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GLOBAL DIGITAL TV MAGAZINE IIIIIIII
II
II
IIIIIIII
B 9318 E 02-03/2011

Company Report
SKYWORTH
Jack Jiang Managed a Highly Successful
South American Market Expansion

Company Report
JIUZHOU
Huang Wei Makes a Big
Move Into IPTV Production

Company Report
TRIMAX


DXer Report Jerry Chu’s Expansion Into
Satellites in Tokyo New Sectors: A Smart Decision
Big Dishes in Tokyo,
An Uncommon Hobby in Japan Company Report
SOWELL

30
TELE-satellite
Eagle Chain and His Four
Partners Built an OEM Out
of an Engineering Firm
Years
of
Digital TV
Business
Reporting

02-03/201
1

Test Report
Golden Media UNI-BOX Perfect Family Receiver

IPTV  Fiber Optics  Broadband

TELE
satellite
Dear Readers,
Address
TELE-satellite Magazine Once again we are – as we have so often been lately – at a turning point: TV manufacturers
PO Box 1234 are making a change and are looking to decide which tuner they should integrate into
85766 Munich-Ufg their TVs. For the past several decades the answer was obvious; an analog tuner had to
GERMANY/EUROPA UNION be installed in every TV. But with the arrival of digital terrestrial TV, the answer wasn’t
so clear anymore. A rather logical solution might have been to not install any kind of
Editor-in-Chief
Alexander Wiese tuner in the TV and let the customer simply decide what receiver to use. But this idea
alex@TELE-satellite.com wouldn’t work. How can a manufacturer offer a
TV set without a tuner to the customers? “HDMI
Published by connectors and nothing else”? TV manufacturers
TELE-satellite Medien GmbH
could even do away with remote controls since
Aschheimer Weg 19
85774 Unterfoehring they already come with every receiver.
GERMANY/EUROPA UNION
The truth is customers simply wouldn’t buy
Hard Copy Subscription TVs like that even if the idea makes sense. It’s
www.TELE-satellite.com/secure/eng/
the same with mobile telephones; they must
Design include numerous features or else no one would
Németi Barna Attila buy them even though these extra features
have nothing to do with making a telephone
Advertising call. TVs must also have a long list of features
www.TELE-satellite.com/ads/
otherwise they’d never leave the store shelves.
Printer TV manufacturers have no other choice but to
Litografia Rosés integrate a TV tuner in their TVs and why not
08850 Gavà then a digital tuner for terrestrial TV. And while
SPAIN/EUROPA UNION we’re at it, why not add a satellite TV tuner and
on top of that, why not include IPTV? This would
Copyright
© 2011 by TELE-satellite eliminate the need for a receiver.

ISSN 1435-7003 Not so fast, receivers won’t become obsolete that quickly, it’s actually quite the opposite.
TV manufacturers first and foremost have to do what the customers want and that is to
install tuners for digital terrestrial TV. Every buyer of a TV would be able to receive these
signals and that’s exactly what they’d expect from a TV. But does this buyer also have a
satellite system or a high speed Internet connection for IPTV? That’s a question unique to
each individual situation.

A TV will never include all of these different possibilities. Receiver manufacturers are
far too innovative for that and are continuously expanding and modifying the receivers
functions in every possible direction. Here’s only one example: radio reception will never
be included in a TV yet every receiver is capable of radio reception. A media player or PVR
are functions that TV manufacturers rarely have anything to do with since these functions
really have nothing to do with what a TV is supposed to do. But they definitely are features
that a customer would expect to find in a receiver.

The chance that a TV will one day have all the features that a receiver has today is very
unlikely. TVs will always include only basic features while all the extra functions will only
be found in the external receiver now and in the future. The receiver is and will always be
the focal point of your TV and media reception!

TELE-satellite was established
in 1981 and today is the oldest,
largest and most-read digital
tv trade magazine in the
world. TELE-satellite is seen by
more than 350,000 digital tv
professionals around the world Alexander Wiese
and is available both in printed
Editor-in-Chief TELE-satellite
form and online.

www.TELE-satellite.com

CONTENT

GOLDEN MEDIA UNI-BOX 9080
CRCI HD PVR COMBO PLUS
Digital HDTV PVR receiver with
BlindScan Function ..................... 10

NETUP IPTV
COMBINE 4X
& AMINO
AMINET130M
IPTV Operator
Software System
& IPTV
receiver....... 26

CLONE+
CARDSPLITTER
Simple
Distribution of
PayTV Channels
in Your Own
Home.......... 46

Feature:
The New IPTV Standard OIPF ...........54 Company Report:
Receiver Manufacturer
Company Report: SOWELL, China ............................. 104
IPTV Box Manufacturer
JIUZHOU, China ..............................64 Company Overview:
Best Digital TV Companies
Company Report: of the World.................................. 112
Digital TV Meter Manufacturer
TRIMAX, China ................................72 Feature:
Silicon Tuners .............................. 128 DXer Report:
Company Report: Satellite Enthusiasts in Japan .......... 146
Receiver Manufacturer Feature:
SKYWORTH, China ...........................76 Single- and Multi Frequency Networks News:
in Digital Terrestrial Television ......... 130 HDTV & 3D Programmes ................. 150
Company Report:
PC Card Manufacturer Company Report: DTT of the World ........................ 154
TENOW, China .................................82 AZBox Distributor, Russia ............... 134
World Satellites .......................... 156
Company Report: City Report:
OEM Receiver Manufacturer The Satellite Dealer from TELE-satellite Magazine
GLOBALSAT, China ...........................90 Sidi Bel-Abbes ............................... 138 Worldwide .................................. 160

ADVERTISERS
8DTEK ........................................37 DVB-WORLD 2011 .................... 103 SATCATCHER ..............................89
ABC-BIZNIS ...............................33 FULAN ELECTRONICS .................. 5 SATELLITE GUYS ...................... 152
AB IPBOX ..............................44-45 GLOBALINVACOM .......................61 SATFINDER............................... 147
ALUOSAT .................................. 107 GLOBALSAT ................................49 SEATEL .......................................21
AMIKO ........................................71 GOLDENMEDIA ........................... 41 SKYWORTH ................................. 7
ANGA 2011 .................................69 HORIZON ...................................85 SMARTWI ...................................15
AZBOX ...................................... 163 HUBER+SUHNER ........................ 2 SOWELL......................................29
AZURE SHINE ........................... 135 ICECRYPT ................................... 4
SPAUN ........................................47
BOIINGSAT ................................53 INFOSAT................................... 103
STREAM ......................................87
BOXSAM .....................................75 INPAX ........................................63
SVEC ..........................................13
BYA ELECTRONIC...................... 131 JIUZHOU .................................. 164
TEHNICB .................................. 145
CABSAT 2011 ..............................79 MFC .......................................... 135
CCBN 2011 .................................93 MOTECK.................................... 143 TENOW .......................................19
COMMUNICASIA 2011 ................99 NABSHOW 2011 .................. 57, 139 TEVII ....................................... 109
CNBROADCASTING................... 153 NETUP ........................................95 TOPREAL .................................. 101
CONVERGENCE INDIA 2011...... 159 PYCH ........................................ 141 TOOWAY ................................... 147
DISHPOINTER .......................... 145 PREVAIL ................................ 24-25 TRIMAX .................................... 109
DOEBIS .................................... 8-9 ROGETECH................................ 151 WEISS ...................................... 131
DOEBIS-JAEGER .........................59 SATBEAMS ................................ 143 YINHE ........................................67

6 TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine — 02-03/201 — www.TELE-satellite.com
1

TEST REPORT HDTV Receiver

Golden Media UNI-BOX 9080
CRCI HD PVR COMBO Plus
A PVR Receiver with an
Exceptional BlindScan Function
• Whoever designed the housing of Golden Media’s UNI-BOX 9080
deserves a pat on the back. It’s very pleasing to the eye and would
nicely adorn any TV rack or living room cabinet. The front panel sports
an elegant black see-through Plexiglas flap behind which you’ll find
eight buttons that can be used to fully control the UNI-BOX 9080
should the remote control go missing. You’ll also find two integrated
card readers as well as a CI slot behind this flap. While the card reader
is only compatible with the Conax encryption system, the CI slot can
communicate with every type
of module, for example, Irdeto,
Cryptoworks, Seca or Viaccess.

02-03/201
1
Golden Media UNI-BOX 9080 CRCI HD
PVR COMBO Plus
Perfect family receiver but also a
top choice for the satellite DXer thanks
to its high-speed BlindScan function

1

TELE-satellite World www.TELE-satellite.com/...
Download this report in other languages from the Internet:
Arabic ‫ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/ara/goldenmedia.pdf
Indonesian Indonesia www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/bid/goldenmedia.pdf
A VFD display can be found fit your needs. DVB-S2 and German Deutsch www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/deu/goldenmedia.pdf
in the middle of the front DVB-C as well as DVB-T and English English www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/goldenmedia.pdf
Spanish Español www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/esp/goldenmedia.pdf
panel and is very easy to read DVB-C combinations are French Français www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/fra/goldenmedia.pdf
even if the front panel flap is available from the manufac- Hebrew ‫עברית‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/heb/goldenmedia.pdf
Chinese 中文 www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/man/goldenmedia.pdf
closed. When the receiver is turer.
Polish Polski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/pol/goldenmedia.pdf
on, it shows information on Portuguese Português www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/por/goldenmedia.pdf
the currently selected chan- An absolute must for any Russian Русский www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/rus/goldenmedia.pdf
Turkish Türkçe www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/tur/goldenmedia.pdf
nel, the time as well as tech- HDTV receiver is an HDMI Available online starting from 28 January 2011
nical parameters using small output that can provide
icons. the best possible audio and
video quality to the TV. In grammable 0/12V output as trol’s plastic housing, the but-
Looking at the rear panel addition the manufacturer well as a main power switch tons themselves are covered
of this new Golden Media included Scart jacks (for use so that the receiver can be with a slip-free surface that
receiver is also a joy. The in Europe), six RCA jacks for completely disconnected makes the entire remote con-
first thing you notice is the YUV, stereo audio and com- from the power source. trol comfortable to use. The
two tuners; our test receiver posite video plus an RJ45 excellent multi-language user
came equipped with DVB-S2 jack, an optical digital audio We were also very pleased manual also included in the
and DVB-T HDTV tuners. output, an RS232 serial inter- with the included remote con- package must also be men-
Since these tuners are plug- face and since this is a PVR trol. It sits comfortable in your tioned. Even though at first
in modules, it is possible to box you’ll also find a USB 2.0 hand plus all the buttons are glance it seemed to be some-
customize the receiver with port. To top it all off, the rear legibly labeled and organized what unorganized, in the end
a combination of tuners that panel also comes with a pro- in a very logical manner. In the user manual was able to
contrast to the remote con- answer every question that
popped up during our tests
and should therefore be an
outstanding source of infor-
mation for the user at home.

0.55 All in all, we were very
happy with the receiver’s
quality; we were impressed
with its design and even with
the remote control and user
manual Golden Media did not
spare any expense.

When the UNI-BOX 9080 is
turned on for the first time,
an Installation Assistant did
not appear as is the case with
many other receivers. But it
didn’t really matter; a single
push of the Menu button
immediately takes you to the
Main Menu. And just like the
elegant design of the receiv-
er’s housing, the Main Menu
is just as elegant and orga-
nized. It consists of eight sub-
menus that let you take care
of all of the receiver’s settings
and also let you access all of
the receiver’s functions.

Since this is a Combo
receiver with two different
tuners, the receiver naturally
needs to be matched to two

www.TELE-satellite.com — 02-03/201 —
1 TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine 11

More on This Manufacturer
Read TELE-satellite’s Company Report:

GOLDEN MEDIA
Manufacturer and Distributor, Germany www.cynextra.com receiver with an SCR system, and reliably during our tests.
you’re in luck: the UNI-BOX An especially useful feature
9080 supports single-cable is the audible signal tone that
solutions and lets you define can be activated so that it
all its required parameters. isn’t necessary to repeatedly
The extensive LNB settings look at the TV screen while
are expanded even more with aligning the antenna.
the ability to increase the LNB
supply voltage by 0.5V. This Once all of the settings
is a great idea! If your cable are correctly entered and
run to the antenna is unusu- the receiver itself has been
ally long, increasing the LNB matched to the antenna
supply voltage by just 0.5V system, the next step would
would be enough to overcome be the channel scan. The
any larger-than-normal volt- channel scan is available in
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1009/eng/goldenmedia.pdf
age drop that would occur in three different modes: satel-
the cable. lite scan, manual transpon-
different antenna setups. As UNI-BOX receiver is not yet der scan and of course the
mentioned before, our test DVB-T2 compatible. An especially interesting BlindScan. Even though the
receiver came with DVB-T feature for those who have receiver comes with two CI
HDTV and DVB-S2 tuners. For DVB-S/S2 reception, older satellite systems would slots and two integrated card
the necessary settings and be the 0/12V programmable readers, the channel scan can
For DVB-T, the receiver options are far more exten- RCA output on the back of the be limited to only FTA (free)
comes preprogrammed with a sive. The manufacturer receiver. It can be individually channels. You can also fur-
list of DVB-T settings from a included a preprogrammed activated or deactivated via ther limit the scan to TV or
total of 17 different regions. list of 44 European satellites. the settings menu for every radio only with one button-
Most of these regions are in Unfortunately, Asian, Ameri- satellite entry. push on the remote control.
Europe: Great Britain, Ger- can or Oceanic satellites are Golden Media also thought
many, Greece, Slovenia, Den- not to be found in the list and In general we noticed with ahead when it came to the
mark, Finland, Italy, Poland, even the included European the UNI-BOX 9080 that the Network scan; in our tests an
Russia, Spain, Sweden, The satellite and transponder manufacturer at a variety of automatic scan of the HOT-
Czech Republic and Slovakia. data is not all that up to date. points in the operating con- BIRD satellites at 13° east
There are also settings for On the other hand, we were cept of the receiver incorpo- was completed in just over six
Australia. These regional set- impressed with the variety of rated some really wonderful minutes and yielded 1427 TV
tings take into account any the available LOF and DiSEqC ideas and bonus features that channels and 395 radio chan-
differences there might be settings. make it all the more easier for nels.
from one region to another the end user to play with this
such as the frequency band The UNI-BOX 9080 sup- box. In the case of satellite With that in mind, we
used or the channel plan. Nat- ports a range of DiSEqC pro- settings, it would be the auto- wanted to take a closer look
urally you can manually scan tocols including 1.0 for the matic DiSEqC recognition. at the DVB-S2 tuner. There
each desired frequency in the classic multifeed antenna were no hiccups whether it
UHF or VHF band with indi- with up to four LNBs, 1.1 for Who hasn’t seen this prob- was SCPC reception with very
vidual parameters. The UNI- the dual reflector dish with lem? The signals of multiple low symbolrates or whether
BOX 9080 can also supply 5V up to 16 LNBs as well as 1.2 satellites are delivered by a it was reception of very weak
at the DVB-T antenna input so and 1.3 (USALS) for use with DiSEqC switch with a single signals. It easily handled our
that a signal amplifier could a motorized antenna. The cable to the receiver but then SCPC test transponder with a
be used with an antenna with- available LOF settings were you can’t quite remember symbolrate of 1.240 Ms/sec.
out the need of an external just as extensive: in addition which satellite is connected on INTELSAT 14 at 45° west
power supply. to a universal Ku-band LNB, a to what DiSEqC port. For the as well as two very weak tran-
C-band LNB can also be con- Golden Media UNI-BOX 9080 sponders on BADR at 26° east
The red function button can nected. Thanks to the manual this is no problem at all; with while other similar receivers
be used to start a fully auto- LOF entry, less popular LOFs the push of one button, the hardly even recognized those
matic channel scan across the that are not preprogrammed receiver automatically looks signals.
entire frequency band. In our in the receiver can be manu- at each port to identify which
case the scan found all avail- ally entered. port the currently selected Over the past several years
able DVB-T channels in 84 satellite is connected to. This we’ve tested quite a variety
seconds. Unfortunately, the If you want to use this feature functioned quickly of BlindScan receivers here

1

1

at TELE-satellite but it’s safe range nor can you limit the
to say that the UNI-BOX 9080 scan to only one polarization.
can be ranked as one of the Nevertheless, it’s a function
best. We started a BlindScan that’s an absolute ‘must have’
on HOTBIRD at 13° east and for every DXer and feed-
were surprised that it finished hunter.
the task in just about seven
minutes. It found 1479 TV The entire installation pro-
channels and 430 radio chan- cess is rounded off by two
nels. At first we thought the more outstanding features:
2 receiver worked off of a pre- the first is the sub-menu
pared channel list; there was “Automatic Installation”. This
no other way to explain this feature takes much of the
exceptional result in such setup work away from the
a short time. So, we then end-user. In this mode the
moved our roof antenna to receiver attempts to identify
another satellite and started on its own what satellites –
a new BlindScan. The UNI- even through a DiSEqC multi-
BOX 9080 identified 287 TV switch – can be received with
channels and 143 radio chan- the available equipment. The
nels on TÜRKSAT at 42° east; automatic channel scan of all
even the narrowband SCPC the receivable satellites can
3 transponders were recog- be started with the push of
nized and stored in the chan- just one button. This feature
nel list. worked very well in our tests
and in addition to the usual
To compare, we then suspects such as ASTRA
performed a channel scan 19.2° east and HOTBIRD
without the BlindScan func- 13.0° east, ASTRA2 at 28.2°
tion using only the prepro- east and BADR at 26° east
grammed transponder data were also recognized without
from the manufacturer and any problems.
achieved very meager results:
only 25 TV and 3 radio chan- The second feature is an
4 nels were found on TÜRKSAT. azimuth and elevation cal-
Additional tests of the Blind- culator. You have to enter in
Scan function, for example, your local coordinates manu-
on EUTELSAT 36° east, con- ally but they can easily be
firm its incredible speed and found with Google maps or
precision; even the narrowest some other Internet service.
bandwidth SCPC transponder In return though, you’ll get all
was easily recognized and the necessary parameters to
processed. A more precise align your satellite antenna.
presentation of the BlindScan
test results can be seen in Once the UNI-BOX 9080
Table 1. The only drawback to has been set up with all the
5 the BlindScan function: you local parameters, it would be
can’t set a specific frequency a good idea to take care of all

HOTBIRD 13° Ost 7 Minutes 1479 TV and 430 Radio Channels
TÜRKSAT 42° Ost 8 Minutes 287 TV and 143 Radio Channels
EUTELSAT 36° Ost 10 Minutes 35 TV and 3 Radio Channels
EXPRESS AM44 11° West 4 Minutes 19 TV and 1 Radio Channels
■ Table 1: BlindScan Results
1. Golden Media UNI-BOX 9080 Start Screen
2. The clear and concise Main Menu
3. Separate settings for DVB-S/2 und DVB-T Reception
4. Region selection for DVB-T reception
5. The extensive settings capabilities in DVB-S/2 mode

