities for both.

“For C-COM, this test with NSLComm’s LEO nanosatellite opens up new developing markets for our extensive worldwide reseller base,” said Dr Leslie Klein, President and CEO of C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. “The store and forward communication satellite services offered by NSLComm’s LEO satellites in conjunction with our iNetVu mobile antenna systems will provide our joint customers with a unique, cost-effective high-speed data transfer capability.”

Dr Raz Itzaki, CEO, NSLComm, added: “For NSLComm, the addition of the C-COM FLY-74 as an approved satellite antenna solution opens up new opportunities to deliver gigabit per second speeds for mobile/transportable applications such as natural resource exploration and extraction, remote research stations, disaster management, defence, and many other vertical markets requiring high-capacity connectivity where cost, portability and reliability are key considerations.”

C-COM’s engineering team developed the NSL ground station demonstrator terminals along with the required tracking software to NSLComm specifications, using the renowned iNetVu 7700 series controllers.

NSLComm provided access to their Ka-band LEO nanosatellite and assisted with daily testing.

C-COM NSLCommLEO Satellite Success

C-COM iNetVu antenna

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 9 - Issue 9 | October 2019 8

InSAT

Intelsat General has unveiled FlexGround, a solution for mobility

without sacrificing speed.Ground forces operate in an increasingly sophisticated, unpredictable environment, and the ability to instantaneously access high-data rate communications from even the most austere environments is critical to mission success.Many communications methods currently available have a cumbersome form factor, are expensive and do not satisfy the need for secure, high data rate bandwidth communications to the tactical edge.Intelsat General Communications (IGC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Intelsat S.A., is changing this with the introduction of FlexGround, a new service that provides military troops around the world with fast, resilient and secure communications for mobility applications requiring compact terminals.“Our new FlexGround service ensures that tactical users in remote environments around the world can stay connected,” said Skot Butler, President, Intelsat

General. “The service’s high data rates and open architecture enable ground forces to use a wide array of ultra-portable antennas, providing them with the mission agility they need. The flexible service plans, pay-as-you-go option, and global availability enable troops to quickly access the connectivity they need whenever and wherever necessary.”FlexGround supports a range of lightweight tactical and early entry user terminals, including C o m m u n i c a t i o n s - O n - T h e - P a u s e (COTP), Manpack and Emergency Responder communications. It enables data, voice and video communications, including the ability to meet the High Definition Full-Motion Video (HD FMV) needs of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) applications.

Specifically, FlexGround delivers a high-performing, resilient and easily accessible network. Leveraging Intelsat’s multi-layered, Ku-band network and Intelsat EpicNG high-throughput satellite platform, FlexGround delivers unprecedented data rate transmissions enabling converged data, voice and video communications to the smallest, land mobile terminals. The combination of very high data rates, between three and ten times the speed of existing satellite networks, and the very small terminals provide ground forces with the optimal solution for mobility without sacrificing speed.FlexGround also enables government customers to select among several service options, allowing them to choose a plan that is based on their

data-rate usage, geographic and budgetary needs, without having to make an upfront commitment. The solution offers a flexible pay-as you go option that provides a budget friendly cost structure. The flexible service options provide for a full-time lease for long duration missions, or usage based on-

demand service for limited-duration needs such as emergency response.Intelsat EpicNG satellites have smaller spot beams and an advanced digital payload which helps to quickly identify and mitigate attempts to disrupt signals in the field. Anti-jamming capabilities, combined with multiple layers of resiliency provided by Intelsat’s global network, ensure always-on connectivity, secure communications, and importantly, a layer of security.

Intelsat General Introduces FlexGround

Skot Butler, President, Intelsat General

The new 4K HDR TV channel, 4KUniverse, and Asia’s leading

satellite operator, AsiaSat, have entered into a multi-year agreement for the distribution of a 24-hour feed via AsiaSat 9 across the Asia-Pacific.4KUniverse was part of AsiaSat’s 4K-SAT UHD demo channel initiated back in 2015, broadcasting a few hours of UHD programming a day. Now, with the 4K TV market share and 4K set-top-boxes seeing exponential growth, TV operators want to offer the best possible resolution (4K HDR High Dynamic Range) for their customers to enjoy the best ever viewing experience. 4KUniverse is a general entertainment 4K HDR TV channel. Its wide-ranging UHD programming for Asian audience includes early morning airings of the children’s series, ‘Eddie is a Yeti’; daytime with vegan cooking series ‘Plant-Based by Nafsika’; primetime with ‘Model Turned Superstar’ entertainment series featuring Victoria’s Secret supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio; and late-night airings of new docufilms like the

Patagonia extreme-skiing film, ‘The Empire of Winds’. 4KUniverse is broadcasting in Asia via AsiaSat 9 at 122°E, in 4K HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) HDR with WCG (Wide Color Gamut), which is presently the highest quality, commercially-viable image in broadcasting today. The channel will be available through local licensed distribution partners across the satellite’s extensive C-band footprint including key Asian markets such as Hong Kong, Mainland China, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and the

4KUniverse Expands Across Asia-Pacific

4K HDR TV channel 4KUniverse The Empire of Winds

Philippines.“I am thrilled to announce the deal with AsiaSat as we look forward to growing the 4KUniverse footprint across Asia-Pacific,” said 4KUniverse Founder & CEO Matthew Mancinelli. “By offering the 4KUniverse channel to their customers, TV platforms and telcos alike can promote regularly scheduled 4K HDR broadcasts. It’s time for customers to unleash the full potential of their new TVs.” “The launch of 4KUniverse with its full UHD programme schedule tailored for Asian audience is an exciting

addition to AsiaSat 9’s growing video neighbourhood. We are grateful to be selected once again by 4KUniverse as their long-term UHD partner in Asia,” said Ina Lui, Senior Vice President, Commercial, Business Development & Strategy of AsiaSat. 4KUniverse is the first 24/7 4K HDR general entertainment TV channel in America, airing TV series, movies, documentaries, sports all in stunning 4K HDR resolution. The first-of-its-kind channel is available as linear television via cable/satellite and as a direct-to-consumer streaming service.