1 www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 10 - Issue 2 | February 2020

InAPAC

17 Live events coverageuses LU600 HEVC units

One of Asia’s leading live streaming platforms, 17 Live is using LiveU’s

leading LU600 HEVC units to transmit live coverage of the events direct to their 17 Channel.

The deal has been overseen by LiveU’s local partner in Taiwan, Maxlink, which also provides 24/7 service and support.

Yaal Eshel, General Manager LiveU Asia, said: “We’re proud to be the vendor of choice for popular video streaming platforms, such as 17 Live. Using our technology, 17 Live has been able to grow its audience throughout Asia with entertaining and unique live content. With the huge unabating demand for live content, LiveU continues to play an active role in providing live coverage of news, sports and other events in the region, and worldwide.”

The LiveU’s flagship LU600 HEVC solution delivers the highest video quality and bitrate in the market, fastest file transfer and lowest delay.

With over a million daily active users and over 30 million users in total, 17 Live is one of the most popular live streaming apps in Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.

The app lets users share their daily moments via video streaming, and follow other streamers and friends.

The platform also has a content revenue sharing model where users can share their content for effective monetization.

17app is a live video streaming media app that enables users to livestream, share photos, upload videos and interact with streamers.

Celebrities, actors and singers are all live on the app. Client apps are available for iOS and Android smartphone systems.

Taiwan-based 17 Live Deploys LU600 HEVCs

Sydney-based Australian rental company Camera

Hire recently purchased 10 CiNX 3 Fluid Heads and 10 Sprinter II 2 Stage Carbon Fibre Tripods from Miller Tripods.

Camera Hire Managing Director Bevan Dally said: “We’ve been using Miller’s ArrowX series for some time now and the fluid heads are excellent. The payload range and versatility are very beneficial considering the various types of jobs we support. With the CiNX line, our customers are able to mount a variety of cameras, including Sony’s FS7,

Canon’s C300’s, and ARRI’S Alexa Mini and Amira, with ease.”

Dally added: “Upgrading to the brand new CiNX series was a no brainer for us, especially because of its ability to mount ARRI dovetail plates directly

on the head. We can now easily provide our clients with a Sony VCT or ARRI dovetail system using the same fluid head, without the need to swap back and forth between multiple plates. With CiNX fluid heads, cinematographer’s can easily and quickly change from one camera to another with a seamless transition.”

For over a decade, Camera Hire has provided professional cameras and supporting equipment for a large range of productions including commercials, documentaries and feature films.

Camera Hire Invests In Miller CiNX

Miller Tripods’CiNX 3 FluidHead

Radiodays Asia will be held for the second time

in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.The theme for the

conference this year is ‘Sound ideas for a Sound Future’, reflecting the innovation in Asia and the strength of the radio market in the region.

At the conference there will be delegates and attendees from around the world sharing their ‘Sound Ideas’ to help create a ‘Sound Future’ for radio.

The conference also includes an exhibition of companies who promote

their products and services, a fantastic look at ways to help your station or your group improve. More Sound Ideas for a Sound Future.

2020 will also have the latest about podcasting world-wide. What makes

a podcast successful, how do you reach the podcasting audience and how do you make money from podcasting?

Finally, there is the chance for networking with over 400 radio professionals from Asia and the wider world who will join together, network, make contacts, make friends,

and ensure a Sound Future for you, your station, your listeners and your commercial partners.

The radio conference for Asia, the event in 2019 was supported by major players in the Asian radio markets.

Sound Ideas At Radiodays Asia 2020

ConnecTechAsia is to host DeLLiVR, a two-day VR/AR/360 Production

Training Conference, on June 10 to 11.The conference agenda consists of

two tracks featuring a keynote by Gary Radburn, Director of VR/AR at Dell, two full days of sessions, a 360-video production field workshop, case studies, and best practices by industry visionaries.

“Many of us have become familiar with immersive media and the way it’s being implemented in various industries,” said Ben Kozuch, President of Future Media Conferences (FMC). “We see a great need for advanced technical training for those who decided to get into immersive media

and looking for best practices. The DeLLiVR agenda is ideal.”