1

6 11

7 12

8 13

9 14

10 15

1

16 21

17 22

18 23

19 6. The UNI-BOX 9080 supports SCR
single-cable solutions
7. Channel scan options
8. Automatic recognition of receivable
satellites
9. Calculation of Azimuth and Elevation
10. Language selection
11. Eight timer positions are available
12. Various settings possibilities
13. Software update
14. Detailed information on the free
space of a USD device
15. Network parameters can be set either
via DHCP or manually
20 16. DVB-T channel scan
17. HD channels and encrypted programs
are identiﬁed in the channel list by their
own icons
18. Satellite selection
19. Channel list restricted to Irdeto
encrypted channels only
20. Saving the channel list and all
settings to a USB Stick
21. Channel list search function
22. Info bar with data on the current and
upcoming program
23. Current programs in the EPG
overview


the user-defined settings as Indonesian, Slovenian, Swed- the local time difference from ture, some organization will
well as matching the TV to the ish, Slovakian as well as a few GMT as well as activate or be needed. For this task the
receiver setup. The receiv- other languages. deactivate daylight savings UNI-BOX 9080 comes with
er’s OSD can communicate time (summer time). numerous possibilities all pre-
with you in English, German, As you would expect with sented in a clear and easy-to-
French, Italian, Russian, any good DVB-S2 receiver, We were surprised at the understand menu. Just like
Spanish, Turkish, Portuguese, the internal real time clock extensive on-screen display with the EPG display and the
Arabic, Polish, Ukrainian, Per- (RTC) is automatically set settings that were avail- channel list, the red function
sian, Romanian, Hungarian, via the satellite signal. The able. In addition to standard button is used to limit the
Croatian, Bulgarian, Czech, user, however, needs to set parameters such as display number of displayed chan-
24 timeout, display position or nels. It can be set to show
transparency, you can also only those channels on a spe-
set brightness, contrast and cific satellite, those using a
color saturation. Be careful specific encryption system
in adjusting these settings or those from a specific pro-
though, as they also affect vider. The list can also be set
the displayed TV picture. to display only HD channels
as well as only those channels
When connected to an LCD from one or the other tuner.
or plasma TV, the UNI-BOX The remaining channels can
9080 can present the video be renamed, moved, deleted,
signal via the HDMI output in locked with a PIN code or
25 480p, 576p, 720p 50 Hz, 720p skipped over.
60 Hz,1080i 50 Hz and 1080i
60 Hz. If you can’t or don’t Especially useful is the abil-
want to use the HDMI output, ity to edit entire transponders
the signal is also available in all at once, greatly simplify-
RGB and YUV. You can also ing this task. Thanks to the
select how a 4:3 signal can be powerful search function,
displayed on a 16:9 screen. individual channels can be
Using a dedicated button on found simply by entering the
the remote control, the video first few letters of the channel
format can be changed to name. Channels can also be
match the currently received moved into one of 32 Favor-
26 signal. ites lists for easy access later.
The channel list editing fea-
All of these settings capa- tures are also available in the
bilities are topped off with Favorites lists.
the ability to select a fast or
regular standby mode. In fast Once all the settings have
standby mode, the receiver been dealt with, the receiver
uses a little more power but has been matched to the
comes out of standby much antenna system and the
more quickly than in regular channel list has been filled,
mode. Additionally, the VFD you can finally leave the Main
display can be completely Menu. The UNI-BOX 9080 will
27 turned off in standby mode if then automatically switch
desired. over to the first available
channel.
Once the channel list has
been filled (8000 max) with Every time you change a
thousands of channels thanks channel, a very detailed Info
to the speedy BlindScan fea- bar appears momentarily that
24. The REC button can mark programs for recording directly in the EPG
25. Display of the technical parameters of a channel with a symbolrate of
only 1.240 Ms/sec.
26. MP3 playback
27. JPEG display

1

provides information on the very good and were about tion button, the displayed In the OSD settings you can
current and upcoming chan- one second between two dif- channels can once again be select whether to show the
nel. The icons that appear let ferent transponders. reduced to a specific satellite, channel list in one, two or
the user know what additional package or Favorites. With three columns. A feature that
features are included by the The electronic program the help of the yellow func- we don’t see very often is
provider. For example, this guide (EPG) also turned out tion button as well as the REC the ability to use the colored
could be teletext, subtitles, very well. It can be accessed button, timer entries can be function buttons to display
various languages and EPG from a dedicated button on setup directly from the EPG. the EPG data of a channel
data to name a few. As is typi- the remote control and is Up to eight timer settings are directly from the channel list.
cal with every DVB receiver, available in four different available. It is also possible What could be better than
a push of the Info button dis- modes: to set these timers to work skimming through the chan-
plays expanded programming on a daily, weekly, monthly, nel list and pushing a single
information with a description Current – the current EPG weekday or weekend basis. button to read more about
of the program assuming of data from five channels is dis- So, it really doesn’t matter the currently selected pro-
course that this data is made played anymore when your favorite gram? Deciding what to watch
available by the provider. Next – the EPG data of the TV shows are shown, this out- couldn’t be any easier than
next program is shown for standing timer function won’t this. The red function button
For those more technically five channels let you miss any upcoming can also be used to reduce
oriented, even more informa- More – EPG data in table episodes. the channel list to a certain
tion is available by pressing format for five channels satellite, provider or content.
the red function button: from Schedule – in this mode the If you use the receiver with- This same button can also be
PIDs all the way to signal channel list is shown on the out an attached hard drive used to switch between the
strength and quality, dozens left side while the EPG data and therefore can’t record two reception modes; in our
of parameters are displayed from the next couple of weeks any programs, you can use case it was DVB-T HDTV and
that would raise the pulse of for the currently selected the timer function to provide DVB-S2. If you want to make
any technician or DXer. channel is shown on the right a user-settable reminder as a small change to the chan-
side. to when to switch over to the nel list while the receiver is in
As far as this receiver’s desired channel. operation, the UNI-BOX 9080
picture and audio quality are It doesn’t matter which of provides the necessary tools
concerned, we were very the four modes you select, The channel list of the for this task in a somewhat
impressed during our tests they are all put together in Golden Media UNI-BOX 908 slimmed down graphical ver-
regardless whether it was an organized fashion and also turned out quite well. sion. The blue function button
an HD or SD channel. Chan- correctly present the EPG It can be displayed with the provides order in the channel
nel switching times were also data. Thanks to the red func- single push of the OK button. list. It can be used to sort the

1

list based on free or encrypted Naturally, the PVR can be be checked using the inte- also be updated via DVB-S,
channels, encryption mode as used with both tuners regard- grated speed test function. DVB-T, USB and the RS232
well as alphabetically. All of less of what path the content The external storage devices interface, but in the end, the
these channel list features uses to get into the receiver. can be formatted in either Internet is the most widely
are available not only in TV If you’re not familiar with the FAT or NTFS. Obviously the used update method. The
mode but also in radio mode. term PVR, we’d like to take a fact that this would delete required network param-
Switching between modes moment and provide a brief any content already on them eters can be obtained by the
is handled by pushing a explanation. The received is implied and doesn’t need to receiver automatically via
button on the remote control. DVB signal is stored digitally be expanded on here. Since DHPC from a local network
Thanks to the 32 Favorites and without any signal degra- Golden Media opted for exter- router or they can be manu-
lists, thousands of channels dation on an internal or, in our nal storage devices with the ally entered by the user.
can be properly organized. case, external storage device. UNI-BOX 9080, recorded con-
Each family member can cus- During playback, all of the tent can be easily transferred And to top it all off, the UNI-
tomize their own personal features you have come to to a PC where you can then, BOX 9080 also comes with
Favorites list with their favor- know such as Pause and Fast- for example, convert it to a three integrated video games
ite channels. Forward/Rewind at various DVD. that you can use to pass the
speeds are available. Along time during those long com-
The two internal card read- with this is the Time Shift fea- As with most PVR receiv- mercial breaks.
ers and the CI slots had to ture that lets you pause a live ers, the Golden Media box
also prove themselves using a transmission and then restart can also playback MP3 music We really enjoyed putting
variety of modules and cards. it from the point where it was and display your vacation pic- the new UNI-BOX 9080 to the
Unfortunately, the card read- stopped when you’re ready tures that were previously test here at our test center. It
ers are only Conax compat- to continue watching. So, if stored on an external storage is an extremely user-friendly
ible and are therefore limited for example a telephone call device. In our tests, as with receiver with every detail
in their use. interrupts the movie you were everything else so far, this well thought out. It makes a
watching, you can pause the feature functioned perfectly. perfect living room receiver
As the name of the receiver movie, carry on your tele- for the entire family while its
suggests, this box becomes phone conversation and then These external storage large selection of features,
a true PVR receiver once an continue watching that movie devices need not only be used its stable operating software
external storage device such after hanging up the phone for the PVR function or for and above all its outstand-
as a USB hard drive or USB without missing a thing. storing MP3 and picture data, ing BlindScan function also
stick is attached. Thanks to but they can also be used to make it very interesting for
the speedy USB 2.0 connec- The UNI-BOX 9080 lets you comfortably install new firm- the professional user. Thanks
tion, high resolution content time shift and record another ware as well as saving the to its BlindScan function, this
can be recorded without any channel at the same time but receiver settings and the receiver has found a perma-
problems. it would require a sufficiently channel list. And let’s not nent home here in our test
fast storage device which can forget that the firmware can lab.

1

Expert Opinion TECHNICAL
+ DATA
Distributor Golden Media, Cynextra GmbH
As a Combo receiver, the UNI-BOX 9080 can
Stuttgarter Straße 36, D-73635 Rudersberg
receive DVB signals two different ways. The two
Tel. +49 (0) 7183 / 30 777-0
integrated CI slots and card readers allow opera-
tion with a variety of encryption systems. The Fax +49 (0) 7183 / 30 777-20

ﬁrmware did not give us any problems during our E-Mail info@cynextra.com
Thomas Haring
tests. TELE-satellite Website www.golden-media.net
Up to 8000 channels can be stored in the receiv- Test Center
Austria Model Golden Media UNI-BOX 9080 CRCI HD PVR COMBO Plus
er’s channel memory; this is sufﬁciently large
Function Digital HDTV dual tuner PVR receiver with
enough so that this receiver can easily be connected to a motor- various Features & Blindscan,
ized antenna system. SCR single-cable solutions are supported available tuners DVB-T HDTV, DVB-C, DVB-S/S2
as are all the different DiSEqC protocols. Channel Memory 8000
Both the DVB-T and DVB-S2 tuners are extremely sensitive; in
Input range DVB-T 170-230 MHz, 470-860 MHz
DVB-S2 mode the receiver had no trouble handling narrowband
RF-input level DVB-T -70dBm to -8dBm
SCPC signals or very weak signals.
Demodulation DVB-T COFDM 2K/8K
The outstanding BlindScan function deserves especially high
praise! Input range DVB-S/2 950-2150 MHz

Signal level DVB-S/2 -65dBm to -25 dBm
- SCPC compatible yes
Unfortunately, the included satellite and transponder data DiSEqC 1.0 / 1.1 / 1.2 / 1.3
is not all that up to date and there are only eight free timer
USALS yes
positions available.
HDMI output yes

Scart connector yes
ENERGY Audio/Video outputs 6x RCA
DIAGRAM Component video output yes

S-Video output no

UHF modulator no

0/12V connector yes

Digital audio output yes

EPG yes

C/Ku-band compatible yes

PVR-function yes
Mode Apparent Active Factor USB 2.0 connector yes
Regular StandBy 5W 2W 0.4
Apparent Power
Active 27 W 15 W 0.55 Ethernet yes
Active Power Fast StandBy 25 W 13 W 0.52
E-SATA no

Power supply 100-250V AC 50/60Hz

Power consumption 40W max.

Dimensions 300x231x64mm
First 15 minutes: StandBy (regular) - Second 15 minutes: Receiver boot-up, Weight 2kg
then active operation with channel switching, recording, playback, etc. -
Operating temperature 0°C to 45°C
Third 15 minutes: Fast StandBy


TEST REPORT IPTV Operator Software System – Part 1

NetUP IPTV Combine 4x
& Amino AmiNET130M
Professional software for
IPTV operators
Thomas Haring

• After having discussed the streaming function of the NetUP IPTV
Combine 4x in TELE-satellite issue 10-11/2010 it is now time to have
a closer look at all the features required to create a user-friendly
OSD (on-screen display) for customers and to help them use all IPTV
functions on the one
hand, as well as to assist
operators in maintaining
full control over what
type of content is
available to end users,
and what price they
have to pay.

■ The IPTV Combine 4x was the focus of an in-depth test report in TELE-satellite
issue 10-11/2010.

■ IPTV Combine 4x from NetUP – the core of
the IPTV network presented in this report.

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

Basic configuration of the IPTV Combine 4x
Middleware – channels find their way into
the channel list, it creates a
interface between user-friendly EPG (electronic
1. The United Control Center is an integrated feature of the IPTV Combine
4x server and can be directly downloaded from there
end user and program guide) and – last 2. All IPTV receivers in the network can be provided with software updates
from the central firmware update server
IPTV network but by no means least – it 3. Various OSD themes (skins) can be created, edited and saved on the
packages all information into IPTV server
Middleware is a software
4. IPTV operators can decide to have OSD texts translated into any
solution which takes care of a neat OSD system on the
required language
presenting IPTV content in IPTV receiver. 5. A web interface is available to launch, quit and adjust all IPTV Combine
a visually pleasing way to 4x services

Generally, there are two 6. The IPTV Combine 4x boasts 1TB of internal hard disk capacity to store
customers of IPTV opera-
VOD and nVOD content
tors. It makes sure the right types of middleware that can


1

be used: The more simple trol as well as marketing. there is the server end (IPTV
version consists of the web Every time an IPTV network Combine 4x Server) which
server which creates and is set up to make money you provides all required infor-
provides HTML pages and need extended middleware, mation. And then there is the
JavaScript applications, such as the IPTV Combine client end (IPTV receiver)
which in turn are made 4x from Russian company which receives this infor-
available to IPTV receivers NetUP. The receiver compo- mation, processes all data
which then display all cor- nent of the NetUP middle- and creates a graphic user-
responding information on ware is written in C++, runs interface. As these two com-
2
the end users‘ screens. In directly on the IPTV receiver ponents need to work very
such a system the middle- and therefore allows lag-free closely with each other all
ware takes over the role of use of all features, even in of the time, middleware and
3
Main menu of the
NetUP middleware
1. United Control Center main
menu
2. Thanks to a DNS server all
services within an IPTV network
can be addressed by name. While
IP addresses can be used as well,
they are no prerequisite.
3. List of existing TV and radio
channels in the middleware
4. Adding a new TV channel
complete with logo and station
details

4

web server, while the IPTV
box at the client end acts as
web browser. While this is a
system that can be set up
and implemented easily, it
does not serve any commer-
cial purpose, as IPTV opera-
tors have no billing option
and no way of controlling
access to content.

The second middleware
category is more complex,
but at the same time more connection with a high-def- IPTV box must be compatible Combine 4x are partly con-
versatile and much more for inition on-screen display, with each other. If the NetUP trolled via a web interface
useful as a business appli- which is an important aspect IPTV Combine 4x is the mid- which is used to launch,
cation. It is based on IPTV these days and – in particu- dleware of choice operators activate, deactivate and set
boxes that are not only capa- lar – in future. can choose from a number up individual services such
ble of displaying received of compatible IPTV boxes. as streaming, middleware,
information, but can also For the purpose of this test VOD, etc. More detailed set-
communicate with the mid- Middleware report we have selected the tings of the middleware,
dleware so that they cannot Strictly speaking, the AmiNET130M from Amino. the billing system and the
only create a nice OSD for NetUP Combine 4x middle- video-on-demand system
end users, but also assist in ware consists of two dis- All features and conﬁgu- are accessed through the so-
billing, content and cost con- tinct components: For one, rations of the NetUP IPTV called United Control Center.

1

5

5. Individual channels and their IP
data within the IPTV network
6. Various packages with differing
content
7. User account administration

6

7

We already dealt with the
web interface in our first test
report in TELE-satellite issue
10-11/2010, and now we take
a closer look at the United
Control Center. It is basically
a Java application which –
thanks to this universal pro-
gramming language – can be
run on different platforms
such as MS Windows, Linux
or Apple, where it is used
to control the entire con-
tent management system.
The United Control Center
main menu is made up of
four elements: billing, mid-
video-on-demand content) as well. IPTV is different in TV and radio channels by
dleware, nVOD (near video-
into packages. This allows a fundamental way: Thanks letting the system know the
on-demand)/VOD and DRM
creating a starter package, to direct communication corresponding IP addresses
(digital rights management).
for example, which includes between end user and IPTV and ports – after we have
The last two elements, TVOD only limited content, or an operator, complete with configured them via the web
(TV-on-demand) and DRM extended package with full- return channel, it would be interface of the streaming
are proprietary solutions of range content. a total waste of resources component of the IPTV Com-
NetUP, which were not part to send all content to all bine 4x.
of our test system and which In order to grasp the customers all of the time in
therefore cannot be evalu- underlying logics of the the first place, only to then In order to simulate a real-
ated in this report. NetUP IPTV system we have grant or restrict access (as is world scenario we design
to put ourselves in the role the case with terrestrial and a package with three HD
With a simple click on of an IPTV operator. This satellite TV). Instead, IPTV channels, three SD channels
the middleware icon the begins with starting to think operators create individual as well as two radio chan-
NetUP United Control Center and act like a commercial packages for a single cus- nels from two different sat-
(UCC) opens up access to operation. As most of us tomer or a certain group of ellites. The IPTV Combine
media groups, media con- come from terrestrial or sat- customers. Let‘s take a hotel 4x is equipped with a total
tent and media streams. All ellite reception we are used as an example: The hotel of four DVB/S2 tuners (see
three items are intended to the fact that all content is owner makes a certain range test report in TELE-satellite
to add, remove or com- always available to all users. of basic TV and radio chan- 10-11/2010) and so we are at
bine media content. With Even if we‘re talking about nels available to all guests, liberty to select content from
media groups it is possible subscription TV we simply the price of which is included up to four different transpon-
to group together different obtain a smartcard and all in the room rate. Therefore, ders or satellite positions.
media content (such as TV of a sudden encrypted con- we use the middleware to
channels, radio channels or tent is available on screen group together all required We then bundle these

1

8

8. Different rate plans can be
activated and deactivated for
each single customer

9

10

9. Setting up and editing rate
plans
10. Customers are able to get
access to individual channels at
a set price
11. A currency converter can
be used to display amounts in
different currencies with the IPTV
set-top box
11

eight channels into a pack-
age labelled ‚Basic‘. Next, it
is time to think about making
money. To that end, we decide
to create two additional
packages, one with current
movies, and the second with
live sports coverage. The
procedure is the same as
for the ‚Basic‘ package, with
conﬁguring the individual
TV channels using the web
interface of the streaming
server, before determining ried out intuitively thanks to more or less self-explan- nel’s logo and short station
their IP addresses and ports the excellent user interface atory, so that it‘s almost description apart from the
using the UCC. of the United Control Center impossible to go wrong when channel name, which offers
and the web interface. All setting up the system. It‘s added value to end cus-
All these steps can be car- options and functions are even possible to add a chan- tomers who are able to ﬁnd


More on This Manufacturer
Read TELE-satellite’s Company Report:

their preferred channel more Combine 4x middleware also
NETUP
IPTV Software and Hardware Producer, Russia www.netup.tv
quickly. allows adding EPG data man-
ually for each channel. When
It goes without saying that we tried out both features
the same is true for radio in our test every nook and
channels as well, and for cranny seemed to work as
video-on-demand content intended and as smoothly as
which can be stored on the possible.
IPTV Combine 4x‘s internal
hard disk. Several hundred Now that we have set up all
hours of video fit easily on basic functions of our virtual
the built-in 1TB hard disk. IPTV network we continue
Stored content can be added with looking at an appropri-
to any package in the same ate billing system for our
way as a TV channel through offering. Simply click on the
the middleware. During spe- ‚Billing‘ icon in the United
cial events (for example Control Center main menu www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1101/eng/netup.pdf
Olympic Games and the like) and you‘re right where you
individual channels can be need to be.
as on-demand content are even possible to unlock all
added for all to enjoy for a
available to this guest until channels for 24 hours after
pre-set period of time, after
which they will automatically
Billing all credit has been used up. the guest‘s arrival and then
For the sake of simplic- The IPTV Combine 4x even lock extended channels
disappear from the channel
ity, let‘s stick to our idea of does currency conversions again – hoping guests will
list again. This allows plan-
a major sports event that so that guests can be shown want to keep watching the
ning ahead so that hotel staff
should be made available at the current account credit full range and pay for the
(in our example) does not
a hotel through IPTV. Obvi- in their own currency, if the service accordingly. If guests
have to deal with technical
ously, all IPTV receivers need hotel decides to implement now choose to watch con-
changes and system mainte-
to be hooked up to the IPTV this feature. tent that is not available with
nance under pressure.
server for such a distribution the free ‚Basic‘ service they
network to work. This means The final step is custom- may simply use their remote
In our test scenario we
are looking at a professional that in theory each receiver ising the IPTV receiver in control to select and acti-
IPTV system in a commer- has access to all of content, the guest‘s room, so that it vate additional content using
cial framework, so that each unless access is restricted actually offers and displays the in-room IPTV receiver,
IPTV channel also has to by making use of the return all content the guest has provided they have bought
feature program informa- channel capability. The IPTV paid for and/or is autho- enough credit at recep-
tion. After all, if hotel guests Combine 4x billing feature is rised to watch. The obvious tion beforehand. Any credit
turn on their TV they want to based on the assumption that way would be using the indi- used up for such extended
know right away which event each customer is entered in vidual box‘s MAC address content is automatically
they are currently watching the system with his or her or serial number, but once deducted from their account,
and whether or not there is full name and has an individ- again NetUP has gone the with reception being able to
anything on they would be ual customer account which extra mile and offers a bril- monitor all transactions or
interested in later that day. can be used to activate and liant feature for generating even assist guests who might
In order to implement this deactivate access to cer- an activation key for each prefer to order content via
feature the NetUP IPTV Com- tain content on an individual client on the IPTV Combine phone rather than working
bine 4x offer two options. level. In our hotel setting, for 4x server. This activation key with the IPTV receiver.
First, it is possible to take example, the ‚Basic‘ pack- has to be entered in the IPTV
over program information age would be available to all receiver to obtain access to As far as the NetUP bill-
for streamed channels right guests without extra charge. the IPTV network in the first ing system is concerned, we
from the original provider via If hotel guests then decide place. At the same time, with were just as impressed with
satellite, cable or DVB-T. This to watch additional channels this key the IPTV becomes all its features and ease of
will also be the most reason- or content, they are able to an individually addressable use as with the middleware
able and practical way to go top up their personal account and controllable IPTV recep- options. Obviously, it takes a
in most situations. at reception with an amount tion point, no matter where little time until you are able
of their choosing, let‘s say in the hotel it is located. to use all tools to the fullest,
In addition, no additional USD 50. Reception staff uses This way the IPTV receiver but after only a short while
costs occur. If, however, a the NetUP IPTV Combine 4x is sent information about the everything seems as to be
TV or radio channel that is billing system to add that current guest, the length of easy as ABC and in everyday
streamed over the IPTV net- amount to the correspond- his or her stay at the hotel, use you‘ll most probably be
work does not supply pro- ing guest account so that and any available credit the in awe at how smoothly the
gram information, the IPTV additional channels as well guest has available. It is system works.

