April 26, 2006
Sky Sports have today announced a three-year contract with Arqiva who will provide HD facilities on location.The deal will see Arqiva migrating from the standard definition format it currently provides for Sky Sports' coverage of the Football League competitions, to HD in time for the 2006-07 football season.Arqiva's outside broadcast facilities will be used to provide HD coverage of the Coca Cola Leagues - Championship, League One and League Two - and the Carling Cup knock-out competition. Sky Sports has already started to produce Barclays Premiership football and Guinness Premiership Rugby in HD and will produce England's Test and One-Day internationals and county cricket in HD this summer.Darren Long, Head of Sky Sports operations, added, "High definition is the next big step in broadcasting and is simply stunning for sport. Arqiva is a great partner for us and will provide excellent facilities on location. We are glad to be working with them on our HD coverage."Sky HD is on track to launch next month (May 2006) bringing viewers a cinema-like experience with sharper, clearer and more vibrant pictures and, with compatible home cinema systems, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Sky HD will capture detail and movement with greater clarity, providing four times the picture detail of standard definition. In order to enjoy Sky HD consumers will need a compatible HD-ready TV, a Sky HD box and the relevant subscriptions.
Sky Sports agree HD broadcast deal
bySky Sports have today announced a three-year contract with Arqiva who will provide HD facilities on location.The deal will see Arqiva migrating from the standard definition format it currently provides for Sky Sports' coverage of the Football League competitions, to HD in time for the 2006-07 football season.Arqiva's outside broadcast facilities will be used to provide HD coverage of the Coca Cola Leagues - Championship, League One and League Two - and the Carling Cup knock-out competition. Sky Sports has already started to produce Barclays Premiership football and Guinness Premiership Rugby in HD and will produce England's Test and One-Day internationals and county cricket in HD this summer.Darren Long, Head of Sky Sports operations, added, "High definition is the next big step in broadcasting and is simply stunning for sport. Arqiva is a great partner for us and will provide excellent facilities on location. We are glad to be working with them on our HD coverage."Sky HD is on track to launch next month (May 2006) bringing viewers a cinema-like experience with sharper, clearer and more vibrant pictures and, with compatible home cinema systems, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Sky HD will capture detail and movement with greater clarity, providing four times the picture detail of standard definition. In order to enjoy Sky HD consumers will need a compatible HD-ready TV, a Sky HD box and the relevant subscriptions.
April 25, 2006
Conexant’s Complete Satellite Set-top Box Solution powers Humax HDTV Receivers.Humax is using five Conexant chips in the PR-HD1000 HDTV receiver. They include:• The CX24116 DVB-S2 demodulator/decoder: DVB- S2 leverages key developments in channel coding and modulation to provide up to a 35 percent capacity increase over the previous DVB-S standard.• The CX2418X MPEG-4/H.264 decoder: H.264 compression provides greater recording capacity on STBs with personal video recording capabilities, and increases the number of HDTV channels a broadcaster can transmit.• The CX2417X MPEG-2 HDTV decoder: This device performs navigation through a digital broadcast service and securely decodes authorized program content for presentation on an HDTV display.• The CX24118 direct down-conversion satellite tuner: This solution supports 8PSK advanced modulation and coding specifications, providing satellite operators with up to 35 percent higher data throughput rates using existing bandwidth.• The CX20552 universal serial bus (USB) 2.0 physical layer (PHY) transceiver: This chip interfaces with the CX2417X, allowing the HDTV receiver to work with a variety of external USB 2.0 devices and expand its capabilities.The PR-HD1000 HDTV receiver is primarily aimed at customers of the German broadcaster Premiere.