Ivan Ferrari, Event Director for ConnecTechAsia from organiser Informa Markets, said: “At ConnecTechAsia we see growing demand for VR/AR/360 solutions among the event’s attendees. In fact, the ongoing deployment of 5G technologies in parallel with the migration of computing power to the cloud- some of the key topics discussed and at our event - are fast bridging the gap between the VR/AR/360 vision and the new actionable realities that are being created. This is the perfect timeframe to launch DeLLiVR in Singapore.”

The speaker line-up features VR experts, such as Al Caudullo (Program Manager for DeLLiVR Singapore) and Chris Bobotis (Adobe).

Apple and Adobe Certified Trainer Nick Harauz will lead the field workshop.

The conference, organised by FMC, is produced in collaboration with Dell, Adobe, the NAB Show and ConnecTechAsia.

ConnecTechAsia Set To DeLLiVR VR/AR/360 Event

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InAPAC

Media industry software company VSN has announced that its

flexible, scalable, open standards-based solution has been chosen by SET Taiwan for its complete playout and Master Control Room (MCR) requirements.SET Taiwan was launched in September of 1993 and is a television channel of the Sanlih E-Television in Taiwan. It mainly broadcasts Taiwanese drama, but it also has a variety of established shows and is the country’s first combination of network, information and technology planning of digital media and television.In common with many similar organisations looking to upgrade and improve their playout system, SET Taiwan needed to have an advanced and integrated solution that could control many different subsystems and would be able to interconnect with third-party software as well.That was the main reason why the TV channel has chosen VSN’s interoperable and centralized software

solutions in order to provide them with an integrated playout, which includes 2 VSNOne TV Channel-in-a-Box servers (main and backup), one channel for recording and one channel for playout functions, simultaneously. Moreover, it counts with an IP stream output, closed caption modules, SCTE generation features and is connected with VTR, Router and a GPI device. Besides that, the solution also allows

users to work and edit footage in a timely manner thanks to the integration with a nonlinear editor.Finally, in order to ease the transition to this new playout system and fulfil all the customer’s requirements without inconveniencing any of their existing workflows, VSN provided a solution that is able to successfully integrate with all of SET Taiwan’s current playlist and storage systems.

One of the many advantages that an integrated playout (or Channel-In-A-Box technology) has is the ability to reduce the many parts of the traditional playout system and master control

(graphics, servers and switches, routing, audio, channel branding, etc.) into a single integrated software application that operates on a generic IT-based hardware. This way, the integration simplifies installation and maintaining processes and the channels of SET Taiwan can be easily managed within a single server in common protocol. VSN’s modular, scalable and customized software optimizes business processes in the areas of media asset management, MCR automation and news production.VSN has delivered innovation and media solutions to clients in more than 100 countries globally, including TV channels, content distributors, news agencies, public institutions, service operators and others.

SET Taiwan Relies on VSNIntegrated Playout Solution

SET Taiwan - ©2020

The Toyota booth engaged stand visitors at the recent Tokyo

Motor Show with a giant LED canvas, interactive elements, and live-gaming racing, with help from disguise vx 4 media servers supplied by Hibino, a disguise Rental Partner.“The booth’s main display was a seamless 77.4 meters long and 24,768 pixels wide LED wall” says Emu Hino, Technical Director. “The Future City CG on the main display, which served as the background for the entire booth, was immersive and exciting. The experience of being surrounded by it and interacting with various content in the booth was very special for visitors.”Hino explains that, “the pixel width of the display was never shown before, and 6x 4K outputs for perfect pixel management and synchronisation was required. Instead of the conventional 8-bit 256 colours we also needed 10-bit 1,024 colours.