1

12

12. Every single IPTV receiver
across the entire network can
be individually addressed and
customised as required
13. An activation code is required
so that an IPTV box can become a
fully authorised member of the IPTV
network
14. nVOD content can be easily
organised and made available via
the UCC OSD of the IPTV receiver
13

VOD – Video On
Demand and
14
nVOD – near
Video on Demand
In our ﬁrst NetUP IPTV
Combine 4x test report we
mentioned that the server is
equipped with a 1TB internal
hard disk with enough capac-
ity to store several hundred
hours of video content. The
ﬁles need to be in transport
stream format (MPEG-2 or
H.264) in SD or HD reso-
lutions and can be added
to packages much like TV
channels. If required, differ-
ent on-demand content can
even be offered at differ-
ent prices. The middleware
menu of the UCC is used

1

to administer on-demand client end is displayed on software optimised for use in Conclusion
content. While video-on- screen using an OSD system. such businesses. Of course With its IPTV Combine 4x
demand is a fully customised NetUP provides three OSD it, too, comes with all stan-
NetUP has in store a fully-
service that makes available skins (themes): HD, SD and dard features that are useful
fledged IPTV solution for
content individually for every simplified SD. IPTV opera- for most applications (hos-
small and medium-sized
single guest at a time of the tors can freely choose the pitals, large yachts, cruise
IPTV networks consisting of
guest‘s own choosing, nVOD skin that best fits their pur- ships, education institutions,
up to 500 reception boxes.
(near video-on-demand) is a pose and are able to adjust etc.), but also features addi-
service that repeats certain each of the three skins, if tional options focusing on
Our test revealed that only
content at pre-defined times need be. This allows offering hotels. The hotel version is
are the range of features, the
in a loop, so that guests can several OSD languages, for available as an option and
absolute ease of use and the
watch a movie, for example, example, or changing colours connects the IPTV system to
logical concept of the IPTV
every full hour. This means and display modes. The cre- frequently used hotel soft-
Combine 4x truly impres-
that with nVOD guests are ative potential of IPTV oper- ware suites such as MICROS-
sive, but it is actually real
not in a position to determine ators can be exploited to Fidelio, for example. The
fun to work with a system
the start time of an event – the max and we, too, simply following additional features
that offers everything you
as opposed to true VOD. With loved to try out various are then available:
need in everyday use and
nVOD, on the other hand, visual solutions. It has to be
is genuinely user-oriented.
several guests use the same said, though, that these set- •Individual welcome mes-
Even though we looked long
stream, using up less server tings cannot be made with sage in room via TV and IPTV
and hard there was hardly
and network capacity than the help of a graphic user receiver
•Hotel information screen any aspect worth criticising.
true VOD. It makes perfect interface but need to be pro-
via TV and IPTV receiver If there is one point we would
sense for operators to push grammed directly in the files
•Displaying all hotel like to raise it‘s the user
nVOD over VOD by offering of the selected skin. Luckily,
lower prices for nVOD, for charges via TV and IPTV manual, which we would have
the user manual explains all
example. The NetUP IPTV •Displaying messages preferred to be slightly more
relevant steps in detail, so
Combine 4x supports both from reception via TV and detailed at some stages. If
that it first looks trickier than
nVOD and VOD and the UCC IPTV receiver this is the first time you deal
it actually is.
has a dedicated menu item •Express checkout with IPTV it will be very dif-
for setting the start and end •Ordering room cleaning ficult to set up the IPTV Com-
One of the benefits of
times of nVOD events. service via IPTV receiver bine 4x server, even with the
an IPTV system is that the
help of the manual. Then
server is in direct touch with
Here, too, we were This way hotel guests are again, we can safely assume
all connected IPTV boxes at
impressed at how versatile not only provided with TV, that anyone investing a lot of
all times. This way, updates,
and user-friendly the NetUP radio and VOD content via money in the NetUP system
changes to OSD skins or any
system behaves. It didn‘t IPTV right in their room, but will also be able to afford a
other configuration adjust-
take us much longer than a the in-room TV and IPTV technician to take care of
ments that will have to be
couple of minutes to set up receiver also take over the the initial setup. Once that
made from time to time can
our in-house nVOD system role of multimedia control is completed it is virtually
be sent to all IPTV receiv-
and store a number of cur- panel for most hotel agen- child‘s play to control, ser-
ers fully automatically. The
rent movies on the IPTV NetUP IPTV Combine 4x das. vice and adjust the system.
Combine 4x‘s built-in hard does not only come with a
disk. The system can process
TECHNICAL
DHCP server for automati- DATA
up to 50 simultaneous video- cally assigning an IP address Manufacturer NetUP Olof Palme Street 1, Floor 7 resp. Postbox 87,
on-demand streams, which to each box, but also boasts 119311 Moscow Russia

means that in large set-ups a DNS server which takes Fax +7 499 143 5521

using nVOD instead of VOD care of correctly addressing
E-Mail info@netup.tv

may be a wise move in order content, a time server for
Model IPTV Combine 4x

not to push IPTV network maintaining the right date
Function IPTV Gateway for DVB Signals, Middleware,
Billing, VoD, nVoD, DHCP-, Time- & DNS-Server
capacities to the limit. Inci- and time on all IPTV boxes, Tuners 4
dentally, video-on-demand and an update server for Max. simultaneous Transponders 4
content can be transferred providing new software and Max. bandwidth 240 MB/s
to the IPTV Combine 4x from updated settings to IPTV DiSEqC 1.0
any PC using an FTP client. receiver. Ethernet ports 6 x Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000 MB/s
CI Slots 4
Customising the There is actually a reason USB Connector yes (2)

IPTV receiver to why we have come up with a RS232 yes

hotel scenario for our test: Dimensions 430x44x411mm
individual NetUP offers a dedicated Power 90 ~ 264 Volt, 47 ~ 63 Hz

requirements version of its IPTV Combine Weight 11.5kg

All user information at the 4x for hotels, with optimised Consumption ~ 100W


TEST REPORT IPTV Operator Software System – Part 2

AmiNET130M
The back panel sports an HDMI output,
optical audio output and network inter-
face as well as USB connection.

IPTV receiver The box comes complete with a sort
of pedestal which you may use in case

Thomas Haring

■ The TELE-satellite website as presented via
• Now that we‘re the Amino IPTV set-top box

through with the
features and potential of
the NetUP IPTV Combine
4x server it‘s time to 0.52
have a closer look at one
of the compatible IPTV
boxes. We have selected
the AmiNET 130M
from manufacturer
Amino. One of the most
striking characteristics
is its small size,
which measures only
114x102x35 mm, and
its solid build quality.
The chassis is made
of genuine aluminium,
which suggests the box
is built to last.

All you can
see on the front
panel is a status
LED indicat-
ing the current
operating mode.

1

1 6

2 7

3 8

4 9

5 10

1

11 16

12 17

13 18

14 IPTV receiver OSD
1. Favourites list with EPG
2. EPG overview of all available channels
3. List with IPTV channels
4. Additional channels can be purchased
and added by simply using the remote
control
5. VOD content by genre
6. Access to personal user account
7. The current channel package can be
changed directly on the set-top box using
the remote control
8. Customer account overview (credits /
debits)
15 9. A PIN code can be activated to avoid
unauthorised access to the IPTV box
10. IP status information
11. Available OSD skins
12. The OSD can be translated into
additional languages by the operator, if
required
13. Marking an event in the EPG overview for
automatic channel switching
14. Listing and editing timer entries
15. Keying in an address in the web browser
16. Favourites list of the web browser
17. Info bar with details about the current
event
18. Language selection


19

you want or need to place IPTV server takes over the
the receiver in an upright task of setting up your box.
position to save valuable All required settings and
space. Also included in the parameters are provided
package are HDMI cable and by the IPTV server, which
remote control with a con- means they will always be
venient design and nicely correct.
laid out buttons that pro-
vide just the feedback you While in theory this
require. At the time of our almost sounds to good to
test the operating manual be true, in actual use the
20
was available in Russian DHCP server of the IPTV
only, but even with addi- Combine 4x must be acti-
tional languages provided vated so that each new
in future chances are you IPTV box within the existing
will never need to open it. IPTV network is assigned
This is because – contrary an individual IP address
to a satellite receiver – an immediately and automati-
IPTV box receives its entire cally. This at the same time
OSD and control interfaces makes sure the box is able
from the IPTV server and to receive IP data from the
requires no user input in server and its DNS server.
this regard. So we first have to acti-
21 vate all required functions
Installation via the web interface of the
IPTV Combine 4x and define
Before we even begin
a range of IP addresses to
with the first step we have
be assigned to IPTV boxes.
to discard conventional
Only then can we connect
thinking stemming by and
the AmiNET130M to our flat
large from satellite receiv-
screen TV via HDMI and to
ers. Terrestrial, cable or
the IPTV network with an
satellite receivers come
RJ45 cable. Finally, we con-
complete with pre-set soft-
nect the supplied power
ware and all we need to
unit to the mains. The box
do is hook up all required
powers up, immediately
cables and press the ON
22 button. It‘s a totally differ-
detects the IPTV Combine
4x server and downloads
ent story with an IPTV box,
all software elements. One
which runs via middleware
minute later this process is
and therefore has no inte-
finished and we are asked
grated default operating
to key in a valid activation
software. With the middle-
key.
ware structure an IPTV box
connects to the IPTV server
which then provides the Everyday use
user software. This is to With regard to the IPTV
make sure both IPTV server Combine 4x we have men-
and IPTV box are perfectly tioned before that the acti-
compatible with each other, vation key is required to
23
and it makes setting up a customise the IPTV box
new box so much easier. and to create a tailor-made
After all, there‘s nothing channel list, channel avail-
you can do wrong if the ability and billing system for

19. Each channel can be stored with a short station description and
channel logo (seen here: Das Erste HD from Germany)
20. Each channel can be stored with a short station description and
channel logo (seen here: MBC 4 from Dubai)
21. Changing the rate plan
22. Radio stations can be transmitted as well via the IPTV network
23. Selecting VOD content from the dedicated menu item using the IPTV
set-top box software

1

each registered customer. The ‘Radio’ section is not the solutions provided by a favourites list for easy
As we have already created shown right below the ‘TV NetUP chances are custom- access at a later stage.
a specific customer account channels’ section, which ers will use the on-demand
through the billing feature presumably is for commer- feature more readily. During our test we noticed
of the IPTV Combine 4x we cial reasons. We should still that NetUP has also thought
can quickly key in the acti- like to mention it at this The ‘Personal account’ about implementing basic
vation code generated by stage, as it is organised section provides access to functions in TV, radio and
the system. The code con- just like the TV section. user data, selected pack- on-demand modes. For
sists of a total of six blocks ages and account credit. example, the colour-coded
with five digits each. The second menu item Here, customers can also function keys can be used
deals with ‘Video-on- upgrade to an extended to change the language of
We did not specifically demand’ content, which package or look at all past the current event (in case
define each and every is organised according to transactions (credit top- more than one is available),
option for our test environ- name, group or genre. up, used credit). With this and a smartly designed
ment, so the AmiNET130M Every available film is feature in place customers info bar is inserted in the
first wants to know our pre- shown on the upper area of can change packages, buy lower section of the screen
ferred skin and presents us the screen complete with on-demand content and every time a new channel is
with all available OSD lan- its title. The screen sec- keep a check on purchases selected. Apart from chan-
guages. tion dedicated to EPG infor- without requiring assis- nel name this info bar also
mation in TV mode shows tance from hotel staff (as shows program informa-
As soon as these basic extended information about in our test scenario). This tion for the current chan-
settings are determined the each video-on-demand gives customers full control nel. We were impressed at
IPTV box switches to the (text, cover image, price, while not wasting valuable how quickly a new channels
etc.). If you decide to buy staff resources. In the ‘Set- shows up on screen – it only
first available channel and
content you only need to tings’ menu it is possible to takes about one second,
TV viewing please is about
press the OK button, with change OSD language and and together with very fast
to begin. With a touch of
the price of the film being appearance, and for service reaction to commands sent
the MENU button the main
deducted from your credit. technicians to call up infor- from the remote control
menu pops up on screen
Purchased on-demand con- mation on IP data and other zapping is real fun with the
and is divided into six sec-
tent is shown in a dedicated relevant network param- AmiNET130M.
tions with the skin we have
sub-menu that lists all con- eters.
chosen before: TV chan-
tent you have purchased During playback of on-
nels, Video-on-demand,
with your available credit. The range of features of demand content it is of
Radio, Personal account,
the AmiNET130M is com- course possible to rewind
Settings and Extras.
This is also the menu sec- pleted with the ‘Extras’ sec- and fast-forward (at dif-
tion you may use to select tion of the main menu. All ferent speeds) and pause.
The ‘TV channels’ section
and activate near-VOD con- timer entries can be listed A PVR system at large,
shows a list of all TV con-
tent. here, and a rather basic but however, cannot be imple-
tent available to the respec-
nonetheless very functional mented with the IPTV
tive customer. If required,
Thanks to the sheer size web browser is available for set-up tested by
individual entries can be
of the IPTV server hard surfing the web. To that end us.
added to a favourites list for
disk it is possible to make a virtual keyboard is shown
quick access. EPG data is
available quite an impres- on screen, and frequently
available either for a single
sive range of on-demand visited sites can
channel or as an overview
content, and a virtual key- even saved
so that it is easy to check
board assists customers in onto
at a glance what is cur-
looking for specific content.
rently shown on available
User-friendliness is the
channels. It is of course key to success,
possible to call up EPG data and with
for events on coming days,
and timer entries can be
created directly by mark-
ing an event so that the box
will automatically switch to
the corresponding channel
before that event starts.
The system we tested,
however, does not support
a PVR feature for selecting
events to be recorded.

1

As far as security and without default software, that comes with the IPTV and logical control of the
access control are con- which means our conclu- box. Apart from its high- box which should be self-
cerned either the entire sion covers the Amino box quality appearance it can explanatory even to the
IPTV box or only the pur- as the hardware component also be used as a universal technologically challenged.
chasing function can be on the one hand, and NetUP remote to control all cur- If you add to that the com-
blocked by way of an access as software provider on the rently available TV panels
plex control module of the
code. other hand. To put it short, – who could ask for more?
IPTV server for business
the Amino hardware leaves
applications the two are
nothing to be desired. Thanks to the fact that
Conclusion What‘s more, the build server and receiver are in
a perfect match. With a
The AmiNET130M IPTV whole range of customis-
quality achieved by Amino perfect harmony the IPTV
box from Amino is a per- surpasses that of many box is in a brilliant posi- able settings the IPTV Com-
fectly capable and well- competitors and easily sets tion for exploiting all fea- bine 4x together with the
built IPTV box. Contrary to an example when it comes tures provided by the IPTV AmiNET130M should to the
DVB-S, DVB-T and DVB-C to workmanship. The same Combine 4x. In particular, trick for almost any scope
reception IPTV boxes come goes for the remote control we appreciated the simple of application.

ENERGY
DIAGRAM

Apparent Power

Mode Apparent Active Factor
Reception 11.4 W 6W 0.52

Active Power

Active use with channel switching and watching live TV during the first 15
minutes, standby during the second 15 minutes.

TECHNICAL
DATA
Manufacturer Amino Technologies, Buckingway Business Park,
Anderson Road, Swavesey, Cambridge CB24 4UQ,
United Kingdom

Fax +44 (0) 1954 234 101

Email info@aminocom.com

Model AmiNET130M

Function IPTV Set-top-Box

HDMI connector yes (HDMI 1.2a with HDCP)

Scart connector no

Audio/Video output analogue no

YUV output no

S-Video output no

Digital audio output yes (optical)

Ehternet yes

WLAN no

USB connector yes

Codecs MPEG-2 MP@HL, MPEG-4 pt10 A, VC/H.264 HP@L4

Video resolutions up to 720p and 1080i

Input Voltage 5V DC

Dimensions 114x102x35mm

Weight 262g


Breathe life into your TV

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www.abipbox.com

AB Linux satellite55HD
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IPBox receiver
for everyone

EHD
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TEST REPORT Cardsplitter

Clone+ Cardsplitter
02-03/201
1
Clone+ Cardspli
Simple distributio tter
n of two PayTV pro
to as many as eig viders
ht rec eivers
in the household

Simple Operation,
Incredibly Powerful!
• Simple Distribution of PayTV The number of TVs in the TVs in the house with a signal
average household is consis- whether it was done via coax-
Channels in Your Own Home tently increasing. It all started ial cable or wirelessly. You

• Feed Up to Eight Receivers with in the living room and then were limited to watching one
expanded to the kid’s room all TV channel at a time on all the
Just One Card the way to the bedroom and TVs but not much was needed
the kitchen until now there’s for an installation like this.
• Supports Numerous Systems
hardly any room in the house
• Special Feature: Two Different that doesn’t have a TV. Just As HDTV began entering
a few years ago, when HDTV the picture, end users natu-
PayTV Systems are Possible
was an unknown entity, it was rally wanted to be able to
enough to have one central watch their favorite programs
receiver that supplied all the in the best possible quality.