Conexant powers Humax STB’s
byConexant’s Complete Satellite Set-top Box Solution powers Humax HDTV Receivers.Humax is using five Conexant chips in the PR-HD1000 HDTV receiver. They include:• The CX24116 DVB-S2 demodulator/decoder: DVB- S2 leverages key developments in channel coding and modulation to provide up to a 35 percent capacity increase over the previous DVB-S standard.• The CX2418X MPEG-4/H.264 decoder: H.264 compression provides greater recording capacity on STBs with personal video recording capabilities, and increases the number of HDTV channels a broadcaster can transmit.• The CX2417X MPEG-2 HDTV decoder: This device performs navigation through a digital broadcast service and securely decodes authorized program content for presentation on an HDTV display.• The CX24118 direct down-conversion satellite tuner: This solution supports 8PSK advanced modulation and coding specifications, providing satellite operators with up to 35 percent higher data throughput rates using existing bandwidth.• The CX20552 universal serial bus (USB) 2.0 physical layer (PHY) transceiver: This chip interfaces with the CX2417X, allowing the HDTV receiver to work with a variety of external USB 2.0 devices and expand its capabilities.The PR-HD1000 HDTV receiver is primarily aimed at customers of the German broadcaster Premiere.
April 24, 2006
TechWeb has produced a great top-ten list here. Most of it is common sense, but knowing just how to go about optimising your registry is not just something you stumble across yourself :D Have a read here, and implement a few of them today. I think they're all cracking tips, and run most of them myself. They should help you keep your clunky old Windows XP OS running a few ...
Windows XP - the 10 killer tuning tips of all time
by BGonaSTICKTechWeb has produced a great top-ten list here. Most of it is common sense, but knowing just how to go about optimising your registry is not just something you stumble across yourself :D Have a read here, and implement a few of them today. I think they're all cracking tips, and run most of them myself. They should help you keep your clunky old Windows XP OS running a few ...
April 20, 2006
The launch of the Astra 1KR communications satellite this evening was a complete success, with spacecraft separation occurring at around 23:16 UK time. The launch was televised on Astra Vision 3 at 19.2E and proved to be well worth watching as the very impressive pictures from the launch were relayed back. The first phase of the mission concluded with the first shut-down of the Centaur second-stage engine and commencement of the 80-plus minute coast phase. The engine restarted successfully, and the separation of the satellite occurred soon after. Astra 1KR must now negotiate it's way into geostationary orbit ready for operational readiness testing.SES Astra must be very relieved! More info and pics here
Astra 1KR launches successfully
byThe launch of the Astra 1KR communications satellite this evening was a complete success, with spacecraft separation occurring at around 23:16 UK time. The launch was televised on Astra Vision 3 at 19.2E and proved to be well worth watching as the very impressive pictures from the launch were relayed back. The first phase of the mission concluded with the first shut-down of the Centaur second-stage engine and commencement of the 80-plus minute coast phase. The engine restarted successfully, and the separation of the satellite occurred soon after. Astra 1KR must now negotiate it's way into geostationary orbit ready for operational readiness testing.SES Astra must be very relieved! More info and pics here
ASTRA 1KR launch televised
byDetails for the launch broadcast: For Europe: Transmission on transponder 116 on ASTRA 1G at 19.2E with following reception parameters:Downlink Frequency: 12669.50 MHzDownlink Polarisation: VerticalSR: 22 MS/s QPSK FEC: 5/6Service name: ASTRA VISION 3For the US:Transmission on transponder 17 on AMC 4 at 101o W C-band analogue with following reception parameters:Downlink Frequency: 4040 MHzDownlink Polarization: Vertical Bandwidth: 36 MHzTest signals begin around 3.45 pm EDT (21.45 CET)
April 18, 2006
The BBC world analogue service on 11113V on Hotbird 6 13E was switched off around midday today (18th April) The final images transmitted are reported to have been Business report, the orange swirl, then a few seconds of a Shell advert (! - I assume someone didnt hit the switch quite quickly enough.... ) At the moment there is an info screen radiating. Â http://www.selkirkshire.demon.co.uk/analoguesat/bbcworldclosedown.html
by Analoguesat
The BBC world analogue service on 11113V on Hotbird 6 13E was switched off around midday today (18th April) The final images transmitted are reported to have been Business report, the orange swirl, then a few seconds of a Shell advert (! - I assume someone didnt hit the switch quite quickly enough.... ) At the moment there is an info screen radiating. Â http://www.selkirkshire.demon.co.uk/analoguesat/bbcworldclosedown.html
April 16, 2006
My favourite subject at the moment.