So, this was a project where there was no compromise in terms of scale and image quality.”The disguise vx 4 media servers and r16 software were chosen for their NotchLC integration and 10-bit pipeline.“disguise is a leader in the industry and the vx 4 played a central role in seamlessly delivering on the quality required by the motor show” said Hino.Hibino began testing the display several months prior to the motor show and received support from disguise in the form of remote sessions and people on the ground in Tokyo. “Without disguise’s support in terms

of people and technology I don’t think the project would have been a success” said Hino.Three vx 4 units not only drove the main display but also other LED screens scattered through the booth

for a total of 8x 4K outputs.“The entire booth was surrounded by LED displays, and disguise operated the show for 10 hours a day for two weeks without incident,” Hino stated. “As the person in charge of the system, I can say it was a very big achievement!”This project was the first time

Tomoya Ohashi, Technical Operator, used disguise: “I was very surprised to be able to manage multiple servers and huge pixels from a single GUI. We were able to flexibly respond to changes on site and complex requests with intuitive operation, and we were able to enjoy the operation.’’

disguise Drives Toyota Displaysat Tokyo Motor Show

disguise vx 4 media servers powered the display

Photos: Nacasa & Partners Inc.

The Toyota booth’s main display was 77.4 metres wide A Toyota concept feature

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 10 - Issue 2 | February 20204

C-COM Satellite Systems has completed its first live test of a

low-cost commercially available, 74cm parabolic, flyaway antenna system, with Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite.

C-COM’s fully automatic, compact, and easy-to-deploy iNetVu FLY-74 Ka-band transportable antenna was used during the live testing at Telesat’s Allan Park facility in Ontario, Canada.

“We are very pleased with the performance and high reliability of our FLY-74 antenna system and its ability to track and maintain connectivity with the Telesat LEO satellite,” said Bilal Awada, Chief Technology Officer, C-COM. “A number of these flyaway antenna systems have already been deployed for tracking low orbit satellites, such as CubeSats and Smallsats, in Canada and in other parts of the world.”

Michel Forest, Director, LEO Systems Engineering, said: “Telesat is working with high technology vendors such as C-COM to assure the availability of affordable antenna systems for Telesat LEO across a variety of applications.”

The iNetVu FLY-74 has been tracking Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite over a six-month period.

Full-duplex throughput data rates of up to 158 Mbps on the downlink and 158 Mbps on the uplink were achieved at extremely high spectral efficiencies, all while demonstrating the ultra-low latency capabilities (20-40 msec) of Telesat LEO.

The on-air tests were conducted using a Newtec MDM 6000 modem.

The FLY-74 antenna acquired and tracked the LEO satellite at elevation angles as low as 10 degrees above the horizon.

C-COM Antenna Tested WithLEO Satellite

C-COM iNetVu Telesat LEO testing

Comtech has agreed to acquire Gilat Satellite Networks for

approximately US$532.5 million. Founded in 1987 with its

headquarters in Israel, Gilat is a leader in satellite networking technology, solutions and services with market leading positions in the satellite ground station and in-flight connectivity solutions markets and expertise in operating large network infrastructures.

Welcoming Gilat’s “entire talented workforce to the Comtech family,” Fred Kornberg, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Comtech, said: “I am excited to have reached this agreement with Gilat and believe this

combination is beneficial to the stakeholders of both companies. The acquisition better positions Comtech to take advantage of key marketplace trends, particularly the growing demand for satellite connectivity and the enormous long-term opportunity set that is emerging in the secure wireless communications market.”

The combined companies would employ approximately 3,000 people and offer best-in-class satellite technology, public safety and location technology and secure wireless solutions to commercial and government customers around the world.

Post-closing of the transaction, Gilat will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Comtech and will maintain its brand.

Gilat will also continue to maintain its corporate headquarters and research

and development facility in Petah Tikva, Israel under the leadership of Yona Ovadia, Gilat’s CEO and Adi Sfadia, Gilat’s CFO.

Comtech Buys GilatFor US$532.5M Fred Kornberg,

Chairman of the Boardand CEO of Comtech

InSAT

Calian SED (formerly SED Systems), Calian Group Ltd.’s global supplier

of communication systems solutions and products, is pleased to announce that it has appointed Rob Vance as its new Director, Satellite Ground Antenna Systems.