1

Highlights 2010
www.spaun.com Quality made in Germany

The new -Class
• Excellent selection:
Terr./SAT > 40 dB and SAT/Terr. > 45 dB
• Energy saving switch-mode power supply
• High output levels between
102 and 108 dBµV

years
warranty

Optical Transmitter SPAROS 611 CA HD
• Frequency range of 47 ... 2200 MHz
• HD-Display (MPEG4 H.264)
• Laser output power: +6 dBm • Integrated Multidecryption CA-Module
Optical Receiver • Return path measurement
• 4-way / 1-way in a compact housing • Constellationdiagram for all
• Remote power through one coax output possible DVB standards

SPAUN electronic GmbH & Co. KG
Byk-Gulden-Str. 22 · 78224 Singen
Phone: +49 (0)7731 - 8673-0 · Fax: +49 (0)7731 - 8673-17
Email: contact@spaun.com · www.spaun.com

Arabic ‫ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/ara/clone+.pdf
Indonesian Indonesia www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/bid/clone+.pdf
But this led to a problem: course, this comes at an addi- German Deutsch www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/deu/clone+.pdf
HD content could not be dis- tional monthly charge and it English English www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/clone+.pdf
Spanish Español www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/esp/clone+.pdf
tributed via coaxial cable or really is the exception rather French Français www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/fra/clone+.pdf
through a wireless system than the rule. The end user Hebrew ‫עברית‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/heb/clone+.pdf
Chinese 中文 www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/man/clone+.pdf
and the HDMI cables link- has the problem of deciding
Polish Polski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/pol/clone+.pdf
ing the receiver and the TV whether to take out multiple Portuguese Português www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/por/clone+.pdf
are limited in length to a few PayTV subscriptions at the Russian Русский www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/rus/clone+.pdf
Turkish Türkçe www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/tur/clone+.pdf
meters. same time – a solution that Available online starting from 28 January 2011
for most PayTV customers is
For the average house- both ﬁnancially and also on
hold this meant that multiple principle a problem; who likes and switch to an encrypted encryption system or the pro-
receivers would be needed the idea of paying double or channel, the Clone+ card cessor couldn’t handle more
– one receiver for each TV. triple? – or he has to look communicates with the than two receivers at a time.
Distributing the signals of around for another solution. Clone+ server and receives In the Clone+ package we
a single satellite reception the necessary decryption received there was the trans-
system to all of these receiv- The Clone+ System from information so that you can mitter section along with two
ers is easy and as long as you the Polish company PYCH enjoy your selected program. reception cards. We were able
limit yourself to watching free International Electronics is to get to work right away.
TV, that is channels without precisely one of those solu- In this way it’s possible to
any encryption, there won’t tions and it works like this: the use only one PayTV card and The transmitter section
be any problems. But what original card from the PayTV operate up to eight receiv- comes in a very elegant black
about PayTV? provider is inserted into a ers independently from each housing and at 2.5 x 9.5 x
card reader unit that works other. Since the range of the 11cm was very easy to handle.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t with an integrated transmit- transmitter section inside On the front panel you imme-
look good at all; a PayTV pro- ter. Instead of the original the home is only about 30 diately notice the slot for the
vider usually only supplies one card, a special reception card meters, the PayTV provider internal card reader while
SmartCard to a customer and is placed in the receivers (up doesn’t have to worry about on the back a USB interface
thus PayTV content can only to eight boxes are supported) anyone else using the PayTV and a jack for DC power from
be received and decrypted on that then creates a wireless card illegally. the included external power
just one receiver. There are link to the transmitter sec- supply could be found. The
a few PayTV providers that tion of the Clone+ system. If When the Clone+ system top side of the housing sports
offer additional cards but, of you’re using a linked receiver arrived at the TELE-satellite ﬁve LEDs that show the sys-
test lab, we were curious how tem’s current status as well
well it would work consider- as the signal quality of the
■ Twin Slot Interface - ing that similar systems have wireless link.
enables you watching
been around for some time
different channels
of digital pay TV of 2 now from a variety of manu- The reception cards are also
different subscription
cards facturers but as was often the made out of black plastic and
case those systems had to come with six small status
deal with software bugs, they LEDs that also graphically
could only be used with one indicate operational status

1

1

and signal strength. Because mends that the transmitter
of the required receiver sec- section be connected to an
tion as well as the neces- MS Windows PC using the
sary electronics to process USB cable so that the firm-
the incoming signals, these ware of the system can be
cards are somewhat longer brought up to the most cur-
than standard SmartCards. rent level before the system
They can be plugged into is used for the first time.
2 the internal card reader of a Just like the overall operation
receiver or a CI module but of the Clone+ system, this
you probably won’t be able to update procedure is handled
close the front panel flap on just as simply and problem-
the receiver or the CI module. free. As soon as the system
It’s a visual disadvantage that is connected to a PC and the
the manufacturer recognized software started, the current
and because of that offers an drivers are loaded from the
optional Soft Interface. This manufacturer’s server via the
involves using a standard Internet. After that, they are
3
format SmartCard that disap- automatically installed and
pears fully into a receiver’s activated.
card reader or CI slot allow-
ing you to close the receiver The Clone+ system can
flap. The electronics from the operate in two different
SmartCard are now sepa- modes, A and B, each with its
rated with a single thin cable own firmware. While mode A
connecting the two pieces is the normal operating mode
together. The Soft Interface for the Clone+, the manu-
4 was not part of the test pack- facturer integrated a mode
age we received so we were B which is a form of a com-
unable to put it to the test. patibility mode that really
should only be activated
For our test report, Clone+ when there’s a problem with
included a twin adapter for the SmartCard. Our tests
the transmitter section so involved the use of a variety
that we could use two PayTV of PayTV cards and we found
cards with up to eight differ- that activating mode B wasn’t
ent receivers. More on that necessary. The transferring of
5
later though. the latest firmware occurred
automatically without any dif-
We were very impressed ficulties and was taken care of
with the Clone+ system. The in just a few seconds.
included user manual provided
information on the installation Once the update process
and operation of the system is successfully completed,
that was so detailed that there’s really not much more
every possible question was for the end user to do since
answered. The included CD the system is very easy to set
and USB cable can be used to up and configure. The first
upload new firmware into the step is to insert the PayTV
Clone+ transmitter section card into the slot in the trans-
so that the manufacturer can mitter section and then turn
1. With one mouse click the Clone+ transmitter section automatically
downloads the latest firmware from the manufacturers servers and installs not only work on improve- on the power. The Clone+
them in the unit.
ments to the system but also system automatically recog-
2. Standard mode A for operation with the most PayTV cards
add new encryption systems nizes the encryption system
3. Compatibility mode B for those cards that can’t be used in mode A. The
use of this mode was not necessary in our tests. or react to other changes in used by the card, reads a few
4. Even the required drivers for MS Windows are downloaded automatically the system. more parameters and then
with the update software.
5. The Soft Interface elegantly accommodates the reception cards even
sets up the reception cards
with the CI flap closed. PYCH Electronics recom- with the necessary settings.

1

As soon as this job is done “Ready” LED remains lit.
– in our tests it took a mere
one second – the “Ready” LED This programming step is
illuminates to let you know absolutely necessary since
that the Clone+ transmitter the reception cards can only
section is ready to go. be prepared and activated
in this way. If you decide to
The only other task that use a different SmartCard,
needs to be done is to config- then this programming pro-
ure the reception cards. To do cess must be repeated since
this the original PayTV card is every encryption system and
removed and each reception each card type require dif-
card to be used is momen- ferent settings. In our tests
tarily inserted into the card the reception card was pro-
reader. The “Upgrade” LED grammed and ready to use
on the reception card starts in just about eight seconds.
to blink indicating that the Once this process has been
necessary settings are being completed for each reception
transferred to the card. Once card to be used, the origi-
this process is successfully nal PayTV card is once again
completed, the “Upgrade” inserted into the card reader
LED goes out and only the slot while the reception cards

are inserted in each receiver our test system so we were
or CI module. At this point able to select three receiv-
the entire system installation ers for our testing: two
and setup is completed. receivers with CI slots and
one with an integrated card
As soon as power is applied reader. A reception card was
to the reception cards via the inserted into the CI slot or
receiver or the CI module, a internal card reader of all
link is created to the Clone+ three receivers and we began
transmitter section. The channel surfing through all
signal strength is shown via of the PayTV channels. No
LEDs on the reception cards matter how hard we tried, we
as well as on the transmit- could not disturb the Clone+
ter section. Once the green system as it decrypted the
“Link” LED lights up on the selected channels on all three
reception cards, a successful receivers without any prob-
connection has been placed lems or other interruptions.
with the Clone+ server. Now And it didn’t matter if it was
you can enjoy uninterrupted HD or SD channels.
PayTV channels with multiple
receivers. We were impressed with
the performance of the radio
According to the manufac- link. Depending on the type
turer, the Clone+ system is of building, a range of up to
compatible with the Conax, 30 meters can be achieved
Crptoworks, Irdeto, Seca indoors. Outside the range
Mediaguard and Viaccess could be as far as 150 meters
encryption systems. During although 100 meters is more
our testing process, we realistic as long as there is a
were able to verify this with clear line of sight from trans-
multiple SmartCards; even mitter to receiver.
the latest generation cards
worked perfectly with the The Clone+ system is also
Clone+ system. The manu- not affected by a WLAN router
facturer included a total of or other wireless device (such
three reception cards with as a wireless headset) and


functions without any inter- rest! The Clone+ system was Expert Opinion
ruptions. We tested this by easily able to handle both +
setting a WLAN router to its encryption systems without Incredibly simple and reliable operation plus
highest possible power output any problems using the Twin comes with the ability to use two SmartCards at
and placing it in close proxim- Slot Interface. Even in this the same time. At only 1.2W, the power usage of
ity to the Clone+ system. We mode the constant changing the Clone+ system is negligible.
also operated two wireless of channels and the operation Thomas Haring

-
TELE-satellite
headsets at the same time. of three reception cards could Test Center
Austria
not disturb this system. The encryption systems Nagravision and
The icing on the cake NDS Videoguard are not supported.

though would have to be the We thoroughly enjoyed put-
Twin Slot Interface with which ting the Clone+ system from
TECHNICAL
two different SmartCards can PYCH Electronics to the test. It DATA
be used at the same time. is a sophisticated system and Manufacturer Pych International Electronics Sp. z.o.o.ul.
Lipkowska 21, 04-801 Warsaw, Poland
We tested this feature using functioned effortlessly with
Phone +48 22 2442831
an Austrian ORF Card (Cryp- the encryption systems speci-
Fax +48 22 2442847
toworks) and a Swiss SRG ﬁed by the manufacturer. It is
Email cok@pychinternationalelectronics.com
TV card (Viaccess). At ﬁrst so easy to install and operate
Model Clone+
we really had doubts that this system that every user
Supported CAS systems Irdeto, Seca Mediaguard, Viaccess, Cryptoworks, Conax
both cards could be used should have no problems with Max. receivers 8
at the same time especially it. The status LEDs on the Max. distance outdoor: max. 150m
considering that the Clone+ reception cards and on the indoor: 30m

system would have to work transmitter section highlight Transmission band RF 868-915 MHz, BW 150 kHz, GFSK, NRZ 38.4 Kbps

with two entirely different the current operational status Transmitter power variable from -20 to 5 dBm

Power supply 9-12V DC
encryption systems. But our of the system and are also a
Power consumption ~ 1.2W
doubts were quickly laid to valuable guidance tool.

1

FEATURE IPTV Standard OIPF

The New IPTV
Standard OIPF
■ Yun Chao Hu is president of the ‘Open IPTV Forum’. He
discussed the future of the OIPF standard with TELE-
satellite during the ﬁrst OIPF workshop held in Asia.

1

• OIPF is the new global standard for Internet TV
• OIPF is already in use in Singapore and Taiwan
• The new standard incorporates existing
technologies and specifications
• OIPF has the same specifications world-wide,
making it THE standard for Internet-based TV
applications

It was exactly four years ago, in March standard is being built. Secondly, all appli-
2007, that five telecom heavyweights cations that arise from IPTV interactivity
founded the ‘Open IPTV Forum’, with need to be integrated into the open stand-
major players such as Sony, Samsung, ardized application enablers. “The OIPF
Philips and Panasonic, but also with tel- specifications will address the necessary
ecom companies focusing mainly on the application enablers that will be the basis
Internet, like France Telecom, AT&T and for an open application ecosystem secur-
Telecom Italia. Added to that were cor- ing transparency towards the IPTV appli-
porations from the mobile sphere, such cation developers. This will ensure that
as Ericsson or Nokia Siemens Networks. the application development will be inde-
What started with nine founding members pendent of the IPTV middleware and the
has meanwhile grown to 66 OIPF member specific IPTV end-devices. The increased
companies, all of which have defined a availability of IPTV applications will enrich
single goal: to establish a uniform global the end user Quality of Experience of the
standard for TV services via Internet standard based IPTV deployments,” Yun
(IPTV) and stimulating a horizontal retail Chao Hu adds.
market for IPTV end devices. Interactivity does not only mean that
On the journey to this goal the chal- end users – i.e. TV viewers – select the
lenge does not lie in video and audio channel they want to watch from a list
transmission – more than enough estab- of offerings by using a remote control to
lished standards are used for that already. send a request to the provider. There‘s
The tricky part is interactivity and per- way more to it. The OIPF standard cre-
sonalization, as that is the main distin- ates a log with information about which
guishing feature of IPTV when compared channel is currently being watched, how
with terrestrial or satellite reception. In many times a new channel is selected and
the past, each IPTV provider seemed to at what time channels are switched. This
do its own thing, developing applications way a user profile with a precise viewing
and technologies that best fit its particular pattern can be created to provide valuable
purpose. IPTV had become a playground information for advertisers and content
for unregulated proprietary develop- providers. Commercials can be inserted
ments, and that is exactly what hindered at a time that creates most viewer atten-
further growth. Software engineers and tion and a whole range of offerings can be
hardware manufacturers were having a tailor-made to maximise their effect.
hard time trying to incorporate as many of In order to collect the required data
these diverging developments as possible, there needs to be an established and uni-
which at the same time meant too much form standard across platforms. What’s
energy had to be wasted on developments more, the OIPF standard defines how
and technologies that would simply come advertisements and other offers are
and go. transmitted to the viewer.
Yun Chao Hu is the president of OIPF, As you can see, simply watching TV
and we had the pleasure of meeting him is already based on a rather complex
during an OIPF workshop in China. “There technological structure. If we now con-
is a solution in sight,“ he states. „A uni- sider pay TV or pay-per-view – both of
form standard that is accepted and imple- which also have to be implemented in the
mented by all players and that establishes OIPF standard – it becomes plain for all
a level playing ground for all interested to see that establishing a new standard
parties.” The challenges that come with involves overcoming a great many stum-
creating the new OIPF standard are two- bling blocks. And then there’s the Inter-
fold: net, which offers even more possibilities,
For one, there is no need to start from according to OIPF marketing director
scratch again and re-invent something Monika Gadhammar: “Interactive EPG,
that is already available at our finger- video calling, chatting, file sharing, online
tips. Rather, existing standards should be voting, mobile TV and the like are only
the foundation onto which the new OIPF some of the applications that can be real-


■ Monika Gadhammar is marketing
manager of OIPF. Here she can be
seen in front of a presentation of all OIPF in
current ‘Open IPTV Forum’ member
companies. Mobile
Use
ised. To give you an example: If a phone
call comes in while you are watching TV
the caller’s number and name will pop up
on the TV screen. If you decide to accept
that call the system automatically starts
■Business
executives are
PVR recording so that you are able to con- given a tool for
tinue watching after hanging up, without coordinating
appointments
missing a single second.” while on the
This just goes to show that the list of go.
possible applications is virtually end-
less. Major landline phone companies
and Internet service providers are free to
implement as many features as they think
fit, and that’s one of the major draw cards ■OIPF also
of the new OIPF standard. Yet, all these incorporates
features that are made available to con- specifications
for TV via
sumers are only one side of the coin. The mobile phone
other is the fact that all features need to networks.
be implemented at the provider’s end –
and the OIPF is the right answer for that
as well.
OIPF president Yun Chao Hu adds that
OIPF is already being used in large-scale
test set-ups. “There’s the NIMS project in
Singapore, and another one in Taiwan.”
Both make sure OIPF can make the quan-
tum leap from developer’s playground to
real-world application. OIPF is right on
track to becoming a reality of TV viewers
in the future!

More information available at:
www.oipf.tv
For the latest technical specifications
have a look at:
www.oipf.tv/specifications.html

1

List of All Current OIPF Member Companies

The New IPTV Standard

• OIPF provides the IPTV market with open end-2-end IPTV speciﬁcations
• OIPF includes most IPTV stakeholders
• OIPF stimulates a go-to-market drive from the IPTV industry
Open IPTV Forum Tel: +33 4 92 94 43 83
650, Route des Lucioles Fax: +33 4 92 38 52 90
F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS Cedex Email: contact@oipf.tv
France Website: www.oipf.tv

1

A Look Behind the Scenes:
The New OIPF IPTV
Standard in The
Making ■This modern office
complex in northwestern
Berlin (Germany) houses the
Fraunhofer FOKUS institute.
A range of other well-known
telecom providers also
rent office space here. The
Fraunhofer FOKUS institute
participates in exhibitions
as well and can be found
exhibiting at the CeBIT in
Hanover, IFA in Berlin, IBC
in Amsterdam and IPTV
World Forum in London.

One of the strong technical partners which is renting office space at this build- schaft employs a technical workforce of
of the Open IPTV Forum is Fraunhofer- ing, but also other well-known businesses 17,000 and generates an annual turno-
Gesellschaft from Germany, which from the telecom field. One of them is ver of 1.7 billion EUR.“ We’re not talking
has been looking at IPTV since 2005. Media Broadcast, a satellite broadcaster about a commercial company here, but
We wanted to learn more about their on which TELE-satellite reported only rather an association with an exclusive
approach to that topic and met with recently in issue 08-09/2010. focus on technical research. „Some 30%
Robert Seeliger, the OIPF project man- of Fraunhofer‘s budget are received from
ager at Fraunhofer. He occupies an office We started out with asking Robert the German state, with the remaining
on the fourth floor of a recently built Seeliger about the nature of Fraunhofer- 70% being generated from commercial
office complex in northwestern Berlin Gesellschaft. Naturally, he can fill us in corporations with all sorts of manufac-
(Germany). Yet, it‘s not only Fraunhofer with all the details: „Fraunhofer-Gesell- turers. Some monies also come from the

1

■ Graduate engineer receivers. „To this end we use the CE-
Robert Seeliger is OIPF HTML programming language,“ Robert
project manager at the
Fraunhofer FOKUS institute Seeliger explains. „It‘s the same lan-
in Berlin. Here he shows the guage that is also used for HbbTV, for
institute‘s website on his
monitor. Apart from the new
example.“ CE stands for consumer elec-
OIPF standard FOKUS also tronics and is perfect for calling up and
looks at another interesting displaying media content.
development: a universal
operating system that can
be implemented in mobile
phones, set-top boxes, TV
sets and so on. You can find
What is CE-HTML?
out more about that project
at www.webinos.org. HTML is the programming language
used to create web pages. You do not
have to be an accomplished expert to
realize that the web pages you surf
on with your PC or a laptop are not
so easy to navigate when displayed
on the TV screen and handled with
European Union‘s research funds.“ and developing solutions for them.
a remote control. There are several
„IPTV has been around for some time,
things that make reading and naviga-
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is divided up which means huge efforts have already
ting them difficult:
into different institutes. „We currently been put in doing research in this field,“
- sometimes simply the font is too
run 57 institutes, each of which does Robert Seeliger continues. „Our job is
small to be read from a distance by a
research on a specific field,“ Robert Seel- to define gaps that are still around and
regular TV viewer
iger goes on. One of the institutes caries then combine all aspects to arrive at a
- they often require a mouse action
the name FOKUS, which is the German point where all the pieces of this puzzle
or keyboard entry rather than the
acronym for ‚Fraunhofer Institute for fall into place.“
directional arrows and OK button that
Open Communications Systems‘. FOKUS
the regular remote control units have
consists of seven departments and one By the way, this particular Fraunhofer
- they lack a highlight that show the
of these departments is FAME, short for institute can proudly look back on an
user what will happen when he/she
‚Future Applications and Media‘, with a extremely successful Internet develop-
presses the OK button
permanent staff of 40 employees.“ ment: „We were the ones to come up
- they use different audio/video
with the Session Initiation Protocol that
object implementations
The FAME department within FOKUS is being used for VoIP,“ Robert Seeliger
- they use specific extensions like
deals with the new IPTV standard. It is reveals and lends further proof to the
Adobe Flash that require more soft-
headed by Dr. Stefan Arabnowski, with fact that Fraunhofer scientist are spot
ware and more powerful hardware to
Robert Seeliger running the project on when it comes to developing solu-
be used than is available in popular
group that looks at OIPF. „Altogether tions that are required in a real-world
consumer electronics equipment
we are 15 scientists,“ Robert Seeliger scenario.
Therefore, the manufacturers of
explains, „which means employees with
consumer electronics products deci-
a degree in either software development One task on the path to the new OIPF
ded to create a special version of HTML
or engineering.“ Their work consists standard is to design a HTML-based user
and called it CE-HTML. More precisely,
mainly of looking at technological niches interface for implementation in IPTV
CE-HTML is based on XHTML and has
additional extensions.
The pages created with CE-HTML
are well suited to be viewed from a
distance and be controlled with 4
arrows and an OK button. CE-HTML
can be used to create the regular (on-
line) pages but also to create the user
interface screens of the CE devices
you use at home, like digital TV recei-
vers.
Additionally, CE-HTML simplifies
interfacing of various multimedia
devices you use at home. We can say
that thanks to such standardization
efforts like CE-HTML, the develop-
ment of new CE equipment is faster
and simpler, and the compatibility
between different brands and models
is better.
CE-HTML is already incorporated in
CEA-2014, HbbTV, OpenIPTV and Digi-
tal Living Network Alliance industry
■ Several monitors and boxes in the lobby of the Fraunhofer FOKUS institute display applications standards. There are already TV-sets
that were developed at the institute.
on the market which are CE-HTML
compatible.
1

COMPANY REPORT IPTV Box Manufacturer Jiuzhou, China

Jiuzhou greatly expands into
IPTV Box Production
• IPTV box production
may reach 1 million
units in 2011
• Jiuzhou starts HbbTV
boxes for Europe
• Big retailers about to
launch into IPTV box
sales
• Jiuzhou to attend all
major exhibitions in ■ Sales Director Huang Wei is,
2011, 10 in all amongst many other tasks, in charge
of the IPTV boxes‘ development,
sales and marketing

The Chinese large manufacturer Jiu-
zhou is very well known by our readers.
The company originated in Sichuan and
has been in existence since 1958. In
2008 they celebrated their 50th birthday
(see TELE-satellite issue 02-03/2008).
In 2009 the company expanded into
HDTV and in 2010 terrestrial TV was
the theme. In 2011 Jiuzhou is planning
on taking a huge step further into the
IPTV market with enormous production
numbers. Huang Wei is Jiuzhou’s Sales
Director and reveals to us what Jiuzhou
has planned for 2011.