There's so much to know and so little time. Too little time. So little time in fact, that there's actually no rush at all.
You know, some things are just pivotal. Some things you'll look back on and think 'ah yeah, that was cool, and I lived through that moment'. Some things you'll feel ...
Sad about the World Cup in High Definition
by BGonaSTICK
My favourite subject at the moment.
There's so much to know and so little time. Too little time. So little time in fact, that there's actually no rush at all.
You know, some things are just pivotal. Some things you'll look back on and think 'ah yeah, that was cool, and I lived through that moment'. Some things you'll feel ...Flying on a budget airline this summer?
by AnaloguesatIf so - check your baggage allowance weights carefully! We have just been to Majorca with Globespan. At Palma airport coming back we were told our bags were 44kg (including the hand luggage) This was 4kgs over the 40kg allowed (20kg per person) As such we were stung with a 28Euros fine. (7Euro per kg - about a fiver) We werent alone - many of the other folks on the flight ...
April 14, 2006
ASTRA 1KR will join the seven ASTRA satellites currently co-located at the orbital position 19.2 degrees East. It will operate as a replacement satellite for existing capacity at this position allowing the redeployment of resources within SES ASTRA's fleet. The ASTRA 1KR satellite is an A2100 model built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems and scheduled to launch on an Atlas V-411 vehicle.Launch Date: Thursday, April 20, 2006Launch Window: 2 hours, 50 minutes 4:27-7:17 p.m. EDT, 20:27-23:17 GMT Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Launch Complex 41Launch Services Provider: International Launch Services , McLean, Va. ASTRA 1KR, with its pan-European footprint, will provide DTH services for the whole of Europe. ASTRA 1KR is also planned to transmit HDTV channels across Europe. It ensures continuity of the unique inter-satellite back-up and provides replacement capacity for ASTRA 1B and ASTRA 1C.
Atlas V to launch ASTRA 1KR
byASTRA 1KR will join the seven ASTRA satellites currently co-located at the orbital position 19.2 degrees East. It will operate as a replacement satellite for existing capacity at this position allowing the redeployment of resources within SES ASTRA's fleet. The ASTRA 1KR satellite is an A2100 model built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems and scheduled to launch on an Atlas V-411 vehicle.Launch Date: Thursday, April 20, 2006Launch Window: 2 hours, 50 minutes 4:27-7:17 p.m. EDT, 20:27-23:17 GMT Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Launch Complex 41Launch Services Provider: International Launch Services , McLean, Va. ASTRA 1KR, with its pan-European footprint, will provide DTH services for the whole of Europe. ASTRA 1KR is also planned to transmit HDTV channels across Europe. It ensures continuity of the unique inter-satellite back-up and provides replacement capacity for ASTRA 1B and ASTRA 1C.