The new position was created to lead the sales activities for the company’s new line of high performance composite carbon fibre antennas, designed to meet the demanding operational requirements of Ka/Q/V-band frequencies and beyond.

Reporting to Calian SED’s VP, Communication Ground Systems, Darren Schlageter, Vance will assume

his role immediately and will be based in San Jose, California.

“I’m excited to be part of the Calian SED team. This team has an impressive set of technical and operational skills especially in satellite ground systems design and implementation. The new high-performance composite

carbon fibre earth station antenna product line will be a game-changer as satellites move to the higher frequencies like Q and V bands to increase feeder-link capacity,” said Vance.

Vance brings with him an extensive background in the technology sector along with specific expertise in satellite ground system sales and engineering.

“Rob’s unique experience in the satellite ground systems market. combined with his extensive set of relationships with key industry players, will be very beneficial to Calian SED,” said Patrick Thera, President, Calian SED.

Calian SED Announces New Director, Satellite Ground Antenna Systems

Rob Vance

ViaLite Communications has joined the Satcoms Innovation Group

(SIG) as an associate member.ViaLite has a varied, global user

base which utilises its products over a diverse range of applications. Its RF products and solutions are used in industries such as satcom, broadcast and government and defence.

Richard Jacklin, Director of Sales, ViaLite Communications, said: “We’ve worked extensively within the satellite industry and have seen that the opportunities and challenges facing the industry are

changing. We strive for our equipment to remain at the forefront of consumer need and we see it being hugely beneficial to have an opportunity to discuss the broader ecosystem with other professionals within the industry. It provides us with a chance to work to the same overall objectives as other space users to ensure that satcom remains competitive.”

“We’re delighted to welcome ViaLite Communications to the group. Its team offers extensive knowledge from its 25 years’ experience of delivering links and systems for RF over fibre within satellite communications. We look forward to the team’s input within our group,” said Helen Weedon, Managing Director at SIG.

SIG recently updated its membership fee structure with the aim to promote the group’s accessibility for start-up businesses and academic projects, as well other prospective members within satcoms.

ViaLite Joins SIG As Associate Member

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 10 - Issue 2 | February 20205

InSAT

ETL Systems, a global designer and manufacturer of leading

RF distribution equipment used in the ground segment of the satellite communications market, has received significant investment from CBPE Capital, to support its management’s ambitious growth plans.

The business is embarking on further expansion, designed to take advantage of positive market drivers in the satellite industry and solid industry conditions.

ETL serves various end markets including broadcasting, energy,

defence, government and maritime and has a distinguished track record of growth and technological innovation in support of its international client base. The company is the recipient of multiple industry accolades including

ETL Systems ReceivesMajor Investment

three Queens Awards in recent years.Ian Hilditch, CEO of ETL Systems,

said: “ETL is building on an impressive track record of growth of its range of RF distribution products, which are manufactured at our purpose-built facility near Hereford, UK. We export over 80% of our products to satellite customers around the world.”

Jolyon Latimer, Partner at CPBE, said: “ETL is an excellent company with a reputation for product quality and innovation, a blue-chip international customer base and is led by a strong management team. The business operates in the attractive and growing satellite communications market and is well placed to capitalise on the opportunity ahead of it.”

Hiltron Communications has reported strong demand for its

HCS-4 satcom system controller which has been integrated into various projects for customers in Europe, the Middle East and Far East.

An innovative recent implementation has been for one of the Middle East’s largest telecommunication service-providers. This includes a switching and control system for Swedish Microwave optical low noise block downconverters. The HCS-4 powers and monitors the downconverters, checking for faults such as channel interrupts. If an interrupt is detected, the HCS-4 automatically switches to

a backup signal source. Three downconverters are connected via optical fibre in a two-active-plus-one-backup configuration.

“The Middle East system follows on from the recent completion of a large project for a leading European satellite network operator,” said Hiltron Managing Director Antonio Monteverde. “This included the integration of a 12U rack of monitoring equipment at 50 separate locations around the world, each with an HCS-4 as the control interface.

Every system was pre-assembled and fully tested at our Backnang

headquarters prior to on site integration.”