First, though, Sales Director Huang
Wei took us on a trip into the past: “The
ﬁrst IPTV boxes were manufactured by
Jiuzhou in 2007; back then about 20,000
boxes were produced and involved pure
IPTV boxes.” Production numbers only
increased slowly. “In 2010 we produced
60,000 boxes”, comments Huang Wei.

But 2011 looks to be completely dif-
ferent: “We will be manufacturing a
minimum of 200,000 boxes and it could
go as high as one million.” It all depends
on negotiations that are currently in
progress with a variety of retail chains
in North America as well as Europe.
The reason: these retail chains are in

■ Jiuzhou constructed an impressively large
building in Shenzhen’s High-Tech Park. The
engineers are here continuously working
on new products – currently they’re mostly
occupied with IPTV.

1

 Shenzhen


Arabic ‫ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/ara/jiuzhou.pdf
Indonesian Indonesia www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/bid/jiuzhou.pdf
German Deutsch www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/deu/jiuzhou.pdf
English English www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/jiuzhou.pdf
Spanish Español www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/esp/jiuzhou.pdf
French Français www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/fra/jiuzhou.pdf
Hebrew ‫עברית‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/heb/jiuzhou.pdf
Chinese 中文 www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/man/jiuzhou.pdf
Polish Polski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/pol/jiuzhou.pdf
■ Jimmy Zhang delivering the programming either ter-
is Marketing Vice restrially or via satellite. With IPTV
Portuguese Português www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/por/jiuzhou.pdf Manager and deals
Russian Русский www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/rus/jiuzhou.pdf with the global comparatively simple technology using
Turkish Türkçe www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/tur/jiuzhou.pdf marketing of Set Gateway servers is all that’s needed.
Available online starting from 28 January 2011 Top Boxes
But even more important, the customer
no longer needs to install an antenna;
the process of becoming their own pro- Internet is opening up new possibili- almost every household has an Internet
gramming providers! ties; now there are programming pro- connection.
viders that can join the bandwagon
This is a rather interesting develop- that really didn’t have any interest in Large business enterprises that have
ment: obviously transmitting via the doing so before since it would’ve meant for quite some time been not only sell-

■ Marketing Specialist Zoe Liu ﬁnds
the graphics in TELE-satellite to be so
good that she pins them on her wall.

1

1

1. A look in the IPTV Engineers ofﬁce: here the software
for the IPTV boxes is developed.

2. The functionality of test samples are checked out here.

3. This is Vice Manager Yongjun Zhang; he is responsible
for the IPTV R&D team and is in charge of 20 engineers. 2

3

1

■ Jiuzhou’s Overseas Marketing Team. Third from the left is Linda Lee; she has been HbbTV as well as a variant with DVB-T
working consistently since 2006 with TELE-satellite Editor-in-Chief Alexander Wiese and HbbTV.” These boxes will be avail-
(behind Linda Lee) to make Jiuzhou a recognizable name in the digital TV sector
through the pages of TELE-satellite magazine. To the far right is Yang, Jiuzhou’s able in Germany and France since HbbTV
graphic designer; he regularly updates the Jiuzhou ad that appears on the back of is already in use there; later on they’ll
each new TELE-satellite issue. become available in other countries as
ing products in their super stores, but ware. “Naturally we’ll give the customer well.
services as well, don’t want to miss what he wants”, insists Yongyun Zhang.
out on this opportunity. In the case of Jiuzhou is fully committed to expand
IPTV, these companies could offer not Sales Director Huang Wei has some this new market on a worldwide scale.
only the TV channels but the necessary more for us: “In 2010 we delivered 50% Not only will the company’s extensive
receivers as well. This is an enormous of our IPTV boxes domestically within experience in receiver production help
opportunity for manufacturers such as China; 40% went to North America and them, but so will their exceptional inter-
Jiuzhou to display their receiver mass 10% were shipped to the rest of Asia. national exposure.
production competence and begin sup- This will drastically change in 2011:
plying these new providers with the production for domestic shipments will Linda Lee from their Overseas Market-
proper electronic equipment. Huang drop to 30% while North America will ing Department highlights for us at what
Wei is proud that Jiuzhou is leading the climb to 50%. 15% of our production trade shows Jiuzhou will be attending in
pack. will go to Europe with the remaining 5% 2011: “We’ll be at the CSTB in Moscow,
going to Asia.” CABSAT in Dubai, NAB in Las Vegas,
The fact that Jiuzhou is so nicely set ANGA in Cologne, IBC in Amsterdam,
up for this has to do in part to the fact This projection for 2011 clearly shows ABTA in Sao Paulo and for the domestic
that Jiuzhou has been delivering IPTV the strong increase in the North Ameri- market the CCBN in Beijing. In addition,
boxes domestically for China Telecom can market as well as the beginning of we’ll be at the Canton Fair as an exhibi-
for quite some time now. Yongyun Zhang the IPTV market in Europe. Huang Wei tor as well as at the Hong Kong Electron-
is Vice manager and runs the R&D team continues: “Jiuzhou operates an office in ics Fair trade shows.”
with 20 engineers that is responsible Dallas, Texas, USA where six employees
for IPTV. He explains to us: “We deliver work to prepare our products for the This gives you many different oppor-
IPTV boxes to the Chinese market with North American market.” tunities to meet up with the team from
the IPANEL software.” For other mar- Jiuzhou and learn more about their
kets the IPTV software would of course Jimmy Zhang is Jiuzhou’s Marketing product palette plus have a look at their
be matched to the region. Vice Manager. He tells us something new IPTV and HbbTV boxes. Jiuzhou is
interesting regarding the European showing that even an old company can
For the R&D team it won’t be any market: “We will shortly start produc- stay young when they consistently take
problem to develop the necessary soft- tion on a hybrid box with DVB-S2 and on new challenges!

1

COMPANY REPORT Digital TV Meter Manufacturer Trimax, China

New Products
from Trimax  Shenzhen

• New from Trimax: HDTV Signal Analyzer
with HDTV Monitor
• Expansion into New Business Sectors
such as Fiber Optics
• Manufacturing on Their Own Since 2008

Trimax’s trademark is the easy-to-use explains Jerry Chu about the past,
signal analyzers with built-in monitors: “Before that I was a Sales Director at a
this lets the installer set up a satellite receiver manufacturer.”
system with ease and also lets him show
the customer a live satellite picture. And But he wanted to realize his own
as we all know, a picture is worth a thou- ideas and founded Trimax with his part-
sand words. ner. “Trimax stands for ‘try maximum’,
in other words, ‘always try your best’”,
Now Trimax is expanding their ana- comments Jerry Chu about the company
lyzer spectrum and is also offering name.
tuners for DVB-C and DVB-T; even CI+ is
in the works. We met up with Jerry Chu, Trimax was originally a dealer: “I
Trimax’s General Manager, at the head- looked for and found the manufacturers
quarters in Shenzhen to ﬁnd out more. in China while my partner in the USA,
“I founded Trimax in 2001 together with Tim Heinrichs, sold the products from
a partner: Tim Heinrichs in the USA”, those manufacturers.” Back then Trimax

■ Jerry Chu is General
Manager of the signal analyzer
manufacturer Trimax. Here
we see him in his ofﬁce in
Shenzhen, China.

1

TRIMAX Company Details
Signal Analyzer Manufacturer, China www.trimaxtec.com
Engineers in Research & Development | Total Number of Employees
▼ ▼
0................................ 25 .................................. 50
Average Turnover (Previous, This, Next Year Estimates)
▼
0.................................. 1 ..................... 2 Mio US$
focused on satellite receivers, LNBs and satellite signal ana-
Production Certificates
multiswitches. lyzer with a built- RoHS, FCC, DVB
Main Products
in monitor. More Signal Analyzer with built-in Monitor for DVB-S/S2, DVB-T and
In 2006 though, Jerry Chu had an employees were DVB-C

interesting experience: an old friend quickly added –
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/trimax.pdf
from the USA acquired an apartment in today Trimax has
Shenzhen and asked Jerry Chu to help 12 employees – and TELE-satellite World www.TELE-satellite.com/...

him install a satellite system so that he Trimax was able to Download this report in other languages from the Internet:
Arabic ‫ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/ara/trimax.pdf
could receive English-language program- deliver the first units
Indonesian Indonesia www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/bid/trimax.pdf
ming. Armed with a professional satellite in the same year. “It German Deutsch www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/deu/trimax.pdf
signal analyzer, Jerry Chu started the job was less than 1000 English English www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/trimax.pdf
of aligning the antenna. But frustration analyzers in 2007 Spanish Español www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/esp/trimax.pdf
soon set in; operating that professional but in 2008 we sold French Français www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/fra/trimax.pdf
Hebrew ‫עברית‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/heb/trimax.pdf
unit was too complicated. And suddenly more than 10,000
Chinese 中文 www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/man/trimax.pdf
a light bulb came on in his mind: “That’s units”, says Jerry Polish Polski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/pol/trimax.pdf
when I got the idea to develop an easy- Chu proudly regard- Portuguese Português www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/por/trimax.pdf
to-use signal analyzer and market it.” ing their initial suc- Russian Русский www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/rus/trimax.pdf
Turkish Türkçe www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/tur/trimax.pdf
cess, “Our best year
Available online starting from 28 January 2011
In 2007 Jerry Chu hired a software was 2009 when we
engineer who then developed the first sold 12,000 analyz-
ers.” the first two years, Jerry Chu started his
■ A first PCB production sample of Trimax’s own production in 2008: “20 employees
new HDTV signal analyzer: this sample
will soon lead to an HDTV analyzer with While the signal analyzers were pro- work there to produce the signal analyz-
swappable tuner on the international market. duced by an independent manufacturer ers.” Trimax only ships to distributors
but does manufacture for some pro-
viders as an OEM. “We sell 80% of our
signal analyzers under our own Trimax
brand name, the other 20% are OEM
shipments”, explains Jerry Chu.

The first signal analyzers in 2007
were simple DVB-S models but already
in 2008 they came out with models that
had software-generated spectrum ana-
lyzers. In 2009 a model with a real-time
spectrum analyzer was introduced and
for 2011 Jerry Chu told us, “We will be
introducing an HDTV model!” By the
time this issue of TELE-satellite is pub-
lished, the first HDTV models will have
already been delivered and with a swap-
pable tuner at that: “We offer a tuner for
every application – for DVB-S2, DVB-C
and DVB-T. The user can easily insert
and remove the tuner; the software
automatically recognizes the currently
inserted tuner.” This is an exciting devel-
opment; a TELE-satellite test report of
this analyzer will be forthcoming.

A CI+ version will also make its market
appearance shortly: “The software is
ready to go; we’re just waiting on a pro-
duction sample”, comments Jerry Chu.

But there’s more from Trimax:
“Recently we entered into a coopera-
tive agreement with the company Hill-
ton Optoelectronics whose headquarters
is located not too far away from us.”
Trimax is planning to offer optical prod-
ucts to CATV systems and cable opera-
tors, “since the future is fiber optics.”

But that’s still not all! In 2011 Trimax
will be starting a completely different


product division: formaldehyde analyz-
ers. “In the USA regulations require that
these values be measured”, he explains,
“We already have secured a large con-
tract from there.”

Jerry Chu and his partner are expand-
ing their company in two directions:
the building up of the signal analyzer
segment to include chemical measure-
ments and the expansion of their prod-
ucts in the direction of fiber optics. Both
of these business sectors are in their
infancy and are therefore perfect for a
young and energetic company. The two
partners are clearly honoring the mean-
ing of their company name!

■ William is President of Hillton Optoelectronics.
Trimax is cooperating with this company in
marketing fiber optic products. President
William is gesturing towards one of the
professional units for use with large cable
systems and tells us: “From 500 to roughly
10,000 households can be provided with a cable
system’s Triple Play service using this system.
Production costs not including installation are
under US$ 200.00 per connected household for
our system.”

■ Schematic of Hillton Optoelectronics‘ fiber
optic system. Trimax prepares a smaller version
of this system for use with smaller cable
systems.

1

COMPANY REPORT Receiver Manufacturer SKYWORTH, China

■ SKYWORTH’s futuristic
headquarters located directly
on Shennan Boulevard, the main
street that runs directly through
Shenzhen.

 Shenzhen

SKYWORTH
is Expanding
1

One of the larger receiver manufacturers in China is SKYWORTH. They’ve
consistently been in expansion mode and have managed to make a
phenomenal entrance into the South American marketplace in 2010: a large
contract with the government of Argentina involving 400,000 receivers for
the terrestrial ISDB-T standard resulted in SKYWORTH’s intense production
activity. “All these receivers have already been shipped”, we learn from Jack
Jiang, Sales Director of SKYWORTH’s receiver division. The company’s official
name is Shenzhen SKYWORTH Digital Technology Co., Ltd.


We met up with Jack Jiang in SKY- SD models and only 25% were DVB-S2 Brazil in 2009”, explains Jack Jiang, “in
WORTH’s futuristic headquarters located HD models.” It’s clear from these num- 2010 we shipped roughly 30,000 OEM
in Shenzhen’s High-Tech Park. He told bers that the market for HD receivers in receivers to our partner in Brazil.”
us of some of the companies additional this region hasn’t really picked up yet.
highlights: “Next to Europe, the Middle The remaining 5% were twin receivers. For 2011 SKYWORTH expects that
East including Turkey are large markets number to rise since more and more
for us”, he reveals, “we sold half a million Jack Jiang has more to tell us: “Up countries in South America are starting
receivers in this region in 2010 and we’re until now in the Middle East only Iran has regular service of terrestrial TV in the
actually expecting this number to double made DVB-T official; SKYWORTH delivers ISDB-T standard.
for 2011.” OEM DVB-T MPEG4 receivers to a local
partner in Iran.” Thousands of units have “We can offer three different models
There’s a reason for this optimism as already been shipped to Iran and SKY- for South America: a standard ISDB-T
can be seen by the type of receivers sold WORTH foresees a significant increase in box, a box with ISDB-T and the Middle-
there; the Middle East still has quite a bit these deliveries for 2011. ware Ginga - this allows access to inter-
of potential for HD receivers. According active programming content - as well as
to Jack Jiang, “70% of the receivers sold But let’s get back to South America. a combo box with ISDB-T and DVB-S2.”
in the Middle East in 2010 were DVB-S “We shipped our first ISDB-T receiver to SKYWORTH is quite capable of deliver-
1. Jack Jiang is SKYWORTH’s Sales Director

1 2. A look at the large open office area with
SKYWORTH’s software developers

SKYWORTH Company Details
OEM Receiver Manufacturer, China www.skyworth.com
▼ ▼
0............................ 1250 .............................. 2500
▼
0........................... 1.250 ................. 250 Mio US$

RoHS, CE, REACH, DVB
Main Products
Receiver for DVB-S/S2, DVB-T, ISDB-T with single, twin and
combo tuner, Receiver Sticks for USB, SCART in DVB-S and
HDMI in DVB-S2

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/skyworth.pdf

Arabic ‫ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/ara/skyworth.pdf
Indonesian Indonesia www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/bid/skyworth.pdf
German Deutsch www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/deu/skyworth.pdf
English English www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/skyworth.pdf
Spanish Español www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/esp/skyworth.pdf
French Français www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/fra/skyworth.pdf
Hebrew ‫עברית‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/heb/skyworth.pdf
Chinese 中文 www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/man/skyworth.pdf
Polish Polski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/pol/skyworth.pdf
Portuguese Português www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/por/skyworth.pdf
Russian Русский www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/rus/skyworth.pdf
Turkish Türkçe www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/tur/skyworth.pdf
2

1

ing receivers to this new and upcoming will be an especially interesting high- in SCART format and naturally in stan-
market! light from SKYWORTH: “We will be intro- dard definition - only the HDMI interface
ducing an HDMI stick to the market for is qualified to be used with HDTV. “And
As long as we’re on the subject, how DVB-S2 and of course with a PVR func- for the third quarter of 2011 we will also
does it look for new DVB products? Jack tion”, explains Jack Jiang. offer HbbTV”, comments Jack Jiang as
Jiang has the answers: “We recently he lists SKYWORTH’s new products.
started a DVB-S2 receiver with the HDTV SKYWORTH already has plenty of
variant CI+.” A test report on this new experience with receivers in stick format; Vice General Manager David Ken
receiver in TELE-satellite is forthcoming. in TELE-satellite’s issue 04-05/2010 has more information for us: “We have
By the time you read this issue, there we introduced a receiver stick - it was 2500 employees”, explains David Ken,
“of which 400 are engineers in the R&D
department.”
1
An important reason for SKYWORTH’s
success is their technical support. “Nine
engineers are in the technical support
department and are immediately there
to help our customers should there be a
problem with a receiver.”

1. Are there technical problems? Then all you
need to do is send an e-mail to SKYWORTH’s
technical support team. Here we see Rock
Cai; he is manager of the nine-engineer strong
technical support team. He gives us insight into
what kind of problems they see: “The hardware
typically functions error-free. When there are
problems, it’s usually with the software.” The
reason for this is that the software is always
being updated. “Most of the problems can be
corrected with a software upgrade”, explains
Rock Cai, who has succeeded thus far to track
down every problem.

2. SKYWORTH is currently introducing a
receiver with CI+. Gong Yangno, shown here,
is responsible for technical development. He
runs the CI+ software development team with 22
engineers.

2

1

In this case the customers aren’t SKYWORTH’s receivers, you can meet Hong Kong.” This provides many oppor-
the end users but rather the large dis- up with Vice General Manager David Ken tunities to take a much closer look at
tributors and trademarks that get their and Sales Director Jack Jiang at many SKYWORTH’s product line and to discuss
receivers from SKYWORTH as an OEM different trade shows.
delivery options.
supplier. For these companies it’s espe-
cially important that the receivers func- Jack Jiang lists the trade shows that
With their many innovative products
tion flawlessly since only then can they SKYWORTH will be part of in 2011: “We’ll
stay successful in the market. be at CABSAT in Dubai, SET in Sao Paulo, and their extensive technical know-how,
IFA in Berlin, ANGA in Cologne, IBC in SKYWORTH’s customers are in very
If you want to find out more about Amsterdam and at the Fall trade show in good hands!

1 4

1. Wong Wei is responsible for the South
American ISDB-T receiver’s software. He’s in
charge of four ISDB-T engineers.

2. Front panel of the South American ISDB-T
receiver

3. Rear panel of the South American ISDB-T
receiver

4.A TV monitor is used to test a SKYWORTH
ISDB-T receiver. Country selection can be seen
here in the menu which for this receiver is
SKYWORTH ISDB-T Receiver limited to South American countries that have
adopted the ISDB-T standard.

for South America

2

3


COMPANY REPORT PC Card Manufacturer Tenow, China

 Shenzhen

1

■ Tenow is in the process of
setting up new offices on the
second floor in this new office
complex in Shenzhen’s High-
Innovative PC Cards
from China
Tech Park. These offices will give
Tenow room to expand.