April 11, 2006
Ground controllers at ESA’s European Spacecraft Operations Centre (ESOC) confirmed the end of the Venus Express main engine burn at 10:07 CEST today. A few more automatic operations should now follow to reorient the spacecraft towards the Sun (so-called ‘sun acquisition mode’) and then have one of the spacecraft’s high gain antennas (the HGA 2) oriented towards Earth, ready to establish the first communication link with ground control.At 09:45 CEST this morning, the Venus Express spacecraft disappeared as expected behind the planet disc. The spacecraft signal was lost for about 10 minutes. That phase started about 25 minutes after the beginning of the main engine burn and is known as ‘occultation’. Receiving the spacecraft signal after the occultation period was one of the first positive signs of successful orbit insertion. Ground controllers confirmed re-acquisition of the low-gain antenna signal from the Venus Express spacecraft at 09:57 CEST. This confirms that Venus Express has completed its slingshot around the planet at the expected velocity. It was on 9 November last year that ESA's Venus Express spacecraft lifted off from the desert of Kazakhstan onboard a Soyuz-Fregat rocket. Now, after having travelled 400 million kilometres in only about five months, the spacecraft has reached its final destination. To begin to explore our Earth’s hot and hazy sister planet, Venus Express must now complete this critical step, the most challenging one following launch.. The Venus Orbit Insertion (VOI) manoeuvre allows the spacecraft to reduce its speed relative to Venus, so that it can be captured by the planet’s gravitation. Source: ESALive satellite coverage can be seen here:Eutelsat Hot Bird 1 at 13 degrees east Transponder 2 Polarisation: VerticalFrequency: 11.242 MHzSR=27500 MS/secFEC=3/4Channel id 'ESA'
Venus Express main engine burn ended
byGround controllers at ESA’s European Spacecraft Operations Centre (ESOC) confirmed the end of the Venus Express main engine burn at 10:07 CEST today. A few more automatic operations should now follow to reorient the spacecraft towards the Sun (so-called ‘sun acquisition mode’) and then have one of the spacecraft’s high gain antennas (the HGA 2) oriented towards Earth, ready to establish the first communication link with ground control.At 09:45 CEST this morning, the Venus Express spacecraft disappeared as expected behind the planet disc. The spacecraft signal was lost for about 10 minutes. That phase started about 25 minutes after the beginning of the main engine burn and is known as ‘occultation’. Receiving the spacecraft signal after the occultation period was one of the first positive signs of successful orbit insertion. Ground controllers confirmed re-acquisition of the low-gain antenna signal from the Venus Express spacecraft at 09:57 CEST. This confirms that Venus Express has completed its slingshot around the planet at the expected velocity. It was on 9 November last year that ESA's Venus Express spacecraft lifted off from the desert of Kazakhstan onboard a Soyuz-Fregat rocket. Now, after having travelled 400 million kilometres in only about five months, the spacecraft has reached its final destination. To begin to explore our Earth’s hot and hazy sister planet, Venus Express must now complete this critical step, the most challenging one following launch.. The Venus Orbit Insertion (VOI) manoeuvre allows the spacecraft to reduce its speed relative to Venus, so that it can be captured by the planet’s gravitation. Source: ESALive satellite coverage can be seen here:Eutelsat Hot Bird 1 at 13 degrees east Transponder 2 Polarisation: VerticalFrequency: 11.242 MHzSR=27500 MS/secFEC=3/4Channel id 'ESA'
April 6, 2006
Sky HD will go on sale to the general public next Wednesday, April 12, it has been announced.Installations of the HD service will begin next month in advance of the World Cup in June. Pre-registration has been open to interested customers for the past fortnight.Customers will be able to book a Sky HD installation via the Sky website, certain retail stores or by calling 08702 40 40 20. A monthly subscription will cost £10 and the set-top box £299, while installation is free until the end of May or while stocks last.Meanwhile, Sky has also confirmed that the HD box will be equipped with a 160Gb hard drive, allowing for 80 hours of standard definition recording or 30 hours of HD recording.Source: Digital Spy
Sky HD available from April 12th
bySky HD will go on sale to the general public next Wednesday, April 12, it has been announced.Installations of the HD service will begin next month in advance of the World Cup in June. Pre-registration has been open to interested customers for the past fortnight.Customers will be able to book a Sky HD installation via the Sky website, certain retail stores or by calling 08702 40 40 20. A monthly subscription will cost £10 and the set-top box £299, while installation is free until the end of May or while stocks last.Meanwhile, Sky has also confirmed that the HD box will be equipped with a 160Gb hard drive, allowing for 80 hours of standard definition recording or 30 hours of HD recording.Source: Digital Spy
ITV, Ch4 & FIVE join DTT HDTV trial
byITV is joining the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel Five for a trial this summer allowing digital terrestrial television viewers in London to get a taste of programmes shot in high definition.However, viewers wanting to see a range of HD channels rather than just a taster can sign up for BSkyB's digital satellite offering, Sky HD, from next Wednesday, April 12.BSkyB is to begin installing Sky HD set-top boxes next month, giving customers access to enhanced picture quality versions of channels including Sky One, Artsworld, National Geographic, Sky Sports and Sky Movies.