Hiltron’s HCS-4 satellite communication controller is available as a 2U high 19 inch rack mount unit with main and backup power supplies plus 13 slots for active modules.

Also available are two chassis mountable frames accommodating up to six or up to 14 active modules.

Modules are hot-pluggable to allow easy exchange.

Hiltron Reports ‘Strong Sales’Of HCS-4 System

Hiltron HCS-4 Satellite System Controller

Paradigm will demonstrate its latest PIM (Paradigm Interface Module)

enabled solutions at Satellite 2020, in Washington D.C.

The PIM-enabled, simple-to-use satellite terminals cover all band options and all throughput requirements. Terminals include the MANTA, the HORNET and the SWARM.

All of the terminals integrate the rugged and field-proven PIM which allows any non-skilled user to point antennas in a few minutes. As a fully self-contained unit, the PIM then enables users to plug-in and connect peripheral devices as required.

The latest, optimised HORNET satcom terminal is a modular solution,

allowing users to easily interchange between different sized antennas, RF modules and frequency bands. This increases the flexibility and efficiency of the terminal by providing the optimum solution for every requirement.

The MANTA+ offers further enhanced capabilities over the standard MANTA by utilising its fully integrated 3G/4G/LTE cellular and radio connectivity to produce a flexible terminal.

The backpackable SWARM is small and light enough to be carried as hand luggage on commercial airlines, yet still delivers impressively high data rates. The PIM now operates in many different market sectors across five continents.It integrates into all the major satellite networks as well as a wide range of modems, supporting the major types from iDirect, Newtec, UHP, Comtech and Teledyne Paradise amongst others.

Paradigm’s Latest PIM-Enabled Solutions

PIM-enabled terminals

Arianespace Flight VA251 has successfully placed two

communications satellites into geostationary orbit - EUTELSAT KONNECT for the operator Eutelsat, and GSAT-30 for ISRO, the Indian space agency.

Following the launch from the Guiana Space Center, Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël said: “As we enter the year of our 40th anniversary, Arianespace is targeting a record pace in 2020. It begins with this initial success of Ariane 50 at the service of two long-standing customers and partners - the French operator Eutelsat, and ISRO, the Indian space agency. I would like to thank our two loyal customers for entrusting us.

“The launch orbited EUTELSAT KONNECT, the first satellite based on the Spacebus NEO platform of Thales Alenia Space, developed with the support and expertise of ESA and CNES. EUTELSAT KONNECT will help reduce the digital divide in Europe and Africa; as will our second passenger on today’s flight, GSAT-30, designed, manufactured and operated by ISRO to enhance communications on the Indian subcontinent. More than ever, placing space at the service of a better life on Earth remains Arianespace’s primary purpose.”

EUTELSAT KONNECT is the first satellite to use the Spacebus NEO platform from Thales Alenia Space. Built using the enhanced I-3K platform, GSAT-30 will deliver high-quality television, telecommunications and broadcasting services to all of India.

Flight VA251, was the 315th mission by the Arianespace launcher family and the 107th by an Ariane 5 version.

Flight VA251 Places Two SatellitesIn Orbit

Ariane 5 VA251 launch

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 10 - Issue 2 | February 2020 6

InSAT

Speedcast is to deploy the ST Engineering iDirect Newtec Dialog

platform to provide worldwide satellite broadband services for its customers.The deployment will enable Speedcast to respond to the exponential demand for high-speed connectivity on board cruise ships and may also be used for other vertical market segments with increasing bandwidth requirements, such as yachting, oil and gas and the enterprise market.This builds upon the long-term partnership that has been forged between ST Engineering iDirect and Speedcast, supporting mission-critical communications in the world’s most remote regions.The cruise market remains the biggest user of maritime satellite communications and is driving the sector with its increasing demand for connectivity.“Our customers are increasingly faced with the need to deliver a seamless, high quality, high-speed connectivity experience, which drives significant growth in demand for Speedcast