One company that is fully concentrated on the
development of their products is the young firm Tenow
from Shenzhen, China. PC cards are manufactured
although the actual production process is outsourced
allowing Tenow to focus their efforts on Development
and Marketing. Also interesting to note about Tenow:
the company is run by four partners and all four of them
work together as a team to further expand their young
company. Tenow is in the process of setting up a new
office in Shenzhen’s large High-Tech Park. When we paid
them a visit, we went to their old office located directly
next to the Shen Da Metro Station on route 1.

■ Tenow’s four partners: they
founded the company in 2005. From
left to right: Richard Zhang, Bob Liu,
Eric Deng and James Liu

Two of the founders, James Liu, Eric Deng, who is also involved with to become popular and they distributed
in charge of Marketing, and Bob Liu, Software Devlopment. All four of them DVB-T demodulator chips to local manu-
responsible for Software Development, founded the new company in 2005 facturers in Shenzhen.
met each other while studying at Wuhan using a starting capital of 500,000 RMB
University. The two other partners, both (roughly 50,000 Euros). Then, as a design house, Tenow devel-
of whom previously worked at a receiver oped complete applications for manu-
manufacturer, are Richard Zhang, in Tenow then operated as a commer- facturers. One success story involved
charge of Hardware Development, and cial enterprise: DVB-T was just starting DVB-T USB sticks: Tenow developed the


1

TENOW Company Details
PC Card Manufacturer, China www.tenower.com
2
▼ ▼
0................................ 12 .................................. 25
▼
0............................... 1.5 .....................3 Mio €uro

RoHS, DVB
Main Products
PC-Cards for DVB-S/S2, DVB-T/T2, DVB-C with single, dual and
quad tuner, CAM Box for DVB-S2, USB-Stick for DVB-S/S2, DVB-
C and ISDB-T

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/tenow.pdf

Arabic ‫ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/ara/tenow.pdf
Indonesian Indonesia www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/bid/tenow.pdf
German Deutsch www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/deu/tenow.pdf
English English www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/tenow.pdf
Spanish Español www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/esp/tenow.pdf
French Français www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/fra/tenow.pdf
Hebrew ‫עברית‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/heb/tenow.pdf
Chinese 中文 www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/man/tenow.pdf
Polish Polski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/pol/tenow.pdf
Portuguese Português www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/por/tenow.pdf
Russian Русский www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/rus/tenow.pdf
Turkish Türkçe www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/tur/tenow.pdf
Available online starting from 28 January 2011 3

application which was then acquired by card in 2009 which was introduced by 1. Irene Jiang is responsible for International
a local manufacturer who then marketed TELE-satellite in the 12-01/2011 issue. Sales
the completed sticks. But now it’s 2011 and the four partners 2. Susanna Zhao is responsible for International
are really giving it all they’ve got: by the Sales. She speaks English and German
That was actually the trigger that com- time this issue reaches your hands, there
3. Lucky Lu is a Software Engineer. She is
pelled the four founders to reorganize will be a firestorm of innovative new PC currently working on an application for DVB-T2
their business model: instead of design- cards as well as boxes that can be con-
ing solutions for other manufacturers nected to a laptop: DXers will appear in the third quarter of
who then ended up profiting from the 2011:
sales, the four partners decided to take - a CAM Box in DVB-S2 with the
their designs and manufacture and dis- ST0903 chip - a PCIe Card with 4 x DVB-S2 and
tribute them themselves. - a PCIe Card with 4 x DVB-S2 with the NXP 10074 chip
the CX24117 chip
For Tenow though, the DVB-T stick was - a PCIe Card with 1 x DVB-T2 with a It’s special because this chip permits
old news; the prices for this product seg- Samsung tuner Blindscanning! Bob Liu, in charge of Soft-
ment were already too low to continue - a PCIe Card with 2 x DVB-T2 ware Development, reveals a few other
with that product. A new idea had to - a professional PCIe Card with the features to us regarding Blindscan: “Our
be found; it didn’t take long: a PCI card ST0900 chip supporting VCM/ACM/CCM CAM box with the ST0903 chip comes
for DVB-S that was marketed under the and multi-stream-input with the Blindscan function as does our
brand name Tenow at the end of 2006. data card with the ST0900 chip.” But for
The second quarter of 2011 should see feed hunters and satellite Dxers it’s the
Then each year after that it was some- other highlights: card with the NXP 10074 chip that brings
thing new: in 2007 there was the new with it the long-awaited all-around solu-
DVB-S2 PCI card and then in 2008 the - a double PCIe- Card with 2 x DVB-S2 tion to Blindscanning.
time was right for cards with a PCI and 2 x CI
Express slot. The first of those was a Software Developer Eric Deng explains
DVB-S2 card followed by a dual DVB-S2 An especially tasty treat for satellite a few more features to us: “Our target

1

Inside Europe, 40% of sales each go to
Germany and England with the remain-
ing 20% going to countries like Poland,
France, Italy and Sweden.”

Marketing Manager James Liu has
something else for us: “We’re in the
process of setting up a branch office in
Sophia, Bulgaria. We would then have
direct access to Europe making product
distribution much easier.”

This new branch office would not
only be a storage warehouse but also
a sales office for Europe from which
Tenow could support their customers in
Europe. Equally important according to
Bob Liu, “We would also use the Sophia
office as a test center for our PC cards.
We could then check the performance
of our cards on actual satellite signals.”
1 The branch office in Bulgaria is set up for

1. Steven Liu is also a software engineer and is
working on a DVB-S2 application

2. Tenow has outsourced the actual production
process but they still perform quality control
on the finished product: here we see engineer
Zhang testing product samples.

group for the 4 x DVB-S2 cards are actu-
ally the IPTV providers. They require
simultaneous reception from as many
sources as possible. At the same time
our data card with the ST0900 chip tar-
gets the professional market; it supports
CCM, ACM, VCM and multi-stream input
- a requirement for professional satellite
data download applications.” With these
new products, that currently are or soon
will be appearing on the market, Tenow
is clearly covering every possible appli-
cation. But now we want to get an idea of
how Tenow performed at the start.

Marketing Manager James Liu gives us
some insight: “In our first year in 2005
we were just able to cover our expenses.
We already began to show a profit in
2
2006: we managed sales of 5 million
RMB (about 500,000 Euros).” In 2010
sales reached 20 million RMB (about 2 of additional room so that Tenow could five employees; three would be from the
million Euros). “For 2011 we are expect- expand to 40 employees. local region while the other two would be
ing sales of about 30 million RMB (or 3 for software and hardware developers
million Euros).” If you take a closer look at Tenow’s from the main office in Shenzhen.
product palette, you might notice that
Software developer Bob Liu highlights they are focusing on DVB-S2 and DVB- This young team has managed to write
their employee numbers over the years: T2. Hardware engineer Richard Zhang an impressive success story in just a
“In 2005 it was just the four founders, in confirms this: “DVB-C doesn’t play a few years. With self-developed applica-
2006 we added two employees and now very big role; the sales numbers are tions and above all a focus on innova-
in 2010 we have 18 employees.” This rather low.” tive products, that is products that don’t
includes four software engineers, four yet exist, Tenow should have no trouble
hardware engineers, three sales man- Irene Jiang, responsible for interna- expanding its reach in the marketplace.
agers, one in accounting and three in tional sales, expands on this: “80% of
administration. our sales are in Europe, 15% go to the Tenow is a private company and it’s
Middle East and the remaining 5% to the remarkable how these four partners
In their new office there will be plenty rest of the world such as North America. have managed to work so close together

1

over the years expanding and growing their
company and this not only in terms of prod-
uct development but also in the conquest of
new markets.

If you want to meet the Tenow four,
simply take a trip to the upcoming ANGA
show in Cologne, Germany: there they’ll be
introducing their newest products as well as
be open to meetings with new dealers and
distributors for their products.

Tenow is an excellent example of a com-
pany that knows how to develop exactly 2
those products that the market is looking
for. The trick is not showing up too late
with a product when price reductions have
already begun to take place, but rather to
market a product at a point when demand is
just beginning.

Tenow’s Newest Products
1. For connection to a laptop: a DVB-S2 CAM box
with USB. It would let you watch PayTV channels on
your laptop.

2. IPTV providers in particular are waiting for this 3
card: it offers 4 x DVB-S2; four channels can be
received at the same time from up to four different
satellites.

3. One card for DVB-T2 reception with in/out IEC
jacks

4. A professional card for data reception. These 4
would be preferred by satellite data download
providers.

5. With this Samsung tuner two (!) DVB-T2 channels
can be received at the same time

5

1

1

COMPANY REPORT OEM Receiver Manufacturer Globalsat, China

Millions of Receivers
from Globalsat
• GLOBALSAT opens a new production facility

in Zhuhai (west of Shenzhen)
• Production capacity of up to 8 million units per year
• More than 100 engineers in R&D
• New multimedia receiver in 2nd quarter of 2011
• Distribution of their own brand name by 2012
• Sales numbers expected to double in 2011

With a new production facility that duction facility will be able to handle
will just be starting operations when a maximum of eight million receiv-
this issue of TELE-satellite hits the ers every year. We met up with Alvin
newsstands, Globalsat in China is Sun, Globalsat’s Sales and Market-
launching a new offensive in 2011 ing Director, in their current office
in the manufacturing of high-quality in Shenzhen to learn more about
receivers; and this includes boxes what’s going.
for satellite TV, terrestrial TV and
IPTV. The export of these boxes to Globalsat was founded in 2004
Europe and America tops the list for by Mike Miao together with a team
this expansion. of investors and partners includ-
ing Sales Manager Alvin Sun, R&D
To accomplish this, Globalsat is Hardware Manager Ian Wu and
planning on doubling their produc- R&D Software Manager Bean Zhou.
tion capacity from the current four In their first year 210,000 units
million boxes per year: the new pro- were produced and were delivered

1

 Shenzhen

■ This is the China Youse building
on Shennan Boulevard, the
main street that runs directly
through Shenzhen on which many
manufacturers in the digital TV
sector have their headquarters.


as OEM boxes primarily to the Middle balsat also set up a sales team for Aus- tions for almost every chip maker includ-
East. Up until 2008, the Middle East tralia for the DVB-T receiver business ing NXP/CONEXANT, BROADCOM, ST,
was their primary target market but there. Globalsat more than anything is a FUJITSU, NATIONAL CHIP and SUNPLUS.
then the company set up a sales team design ﬁrm. All four founders were pre-
for Europe. “Back then we concentrated viously employed with similar receiver Globalsat is an OEM manufacturer that
our efforts mostly on Germany, England, companies in the past. In the beginning produces boxes for local distributors and
Italy, Turkey as well as Russia and the in 2004, there were six employees; in name brands. The Operator business,
Ukraine’, says Alvin Sun, “We sold OEM 2005 that number increased to 20 and that is, boxes for programming provid-
satellite and DVB-T receivers to local dis- by 2010 there were 200 employees. Alvin ers, was up until now not really part
tributors.” Sun comments, “Half of our workforce, of their business strategy. That will be
100 engineers in all, work in the Devel- changing. “We already have the licenses
Another region was added in 2009: opment Department.” Their far-reaching for Conax, Crypton and XCrypt and are
the incorporation of the terrestrial TV expertise in software can be seen in working on acquiring the licenses for
standard ISDB-T in Brazil opened up the impressive number of cooperative Nagra, Irdeto and NDS”, explains Alvin
this enormous market to Globalsat. Glo- agreements: Globalsat designs applica- Sun. Globalsat already has the licenses

■ Mike Miao is Globalsat’s founder. He develops the company’s strategy and is GLOBALSAT Company Details
consistently involved in driving the company forward. He managed in just the Receiver Mass Manufacturer, China www.globalsatdvb.com
few years that the company has been in existence to elevate it into the league of Engineers in Research & Development | Total Number of Employees
million-unit manufacturers and is now determined to raise it to the upper-most ▼ ▼
0.............................. 125 ................................ 250
level of high-quality manufacturers. Average Turnover (Previous, This, Next Year Estimates)
▼
0................................ 75 ................. 150 Mio US$

RoHS, FCC, UL, CE, DVB, ISO
Main Products
Receiver for HDTV and SDTV in DVB-S/S2, DVB-T, DVB-C, ISDB-
T, HD+, CI+ and HbbTV, Multimedia Receiver, IPTV Boxes, Media
Player

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/globalsat.pdf

Arabic ‫ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/ara/globalsat.pdf
Indonesian Indonesia www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/bid/globalsat.pdf
German Deutsch www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/deu/globalsat.pdf
English English www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/globalsat.pdf
Spanish Español www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/esp/globalsat.pdf
French Français www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/fra/globalsat.pdf
Hebrew ‫עברית‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/heb/globalsat.pdf
Chinese 中文 www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/man/globalsat.pdf
Polish Polski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/pol/globalsat.pdf
Portuguese Português www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/por/globalsat.pdf
Russian Русский www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/rus/globalsat.pdf
Turkish Türkçe www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/tur/globalsat.pdf

1

for HDMI, CI+, Macrovision, Dolby and
WMV; soon DTS and DiVX will be added
to the list. This makes Globalsat fully
prepared to manufacture for all of these
markets. Alvin Sun expands on this: “In
2010 we shipped less than 5% of our
products to programming providers;
in 2011 we expect that to increase to
15%.”

President Mike Miao gave us some
insight into their long-term strategy:
“Thus far we outsourced our production
but with our own manufacturing facility
we’ll be able to offer even better qual-
ity products as well as comply with all
the different standards.” This involves
mostly the RoHS and ISO standards and
the safety standards of the FCC, UL and
CE. Once the production facility is fully
operational, expected to be around mid
2011, Globalsat will be able to guaran-
tee all the standards placing them in the
elite circle of high-quality manufactur-
ers. Sales, which for 2010 were around
80 million US dollars, are expected to
nearly double thanks to the new produc- ■ Alvin Sun is Globalsat’s Sales and Marketing Director and one of the founding partners. Here he is
tion facility. “We’re expecting sales of showing us a model of a 3D TV that is currently being distributed domestically under their own label
SVC. He can easily imagine this product eventually being exported but for the time being Globalsat
around 150 million USD in 2011”, pre- is concentrating on exporting their HD and multimedia receiver products that are manufactured in
dicts Mike Miao. their own facility. Globalsat also manufactures LED and LCD TVs for the domestic market.

■ Sharon Yan is at the
reception desk and greets
visitors with a smile.

1

Globalsat will continue its position as
an OEM manufacturer. Don’t waste your
time looking for receivers with the Glo-
balsat logo. “Maybe in 2012 we’ll start
with receivers under our own brand
name”, reveals Sales and Marketing
Director Alvin Sun to us.

Domestically, Globalsat has been very
successful with the brand name SVC:
TV sets are produced under this name.
A completely new ﬁeld involves 3D TVs;
Alvin Sun believes that it won’t be too
long before they are offered interna-
tionally. For now, Globalsat only exports
receivers: “In 2010 we exported 70% SD
receivers and 30% HD boxes.” In 2011
this ratio will substantially change with
their new production facility: “The por-
tion of HD receivers should increase to
more than 50%.”

Globalsat even has a Super Receiver in
development. It should become available
in the second quarter of 2011 and will
come with a twin tuner for DVB-S2, an
IPTV receiver section, web browser and
most notably 3D graphics plus games
as well as WiFi support and of course a
PVR. The latter feature comes with the
option to record the original signal. This
makes this box compatible with HD+ and
CI+; HbbTV is also being worked on. The
TELE-satellite test team can’t wait to get
their hands on a sample receiver so that
we can introduce it to you as soon as
possible.

The sales team provided us with some
■ Josie Yang is Globalsat’s numbers highlighting geographical distri-
Marketing Manager. She is standing bution. In 2010 70% of all shipments still
here in front of a display wall
with a selection of OEM products
went to the Middle East with 15% going
manufactured by Globalsat. to Europe and the Americas. In 2011 a

1

■ It’s not quite ready yet but it won’t be long
substantial shift will be seen here: the The reason for this is the startup of their before this production facility kicks into high
Middle East, which has been their pri- own factory that will be used to manu- gear. Administration will also move into this
building which is located in Zhuhai, west of
mary target market since the founding facture highquality products for the Shenzhen opposite Macao.
of the company, will be further reduced European and North American markets
to 50% while Europe will climb to 30%, thus greatly expanding their position in manufacturing inexpensive boxes for the
South America will be around 15% with the OEM market. Middle East has been replaced by the
North America receiving the remaining start of a high-quality production line:
5%. For South America it will be mostly You’ll find Globalsat at almost every now with high-quality products the Euro-
ISDB-T receivers and in North America appropriate trade show. Marketing Man- pean and North American markets are in
Globalsat will be focusing on IPTV and ager Josie Yang gives us an overview: focus. The company Globalsat is in the
media players. “For 2011 Globalsat will be at CES, CSTB, process of taking the next step in their
CABSAT, CCBN, ANGA, SET, IBC as well development: they are moving from a
Globalsat has set some lofty goals for as the two KDTC shows in the Spring and manufacturer of inexpensive boxes to
themselves in 2011: “We’re planning in the Fall.” one of high-quality products that come
on production of seven to eight million with all the features that are expected by
receivers as well as 500,000 TV sets and Globalsat is clearly on an expansion today’s customers. It’s a very forward-
20,000 signal analyzers”, lists Alvin Sun. course. The original business plan of looking strategy!

■ One of the many new products by Globalsat: an ISDB-T + DVB-S2 HD Combo, model name IS1-19HD. Some technical specifications: ISDB-T Compliant
(MPEG-II/ MPEG-IV/ H.264), DVB-S/S2 Compliant (MPEG-II/ MPEG-IV/ H.264), SCPC & MCPC receivable from Ku and C band satellites, Universal, Single,
Single Ku & C Band Wideband LNB compatible, Sensitive Tuner with Loop-Through, DiSEq C 1.0/1.1/1.2/1.3(USALS), SCR Support, PAL/SECAM/NTSC,
Blind Search, variable aspect ratio (4:3, 16:9) with PAN&SCAN, CE, FCC, DTV compliant, supports Closed Caption (CC) function, optional Conditional
Access (e.g. Conax) embedded. This Combo model is for the Brazilian market, but a European model with DVB-T plus DVB-S2 HD has been launched
simultaneously.


1

2

3

Hardware Design at Globalsat
1. Ian Wu is in charge of the Hardware R&D team. He is also one of Globalsat’s
founding partners and runs a team of 22 engineers.

2. The hardware for Globalsat’s boxes is designed here.

3. Sample units are manually assembled and checked out here to see if they can be
produced that way.

4. These two employees solder sample circuit boards together for the sample units.
4 In this way the theoretical units designed by the engineers can be tested in practice
before they go into production.

1

1 2

3 4

Globalsat Sales Team
1. Anna Zhang is the sales team leader for northern and eastern
Europe

2. Belinda Bi is in charge of the sales team for southern and western
Europe as well as for Australia.

3. Ryan Wang is the sales team leader for OEM customers in North
and South America.

4. The Middle Eastern team leader is Fenny Ji

5 5. A look at the sales team: the orders from the OEM customers are
handled by four teams that may each consist of up to four employees.

1

1

2

1. The design team: not only is the packaging for their
products fashioned here, but also the front panel as well as
the rear panel of the boxes. Even the chassis’ are designed
here.

2. Production samples are tested here. Five engineers work
here to identify production ﬂaws as quickly as possible.
3 3. The accounting team: customer invoices are prepared
here.

1

COMPANY REPORT Receiver Manufacturer Sowell, China

Sowell, an Engineering Firm
that’s an OEM
• Founded by 5 Partners
• ISDB-T and DVB-T2 Receiver in 2011
• Overseas Offices in the Plan
 Shenzhen

• User Friendliness is Company
Philosophy
A team of five R&D engineers are the felt the same way and so in
founders of the OEM company Sowell. 2004 they founded their own
The driving force and General Manager company Sowell.
of the young company is Eagle Chain.
He was, like his four colleagues, an R&D We met up with General Man-
employee with a large receiver manufac- ager Eagle Chain in Sowell’s office
turer but over time didn’t feel so comfort- in Shenzhen who started off by telling
able with that company. All too often he us how it all began: “All we had was the Sowell’s■
offices with
was assigned projects that had nothing money we had saved while employed their 70 employees
to do with receivers. His four colleagues with that other company. We pooled are located on the seventh
floor of this office building in
Shenzhen. Receiver production
takes place in Baoan which isn’t
too far from here and close to
Shenzhen’s airport. 200 employees
work in the production facility.
200,000 receivers per month can be
produced by one shift; if all three
shifts are used, receiver
production climbs to
more than 500,000
boxes a month.

■ General Manager Eagle Chain working in his office in front of a
painting of the Great Wall.

1

SOWELL Company Details
OEM Receiver Manufacturer, China www.sowell-tech.com
▼ ▼
0................................ 50 ................................ 100
▼
0................................ 25 ................... 50 Mio US$

DVB
Main Products
Receiver for DVB-S/S2, DVB-T/T2, DVB-C and ISDB-T, Receivers
with 3D graphics

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/sowell.pdf

Arabic ‫ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/ara/sowell.pdf
Indonesian Indonesia www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/bid/sowell.pdf
German Deutsch www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/deu/sowell.pdf
English English www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/sowell.pdf
Spanish Español www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/esp/sowell.pdf
French Français www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/fra/sowell.pdf
Hebrew ‫עברית‬ www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/heb/sowell.pdf
Chinese 中文 www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/man/sowell.pdf
Polish Polski www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/pol/sowell.pdf
Portuguese Português www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/por/sowell.pdf
Russian Русский www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/rus/sowell.pdf
Turkish Türkçe www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/tur/sowell.pdf ■ Receptionist Lisa
provides a friendly But what’s the situation with ISDB-T?
greeting to all visitors.
Pan Smile tells us, “In the second quarter
all of our money together and came up to Europe and 5% to Southeast Asia. of 2011 we’ll be coming out with a combo
with about US$ 70,000 which we used as “2011 will bring with it even more sig- receiver with DVB-S2 and ISDB-T built on
starting capital.” The company’s name nificant changes; we will start exporting the Mstar 782X chip family.”
in Chinese is actually Shi Wei; from that to Eastern Europe and above all to South
came the anglicized version Siwei and so America.” But Sowell isn’t just concentrating on
that it would sound better in English, the the South American market; Europe is
name became Sowell. “That name actu- Wait, did she just say ‘South America’? just as much in focus: “In the third quar-
ally matches our company philosophy”, That could only be ISDB-T receivers! This ter we’ll be introducing a combo receiver
comments Eagle Chain, “we want to do led us to Pan Smile. He is one of Sowell’s with DVB-S2 and DVB-T2 based on the
everything ‘so well’.” five founding partners and is not only Mstar 785X chip family which is also
Vice General Manager but is also first and Linux compatible.” For the fourth quarter
The five partners originally founded foremost the Director of the Research they’re planning on a multimedia unit: “It
Sowell as a software designing firm. “It and Development team. Oh, and inciden- will be based on the new Trident Apollo
took us only five months before we were tally, he’s also Production Manager. He series chips with which the OSD can for
able to sell our first software to a manu- gives us the latest Sowell product news. the first time be presented in 3D.” Since
facturer”, remembers Eagle Chain, “At it will be a multimedia receiver, it won’t
that time it was a software solution for Up until now Sowell’s success prod- necessarily be just the OSD in 3D; but
the Conexant chip.” uct has been a receiver series based on games can be presented in 3D as can
the ST7101 chip. The product palette other applications that work with 3D
But the days as a simple software pro- includes a DVB-S2 receiver as well as graphics.
vider lasted only a few years: Sowell two combo variants: a DVB-S2 + C and a
started their own receiver production DVB-S2 + T. The newest receiver series If you take a closer look at Sowell’s
in 2006. Back then they manufactured is based on the NXP chipset and is intro- product development, you’ll realize that
DVB-S receivers for the Middle Eastern duced by Sowell in their TELE-satellite the company is very close to the cus-
market. Sales Director Amanda gives us ad. “The advantage of the NXP chip is tomer: there’s ISDB-T in South America
some more details: “Up until 2009 we that it’s not only more economical but as well as DVB-T and 3D in Europe –
delivered most of our products to the also sports additional features such as these are segments that will very soon
Middle East but in 2010 that began to multimedia and is also compatible with become the talk of the town.
change.” Geographical product distribu- Linux”, reveals Pan Smile the reason for
tion was 80% to the Middle East, 15% switching chips. If you’re that close to reality, a great

1

deal of thought must go into what fea-
tures are currently in demand. In talking
with Eagle Chain it’s clear that quite a
bit of observation and analysis is going
on. Eagle Chain cites an example: “I’m
amazed with Apple and their products.
They are precisely geared towards the
end-user and thus very successful.” The
conclusion according to Eagle Chain:
“We have a similar view with our soft-
ware development, namely a customer-
friendly operation of our products.” It is
exactly for this reason that Eagle Chain
is skeptical about how IPTV will develop;
for TELE-satellite though, it’s a subject
that is being approached very ecstati-
cally: “The large telecom providers all
have their own agenda and that is selling
their data packages to end-users; they
are focused solely on that concept.” He
1
doesn’t see that the user’s point of view
is considered regarding IPTV and wishes
there’d be an approach similar to that
of Apple: following a path based strictly
on the end user without looking back at
what the provider wants.

Sowell’s General Manager Eagle Chain
isn’t just thinking about the further
development of IPTV. The general future
of the receiver is also on his mind. “Will
the receiver transform into a multimedia
receiver in the future”, asks Eagle Chain,
“or will the receiver’s functions gradually
shift over to the TV itself?” It’s a ques-
tion that’s on all of our minds and for
which we all don’t yet have an answer.

But even if there aren’t any answers,
everyone at Sowell is still optimistic
about the future. Pan Smile revealed to
us that his current team of 40 engineers
2
will be expanded to 80 in 2011. “We also
employ ﬁve engineers from Europe here
in Shenzhen who are primarily respon-
sible for customer support”, comments
Pan Smile. Sales Director Amanda is
also optimistic: “Over the past several
years we were able to increase our sales
50% every year. In 2010 our sales were
around US$ 30 million and for 2011 we
expect that to rise to US$ 45 million.”
General Manager Eagle Chain added
some more optimism: “In 2011 we are
planning to open our own ofﬁces in Sao

1. Sun Guanghua is also a Software Engineer
and a founding partner.

2. Software engineer Peng Yi is one of Sowell’s
founding partners.

3. What magazine is laying there on Designer
Zoe Lee’s desk? Yes, she takes care of Sowell’s
ads in TELE-satellite. She also works on the
graphical layout of a receiver’s OSD as well as
the packaging, user manual and everything else 3
at Sowell that involves graphics.

1

Paulo for the South American market, in
Dubai for the Middle Eastern market and
in Europe – most likely in Germany – for
the western and eastern European mar-
kets.”

The young company Sowell, founded
more out of necessity rather than a con-
scious decision, has maybe because of
this developed itself extremely fast and
dynamically. The five partners are fix-
ated on the success of their company
and immediately invest any profits back
into the company. That’s why Sowell is
growing so fast. “We are currently look-
ing for a new and larger office here in
Shenzhen”, revealed Eagle Chain just
before we left. Sowell: a company firmly
on an expansion course that does every-
thing ‘so well’.

Sowell’s Sales Team 1

2

1. Sowell’s Sales Director Amanda. You’ll run
into her at trade shows such as CABSAT in
Dubai. She says, “All of our managerial staff
have many years of experience in this area
because they all previously worked successfully
in this sector with other companies.”

2. The customer is taken care of here in the
Sales Team. For every region there’s one
responsible employee.

3. Always busy: Roger Xu is responsible for the
3
European Sales Team.

1

Research & Development
4 at Sowell 7

5

4. Pan Smile is not only one of Sowell’s
founders and partners, he is also Vice General
Manager. But above all else he’s in charge of the
R&D team and is also a Production Manager on
the side.

5. Sowell’s software engineers work here.

6. Six test engineers check out the software
here in the Test Center. Liu Xiongzi is seen here
testing the functions of a receiver’s OSD.

7. Even the hardware has to be tested. Six
engineers work in the Hardware Test Center.
Satellite antennas are also available here; one
is pointed to AGILA at 146E, another is aligned
to TELSTAR at 138E with a third one pointing to
CHINASAT at 115E.
6


COMPANIES OVERVIEW Best Digital TV Companies of the World

DISHPOINTER

 EESHOP
HORIZON 
 WORLDWIDE SATELLITE
GLOBAL INVACOM   SMARTINNOVATIONS

SEATEL   CLARK  SATSHOP24
 SATBEAMS

BEST DIGITAL TV
COMPANIES in
W EUROPE

SATSHOP24 SATBEAMS
Satellite Shop, Germany Software Programming, Belgium www.satbeams.com

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1101/eng/satshop24.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1011/eng/satbeams.pdf

SMARTINNOVATIONS GLOBALINVACOM
Satellite Distributor, Netherlands Fibre Optic Products, UK www.globalinvacom.com

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1009/eng/globalinvacom.pdf
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1011/eng/smartinnovations.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1005/eng/globalinvacom.pdf

1 – Operator Market Qualiﬁed

EESHOP DISHPOINTER
Satellite Shop, Netherlands Software Programming, UK www.dishpointer.com

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1005/eng/eeshop.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0803/eng/dishpointer.pdf

WORLDWIDE SATELLITE SEATEL
Satellite Shop, Netherlands Maritime 3-Axis Dish Manufacture, UK www.cobham.com

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0903/eng/worldwidesatellite.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0803/eng/seatel.pdf

CLARK HORIZON
Distributor, Netherlands Manufacturer of Measuring Instruments, UK www.horizonhge.com

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0811/eng/clark.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0801/eng/horizon.pdf
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0701/eng/horizon.pdf

– Operator Market Qualiﬁed www.TELE-satellite.com — 02-03/201 — TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine
1 113


 SMARTWI

 TECHNISAT
DOEBIS   NANOXX
GOLDEN MEDIA   MEDIA BROADCAST
SMART   SPAUN POWER
GT SAT   SPAUN

BEST DIGITAL TV
COMPANIES in
N EUROPE
DOEBIS SMARTWI
Satellite Wholesaler, Germany www.doebis.de Wireless Card Reader Producer, Denmark www.smartwi.net

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1011/eng/doebis.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1011/eng/smartwi.pdf
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0709/eng/smartwi.pdf

SPAUN POWER GOLDEN MEDIA
Power Supply Manufacturer, Germany www.spaun.com Manufacturer and Distributor, Germany www.cynextra.com

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1011/eng/spaun.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1009/eng/goldenmedia.pdf


MEDIA BROADCAST SPAUN
Broadcasting Services, Germany High Quality Accessory Manufacturer, Germany www.spaun.com

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1009/eng/mediabroadcast.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0811/eng/spaun.pdf

SMART GT SAT
Receiver Manufacturer, Germany LNB Distributor, Luxembourg

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0901/eng/smart.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0805/eng/gtsat.pdf

NANOXX TECHNISAT
Wholesaler and Receiver Manufacturer, Germany TV Manufacturer, Germany

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0901/eng/nanoxx.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0709/eng/technisat.pdf

1 115


 NETUP

AB IPBOX 
 ABC BIZNIS

 STAB

AZBOX 
 PROMAX
 ANTECH

BEST DIGITAL TV  PULSTAR

COMPANIES in
 MENNYFIX

S/E EUROPE
NETUP Company Details
IPTV Software and Hardware Producer, Russia www.netup.tv
▼ ▼
0................................ 25 ...................................50
▼
0.................................. 5 ................... 10 Mio US$

ISO, RoHS, PCI SIG, IEEE, DVB
Production Categories
OEM, ODM
Main Products
Professional PC Cards for DVB-S/S2, DVB-T/MPEG-4, DVB-C,
ASI, IPTV Gateway/Streamer, IPTV Middleware, IPTV Conditional
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1101/eng/netup.pdf Access Systems, IPTV Billing Systems, Video on Demand

AB IPBOX AZBOX
Satellite Receiver Manufacturer, Slovakia www.abipbox.com Satellite Receiver Manufacturer, Portugal www.azbox.com

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1009/eng/abipbox.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1001/eng/azbox.pdf


PULSTAR MENNYFIX
Satellite Installer, Spain Satellite Shop, Spain

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0911/eng/pulstar.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0903/eng/mennyﬁx.pdf

PROMAX ANTECH
Accessory Manufacturer, Spain Uplink Technology, Italy

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0909/eng/promax.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0809/eng/antech.pdf

ABC BIZNIS STAB
Satellite Receiver Manufacturer, Slovakia www.abcbiznis.sk Antenna Motor Manufacturer, Italy

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0903/eng/abcbiznis.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0809/eng/stab.pdf

1 117


 ATLANTA
 YAHYA
 COMINTOUCH

BEST DIGITAL TV
 ECHOLINK

COMPANIES in
MIDDLE EAST

ATLANTA ECHOLINK
Satellite Wholesaler, UAE Satellite Wholesaler, UAE

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/eng/atlanta.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/eng/echolink.pdf

COMINTOUCH YAHYA
Satellite Wholesaler, UAE Software Programming, KSA

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/eng/comintouch.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0911/eng/yahya.pdf


Best Digital TV Companies of the World COMPANIES OVERVIEW

BEST DIGITAL TV
COMPANIES in



SQUARE PLAN
SAMMEG
CNBC
AFRICA
 TELEMEDIA

SQUARE PLAN CNBC
Satellite Dealer, South Africa Satellite Channel, South Africa

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0811/eng/squareplan.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0709/eng/cnbc.pdf

SAMMEG TELEMEDIA
Satellite Wholesaler, South Africa Satellite Uplink, South Africa

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0801/eng/sammeg.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0709/eng/telemedia.pdf

1 119


YONGSAN   TOPFIELD
NASA CNS   ARION
 SEKISAT

 INFOSAT
 FASHION TV

BEST DIGITAL TV
COMPANIES in
 CISS

ASIA
 SUBUR SEMESTA

CISS TOPFIELD
Satellite Wholesaler, Singapore High-End Receiver Manufacturer, Korea

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/eng/singapore.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0905/eng/topﬁeld.pdf
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0801/eng/topﬁeld.pdf

INFOSAT ARION
Dish Manufacturer, Thailand www.infosats.com High Quality Receiver Manufacturer, Korea

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0907/eng/infosat.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0903/eng/arion.pdf


OPERATOR MARKET Qualified NASA CNS
Classification for Best Digital TV Companies Satellite Wholesaler, Korea

Attributes of Qualified Company:
■ High Production Volume ■ Quality Controlled
■ Customized Product Case ■ Customized Product Software
■ Aftersale Service
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0805/eng/nasacns.pdf

FASHION TV SUBUR SEMESTA
Satellite Channel, Thailand Dish Manufacturer, Indonesia

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0811/eng/fashiontv.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0805/eng/subursemesta.pdf

YONGSAN SEKISAT
Satellite Shop, Korea Satellite Wholesaler, Korea

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0807/eng/koreasatshop.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0801/eng/sekisat.pdf

1 121


 SHALOM

 CHANGHONG
 YINHE
 SVEC

BEST DIGITAL TV
 SKYWORTH  BOXSAM

COMPANIES in MOTECK 
 TEVII

CHINA
AZURESHINE 

TEVII Company Details
PC Card & Receiver Manufacturer, Taiwan www.tevii.com
▼ ▼
0................................ 25 ...................................50
▼
0............................... 2.5 ..................... 5 Mio US$

RoHS
Production Categories
OEM, ODM
Main Products
PC Cards for DVB-S/S2 and DVB-T/MPEG-4, Boxes for DVB-S/S2,
DVB-T/MPEG-4, PC Sticks for DVB-S/S2
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1101/eng/tevii.pdf

BOXSAM YINHE
Receiver Manufacturer, China www.boxsam.com High Volume Receiver Manufacturer, China www.yinhe.com

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1009/eng/boxsam.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/eng/yinhe.pdf


SVEC AZURESHINE
Professional Dish Manufacturer, China www.svec.com.cn Professional Dish Manufacturer, Taiwan www.azureshine.com.tw

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1003/eng/svec.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0707/eng/azureshine.pdf

CHANGHONG MOTECK
Receiver and TV Manufacturer, China Antenna Motor Manufacturer, Taiwan www.moteck.com

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1003/eng/changhong.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0707/eng/moteck.pdf

SHALOM OPERATOR MARKET Qualified
Satellite Installer, China Classification for Best Digital TV Companies

Attributes of Qualified Company:
■ High Production Volume ■ Quality Controlled
■ Customized Product Case ■ Customized Product Software
■ Aftersale Service
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0911/eng/shalom.pdf

1 123


TENOW   GLOBALSAT
SKYWORTH   TRIMAX
 SOWELL

BEST DIGITAL TV
COMPANIES in
S CHINA

TENOW Company Details
PC Card Manufacturer, China www.tenower.com
▼ ▼
0................................ 12 ...................................25
▼
0............................... 1.5 .....................3 Mio €uro

RoHS, DVB
Main Products
PC-Cards for DVB-S/S2, DVB-T/T2, DVB-C with single, dual and
quad tuner, CAM Box for DVB-S2, USB-Stick for DVB-S/S2, DVB-
C and ISDB-T

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/tenow.pdf

SKYWORTH Company Details
OEM Receiver Manufacturer, China www.skyworth.com
▼ ▼
0............................ 1250 ...............................2500
▼
0........................... 1.250 ................. 250 Mio US$

RoHS, CE, REACH, DVB
Main Products
Receiver for DVB-S/S2, DVB-T, ISDB-T with single, twin and
combo tuner, Receiver Sticks for USB, SCART in DVB-S and
HDMI in DVB-S2



GLOBALSAT Company Details
Receiver Mass Manufacturer, China www.globalsatdvb.com
▼ ▼
0.............................. 125 .................................250
▼
0................................ 75 ................. 150 Mio US$

RoHS, FCC, UL, CE, DVB, ISO
Main Products
Receiver for HDTV and SDTV in DVB-S/S2, DVB-T, DVB-C, ISDB-
T, HD+, CI+ and HbbTV, Multimedia Receiver, IPTV Boxes, Media
Player

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/globalsat.pdf

TRIMAX Company Details
Signal Analyzer Manufacturer, China www.trimaxtec.com
▼ ▼
0................................ 25 ...................................50
▼
0.................................. 1 ..................... 2 Mio US$

RoHS, FCC, DVB
Main Products
Signal Analyzer with built-in Monitor for DVB-S/S2, DVB-T and
DVB-C

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/trimax.pdf

SOWELL Company Details
OEM Receiver Manufacturer, China www.sowell-tech.com
▼ ▼
0................................ 50 .................................100
▼
0................................ 25 ................... 50 Mio US$

DVB
Main Products
Receiver for DVB-S/S2, DVB-T/T2, DVB-C and ISDB-T, Receivers
with 3D graphics

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1103/eng/sowell.pdf

1 125


 SATMAN

FORTECSTAR   WORLDWIDE SATELLITES
 MFC
SEATEL  SADOUN 

SONICVIEW   COWMIX
QUALITY SATELLITE 
GLOBAL SATELLITE

BEST DIGITAL TV

 SEATEL

COMPANIES in
AMERICA
GLOBAL SATELLITE COWMIX
Satellite Dealer, USA Satellite Dealer, USA

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1007/eng/globalsatellite.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1003/eng/cowmix.pdf

QUALITY SATELLITE SEATEL
Satellite Dealer, USA Maritime 3-Axis Dish Manufacturer, USA www.cobham.com

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-1005/eng/qualitysatellite.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0911/eng/seatel.pdf
www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0901/eng/seatel.pdf


WORLDWIDE SATELLITES SADOUN
Satellite Wholesaler, Canada Satellite Dealer, USA

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0905/eng/worldwidesatellites.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0707/eng/sadoun.pdf

SONICVIEW SATMAN
Satellite Receiver Manufacturer, USA Satellite Dealer, Canada

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0903/eng/sonicview.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0705/eng/satman.pdf

MFC FORTECSTAR
Satellite Filter Manufacturer, USA www.microwaveﬁlter.com Receiver Manufacturer, Canada

www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0903/eng/mfc.pdf www.TELE-satellite.com/TELE-satellite-0705/eng/fortecstar.pdf