services,” said PJ Beylier, CEO, Speedcast. “We were looking for a technology platform that could meet our current and future bandwidth challenges but also that was versatile enough to be used across other market segments where we were seeing similar demands.“The Dialog platform, with its high throughput and efficiency capabilities, allows us to deploy high-end services and is ultimately a natural extension of our existing Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) network. The partnership with ST Engineering iDirect will enable us to deploy a unified platform for the cruise sector to drive network efficiencies and ultimately create a better customer experience. This world-class global maritime and offshore network will leverage the optimal satellite capacity over each region to deliver bandwidth to hundreds of cruise

ships and yachts. This network will give us a competitive advantage and enable us to continue to support the growing connectivity demands of our customers.”“To stay ahead in this highly competitive and increasingly digitalized market, fast and reliable connectivity is essential,” said Thomas Van den Driessche, President of the Executive Strategic Board and Chief Commercial Officer, ST

ST Engineering iDirect BoostsSpeedcast Bandwidth

Engineering iDirect. “The recent integration of ST Engineering iDirect and Newtec will ensure that Speedcast is able to maintain its lead in this high-value market with a forward-thinking, market-leading technology partner that will remain dedicated to protecting its investment across its entire VSAT network. We are proud to support Speedcast, a leading force in the maritime market, with the network

capabilities that it needs to meet and exceed its customers’ requirements, no matter how remote they are or what their business entails.”Dialog can be used as a single and multi-service VSAT platform that allows operators and service providers to build and adapt superior infrastructure and satellite networking.It gives operators the power to offer a variety of mobile and fixed services on a single platform.

Newtec Dialogsatellite hubs

Hispasat has selected Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between

Thales and Leonardo, to construct the Amazonas Nexus satellite.The satellite will replace and expand the capacities of the Amazonas 2 satellite, currently in orbit at 61° West. The High Throughput Satellite (HTS) will enable Hispasat to access new customers and markets, by delivering high capacity mobility services to the air and maritime transport sectors, among others.In addition, it will continue the provision of services to the current Hispasat customers that use the capacities of Amazonas 2. As prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for Amazonas Nexus satellite design, production, testing and in-orbit acceptance tests.Rosario Martínez, President of Hispasat, said: “This project, which is of great relevance to respond to the continuous growth in the demand for connectivity, would not have been possible without the determined support of Hispasat shareholders.

At the Board of Directors, we are convinced that Amazonas Nexus will reinforce our competitive position within the satellite market.”Amazonas Nexus features a new generation Digital Transparent Processor (DTP), a technological breakthrough that is essential to increase the geographical flexibility of the mission to respond to eventual evolutions with respect to the initially envisaged commercial scenario.Due to this element, the satellite payload will be digitally processed, allowing to assign in-orbit the required capacities at any time, providing the satellite with great resilience to the evolution of the communications market, both in the field of connectivity and data and in the field of contents transmission.The advanced design, HTS capacity and versatility of Amazonas Nexus will make it the most efficient satellite in Hispasat’s fleet.The satellite will have coverage over the whole American continent, the North Atlantic corridor (air and

maritime traffic area) and Greenland, and will enable the provision of leading-edge telecommunication services in Ku band.Amazonas Nexus also marks the start of a new generation of satellites in Hispasat’s fleet with an innovative architecture that also features Ka-band capacity to optimise communications between the gateways and the satellite, allowing to multiply the total on-board capacity available for commercial use, and thus improving to a great extent the capacity unitary cost with respect to

Thales Alenia Space To Build Amazonas Nexus

conventional satellites.Based on the Spacebus NEO platform from Thales Alenia Space, the satellite will feature full electric propulsion, making the satellite lighter and contributing to lower the launch cost. With an estimated lifetime of 15 years, 20kW satellite power and a mass of 4.5 metric tons at launch, Amazonas Nexus will be launched mid-2022.Amazonas Nexus is the third satellite ordered by Hispasat to Thales Alenia Space, after HISPASAT 1C & 1D, the seventh satellite based on Spacebus NEO platform.

Amazonas Nexus satellite(Courtesy of Thales Alenia Space/Briot)