1 127

FEATURE New Generation Tuners

Silicon Tuners
of 54dB and a noise figure better than
6dB. These numbers significantly exceed
the parameters of a typical can tuner.
Also, other characteristics, like uniform-
Jacek Pawlowski ity of gain, are very constant across
the entire frequency band – something
that is very difficult to achieve with can
tuners.
• Miniature tuners with great advantages
There are already ICs available that
• More sensitive offer additional very exciting features
– like a complete channel scan of more
• Extremely fast BlindScan than 100 channels in less than two sec-
onds (chip makers claim that the chan-
• Economical nel lock is a mere 5 ms as opposed to
150 ms for the can tuner) or advanced
picture-in-picture (PIP) television tech-
There seems to be consistent pro- can tuners. Can tuners are built using a nology providing multiple PIP capabili-
gress in digital TV technology; features number of discrete components. Natu- ties that let the viewer watch up to 12
like HD, PVR, upscaling or BlindScan rally, the more components there are, video channels simultaneously around
were not available a few years ago. In the more it will cost to assemble it. Sil- the main channel.
most cases this progress is only possi- icon tuners are based on a single chip
ble when a new generation of integrated and require a minimal number of exter- The key success factor in this case is
circuits is developed. This is especially nal components – for example they don’t the innovative internal design architec-
obvious when we consider, for example, need expensive SAW filters as are used ture that enables spur-free reception of
the migration from SDTV to HDTV. Other in can tuners. A higher level of circuit analog and digital signals. Many silicon
times, these advances in technology are integration enables a 75% reduction in tuners include internal digital signal
less obvious and harder to detect from space and a 25% reduction in the cost processors (DSP). These are special
the end user’s perspective. This is the over can tuners. purpose processing units (i.e., comput-
case with the so-called “silicon tuners”. ers) optimized to do very fast calcula-
This term was coined to distinguish the Moreover, the integrated circuits of tions on real world signals. It enables
new generation of tuners from the classi- modern silicon tuners are compatible implementation of many functions and
cal tuners made of discrete components. with many TV standards. This is impor- features not possible or very, very dif-
The classical tuners are referred today tant for the manufacturers because it ficult to obtain without DSP. With DSP,
as “can tuners”. That’s because they enables them to offer just one multi- it’s quite easy to configure on-board
require electromagnetic shields – metal standard receiver model in different filters that meet all television standard
enclosures surrounding the electronic regions of the world. There’s no need to requirements.
components that look a little bit like tin keep stock of several models to match
cans. various digital and analog standards. You To use DSP, the analog signal at the
can now offer just one set-top box or TV input of the tuner has to be converted
But what is a tuner? According to Wiki- set model for cable, terrestrial, analog into digital form using an analog-to-
pedia, the definition of “TV tuner” is: “A and digital TV. The versatility of the chip digital converter (ADC). After the DSP
television tuner converts an RF televi- results in increased software common- has done its job, the signal is converted
sion transmission into audio and video ality between regional receiver designs back to analog using a digital-to-analog
signals which can be further processed and this in turn significantly decreases converter (DAC). So, silicon tuners con-
to produce sound and a picture. Differ- development costs. tain not only DSPs but also ADC and
ent tuners are used for different televi- DAC subcircuits. The architecture varies
sion standards such as PAL, NTSC, ATSC, Silicon tuners guarantee better from manufacturer to manufacturer and
SECAM, DVB-C, DVB-T, ISDB, T-DMB, repeatability of their parameters and from type to type and the available fea-
open cable.” We will see that while the this means that when testing receiver tures will also vary with different silicon
first part of the definition is absolutely after receiver, there’s hardly any dif- tuners, but one thing’s for sure: they all
true, the second part is not necessarily ference in their performance. They do outperform can tuners.
valid for the silicon tuner. not require manual tuning or adjust-
ments. Consistent performance and Naturally, the smaller overall size of
Many difficult hurdles had to be quality is one thing but superior specifi- silicon tuners and the ability to mount
jumped before a practical silicon tuner cations over can tuners is another. And them directly on the audio/video moth-
could be manufactured at a reasonable we’re not talking about just secondary erboards of set-top boxes or TV sets
cost. However, once it happened, sili- parameters but better sensitivity, adja- is another important feature. In this
con tuners began gaining rapid accept- cent channel rejection, phase noise and case, printed circuit boards need to be
ance among manufacturers because of dynamic range. For example, a modern designed with greater care and expertise
their advantages compared to traditional silicon tuner has a signal-to-noise ratio in order to avoid radio interference. For-

1

tunately, the silicon tuner vendors help come as no surprise that the silicon tuner We, the end users, should only wel-
the designers with reference layouts market has expanded rapidly since they come this change. Our future products
making their job easier. And the tuners first became available back near the turn will perform better, will be smaller and
are extremely small. For example, one of the century. Nearly every chip pro- more universal, will offer more features
type of tuner is encapsulated in a plastic vider that is involved with the digital TV and be less expensive. This is very excit-
package 5x5 mm (0.2”x0.2”) while some market today is offering silicon tuner ing for set-top box fans, but let’s not
can tuners can be as large as 50x100 solutions. Although can tuners have been forget that silicon tuners will also be
mm (2”x4”). the standard since the beginning of the used on a larger and larger scale in PCs
small screen, set-top box and TV makers and mobile phones. The silicon tuner is
Silicon tuners also generate far less will eventually abandon the can tuner poised to unseat the can tuner in vir-
heat than can tuners. Because of this, and switch to single chip silicon tuners. tually every application. In a couple of
they are not only more eco-friendly but Business analysts predict that over 60 years almost everything having a screen
consume less energy; that makes them percent of the units produced worldwide (PC, tablet, cell phone) will have a built-
suitable for use in battery operated are expected to rely on the single-chip in TV tuner by default.
devices like mobile phones. silicon tuner by 2014. Why not 100%?
Well, some TV OEMs are vertically inte- So, to reiterate the explanation quoted
For TVs and receivers, silicon tuners grated with can tuner producers; they at the beginning of this article: with a sil-
lower their production costs, simplify may prefer to keep them in business for icon tuner you only need one single tuner
the manufacturing process and improve now, however, the days of the can tuner for every standard. Now that’s what we
their quality and reliability. It should are numbered. call progress!

FEATURE Transmission Technology

Single- and Multi
Frequency Networks
in Digital Terrestrial
Television
Jacek Pawlowski

DVB-T/T2 and DVB-H standards for digital terrestrial Before the digital era, the analog TV
transmitters located in neighboring
TV use COFDM modulation. COFDM stands for Coded areas had to use different frequencies
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing and is a quite to avoid interference. It is intuitively
understandable that using the same
complex sort of digital modulation developed to ensure frequency to transmit channel A from
high bit rate capacity along with interference immunity. transmitter 1 and channel B from
transmitter 2 is not a good solution.
The latter feature is what makes single frequency There would always be a location where
networks (SFN) practically possible. the reception antenna would not only
receive the desired signal (say, channel
A) but also the undesired signal. The
■ Fig. 1. Different signal undesired signal (channel B), even if
paths in terrestrial TV. transmitted from a completely differ-
ent direction, could interfere because
of electromagnetic wave reﬂections or
scattering on various obstacles (like
buildings, masts, etc.). So the recep-
tion antenna properly directed to
receive channel A from transmitter 1
has always a chance to pick up some
signal from transmitter 2.

But what if the two transmitter broad-
cast the same channel? If they use the
same frequency to transmit the same
analog channel, the reception antenna
could again receive signals from both
transmitters simultaneously. In prac-
tice, one of the signals would always
be delayed in relation to the other one.
That’s because the distance between
the reception antenna and any of
the transmitters would be different.
Time delays cause phase shifts what
in turn leads either to constructive or

1

If such digital signal is transmitted
from two transmitters on the same
frequency, the signal originating from
the more distant transmitter is seen
as a long delay echo. And this is the
important factor for designing single
frequency network (SFN): if we used
powerful transmitters located far away
from one another, we would have long
echoes – at least in some areas. There-
fore, it is usually assumed that SFN
requires a dense grid of small power
transmitters. For a medium sized Euro-
pean country like Poland, it is assumed
that some 350 transmitters with 40 m
high antenna masts would be required.
Creating such dense grid of transmit-
ters is costly and takes time.

On the other hand, MFN can use
the existing infrastructure of analog
■ Fig. 2. In a Multi-Frequency Network the neighboring transmitters must use different transmitters and antennae. In such
frequencies. Only those separated by larger distance may use the same frequency. The configuration, the channels are trans-
transmitters can broadcast the same or different digital or analog content
mitted on different frequencies and we
do not have to care about the echoes
destructive interference. This would less useful data we can send in the from neighboring transmitters. We still
lead to signal fading. Additionally, due same unit of time. To compensate for have echoes resulting from the same
to time delays the “ghost” effect would that, the number of carriers must be transmitter (self interference) because
be visible on the TV screen. The mul- increased. there are still signal reflections from
tipath effect resulting from reflections
and scattering also would take place.
Since analog TV used simple ampli-
tude modulation for video, there was
no other way to avoid interference
but to ensure that the transmitters
which cover overlapping areas had to
use different frequencies. The same
frequency channel is re-used only in
regions separated by a large distance,
to avoid harmful co-channel interfer-
ence. Such arrangement is called Multi
Frequency Network or MFN.

In COFDM modulation digital data is
not transmitted continuously but with
pauses among the symbols. These
pauses are called the guard intervals.
The guard interval should be chosen
long enough to allow all symbol echoes
to reach the receiver. So that when the
next symbol comes there are no longer
echoes from the previous one. If all
delayed signals (symbol echoes) come
to the receiver within the guard inter-
vals, it is possible to process the sig-
nals so smartly to avoid fading. DVB-T
permits to choose one of the follow-
ing values for guard interval: 1/4, 1/8, ■ Fig. 3. SFN uses a grid of low power transmitters for more uniform field strength. All
transmitters are perfectly synchronized, operate on the same frequency and broadcast the
1/16, 1/32. The longer the interval same digital data (multiplex).
the more echoes we can cancel but

1

different objects. But those echoes are much more uniform signal level what As usually, it is not so easy to
shorter and do not pose serious prob- is important for reception on the say which arrangement is better. It
lems for COFDM modulation. move. Moreover, if we use the same depends on the circumstances in a
frequency, the receiver can switch given country. One of the reasonable
Another advantage of MFN is the fact from cell to cell smoothly (handover). approaches could be to use MFN in
that it is convenient to use it in the For MFN networks a second tuner is the intermediate period and once the
interim period when analog and digital required in the receiver to check sig- digital switch over is over and analog
TV are broadcast concurrently. That’s nals from the neighboring cells. SFN channels no longer exist, start building
because the viewers do not have to is also the better choice if we need to SFN. SFN will not only release band-
rotate their antennae to catch new ensure the reception inside the build- width but also enable DVB-H recep-
digital signal nor do they have to install ings or in those places were it is dif- tion almost everywhere. To become
new antennas. Analog and digital sig- ficult or impossible to install a roof-top really popular, portable DVB-H devices
nals come from the same location. antenna. should be operational everywhere
where a mobile phone is used today.
In SFN arrangements one multiplex It is not difficult to figure out that There are even some proposals to use
is transmitted on the same frequency SFN is more demanding from techno- the existing GSM infrastructure for
all over the country. So SFN has one logical point of view. It requires very DVB-T/H SFN transmitters.
tremendous advantage over MFN – it good synchronization of all transmit-
spares a lot of precious bandwidth ters both in time domain and in fre- Another approach, justified espe-
released after the analog transmission quency domain. Usually, GPS is used cially in large countries, could be a
is completely switched off. This band- to synchronize all transmitters. mixed solution: MFN and SFN together.
width can be either used to transmit In this way, one could have different
many more digital channels or used Technology experts when compar- local multiplexes delivered to different
for other purposes. Except for better ing both solutions sometimes overlook regions, and nationwide digital multi-
spectral efficiency described above, non-technical aspects. For example, plexes delivered all over the country.
SFN has better power efficiency. In in some countries there are many
other words, the electric energy con- regions that transmit local content to Before we conclude this article, a
sumed by all SFN transmitters is lower local viewers. Such local broadcasts word about North America. COFDM
than that in MFN system with the same are of little interest to the people living modulation has been chosen for the
reception area. SFN uses more trans- at the other side of the country. One terrestrial transmissions by DVB and
mitters, but these are the low power can not split networks into regional ISDB, but the American standardiza-
units. or local area networks with different tion body ATSC has opted for 8VSB.
content using SFN. This is particularly Although 8VSB has not been designed
SFN is also much more desired for a challenge for geographically large with SFN in mind, this modulation is
DVB-H signals, especially if SFN is countries. Practically, SFN network also good in ghost cancellation. So, at
built with a dense grid of small power requires everything be transmitted least theoretically, it is also possible to
transmitters. Such grid creates a throughout the whole country. build SFN networks in North America.

SFN MFN
» Excellent spectral efficiency= » No change in user antenna systems
= low bandwidth consumption required
» Good power efficiency= » Easy coexistence with analog channels
= lower electric energy consumption » Can re-use existing infrastructure of
Advantages » More homogeneous field strength analog TV transmitters and antennae
distribution for portable and mobile reception » Network splitting is easy=
(DVB-H) = different multiplexes in different regions
» Suitable for indoor reception
» Network splitting for local content is » Not effective in spectral occupancy
difficult (though much better than analog)
» Excellent synchronization required= » Not so good for DVB-H
=extra cost » Cannot assure indoor reception
Disadvantages » Costly infrastructure of dense grid » Lower power efficiency
of transmitters needed to avoid self
interference
» New aerials often required on the user's
side

■ Table 1. A comparison of pro’s and con’s of SFN and MFN networks


COMPANY REPORT AZBox Distributor, Russia

Two Buddies from School Days
Found AZBox Russia
The two first met at the tender age of seven when they went to the
same school. They embarked on different journeys afterwards, with
one of them deciding to study economics while the other obtained
a degree in electronics and software programming. Later on, their
paths crossed again in the year 2006 when they together founded
the company SatDream as exclusive distributor of AZBox products in
Russia. Andrej Dolgopolov took on the role of Sales Manager, while
Ruslan Rozanov became Technical Manager of the company. TELE-
satellite met both founders in Moscow.

Technical Manager Ruslan Rozanov can
justifiably be called a satellite enthusiast.
“It was in 2001 when my interest in satel-
lite reception awoke,” he tells us. He used
to repair satellite receivers for friends and
family in his spare time, and he soon dis-
covered that “it was the software aspect
that I was really addicted to.” This even
went so far as to turn to receiver program-
ming from 2004 onward. Looking at ways to
turn hobby into profession he finally deci-
ded to start up a business. Together with
his school-day friend Andrej Dolgopolov he
raised an initial capital of USD 2,000 to get
going. Right from the start the two have
focused on repairing satellite receivers.
By and by they had gained an expert
reputation for servicing receivers of a par-
ticular Korean brand, but unfortunately
that manufacturer completely missed the
leap from SDTV to HDTV, so they had to
look elsewhere. “The option of customised
receiver programming was a driving force
behind that search,” Ruslan Rozanov exp-
lains. “One day we came across the AZBox
and immediately got in touch with Hugo
Condessa, the founder of AZBox.” The two
have been exchanging thoughts and ideas
via e-mail or skype ever since.
“Our first move was the Russian transla-
tion of the AZBox on-screen menus.” Even
more important, however, was the adapta-

■ Looking up the façade of this inconspicuous
apartment building you can spot two satellite
antennas. Right, next to the dishes are the office
windows of AZBox Russia on the fifth floor.
This building is only one block from the nearest
metro station, which is called Kakhovskaya and
is served by metro line 11. The company also
makes use of a warehouse for storage, which is
located elsewhere.

1

1 2

tion of the AZBox to accept major smart- note of the serial number for every single
cards used in Russia, like those of provider customer of ours. This allows us to instantly
Tricolor. “It only took us three weeks to look up the features and equipment level of 4
write the software so that the internal card every box ever sold by us.” By the way, cus-
reader of the AZBox was able to work with tomers may even enter the serial number
those smartcards,” Ruslan Rozanov proudly of their box at www.azbox.su themselves
remembers. and check whether they have obtained their
That happened in October 2009 and receiver through legal channels.
things really got moving from there. In Currently, the young company employs a
November 2009 the first shipment of boxes workforce of 15: Four work in administra-
arrived. “It consisted of 100 Elite boxes tion, three are repair technicians, three are
and 100 Premium boxes,” Ruslan Rozanov software developers and four are installers
recalls how it all began. And that pace has who set up complete reception systems all
constantly increased up until today: For over Moscow and beyond. Added to that are
2010 shipments totalled 1,000 units. the two owners.
However the SatDream team was not at “Our top-selling product right now is the
the end with after the on-screen display AZBox HD Plus with two DVB-S2 tuners,”
texts had been localised. “We wanted our Sales Manager Andrej Dolgopolov reveals.
customers to get the best,” Ruslan Rozanov “We generate approximately 70% of AZBox
notes and mentions a CD-ROM which is sales with this model alone.” The question
shipped with every AZBox in Russia. The that arises in this context refers to DVB-T.
CD-ROM features a comprehensive FAQ After all, AZBox does offer its receivers as
covering all AZBox functions, as well as DVB-T variants as well. Technical Manager
assistance for downloading new software Ruslan Rozanov has the answer: “While
versions. “We also cover the initial instal- there have been some test transmissions
lation procedure of the AZBox receiver so in Moscow we don’t expect a real DVB-T
that all channels demanded from a Russian breakthrough in our market before 2012.
audience can actually be received,” Ruslan By that time we’ll be ready and prepared to
Rozanov adds. jump on that bandwagon.”
Incidentally, he compiled the complete Our visit has clearly confirmed the gene-
CD-ROM almost all by himself. Still, Sat- ral impression that AZBox Russia seeks
Dream service does not stop there. “All to offer excellent customer service. Its
AZBox receivers we sell come with a two- employees are in a position to solve soft-
year warranty,” Ruslan Rozanov explains ware problems in a timely manner, as well
and details the processes that have been as address any hardware issues that might
set up in the background: “Each AZBox is arise. This makes AZBox Russia very well
labelled with a unique serial number right placed for keeping up its steady expansion
at the manufacturing premises and we take pace.

1

Russia

1. Irina Vitrenko is the receptionist
at AZBox Russia. She’s the ﬁrst to
pick up all incoming calls and for this
photo she has placed an AZBox on
the counter.

2. Always in touch: Sales Manager
Andrej Dolgopolov is the co-founder
of AZBox Russia and is in charge of
sales to retail customers.

3. Technical Manager Ruslan Rozanov
is one of the two founders of AZBox
Russia. Here he shows us on his
laptop PC part of the FAQ which he
has compiled for the AZBox and
which all AZBox customers receive on
a CD together with their box.

4. View of the technicians’ room. This
is where malfunctioning boxes are
3 repaired. Technican Igor Radvogin
can be seen on the right.


CITY REPORT Satellite Dealers in Algeria

The Satellite Dealer
from Sidi Bel-Abbes
If you travel roughly 80km south of Oran you’d
find the city of Sidi Bel-Abbes in western Algeria
 Sidi Bel-Abbes
(Algeria)
with its 500,000 inhabitants located about
150km from the Moroccan border. The city was
named after its founder Sidi Bel-Abbes. We set
out for this city in an effort to find out how easy
it is to buy satellite components such as dishes,
LNBs and receivers in a city like this. Is it possible
to find these items here or do you have to travel to
a big city in order to find what you need?

■ A look at the beginning of the Rue Mascara in Well, no need to fill the gas tank in
Sidi Bel-Abbes in western Algeria. Here you’ll
find a large number of satellite dealers.
your car! As soon as we found the Rue
Mascara (also known as Boulevard
Zabana), we could not escape all of the
electronic shops. One store after ano-
ther offered everything under the sun
that came attached with a power cord.

Several of these shops focused a
little more on satellite components
but mostly also sold other items such

as TV sets and household electronics.
Because of the ever-dropping prices in
the satellite industry, many of these
dealers have no choice but to expand to
neighboring regions.

One of the first satellite dealers in Sidi

1

Bel-Abbes was Morsli Hallam. He thinks
back: “When I started in 1994, there
were only two other satellite dealers.”

His best year was 1997 when more
than 1000 receivers crossed his shop’s
counter. In the meantime he gave up his
business but still knows many of his old
competitors. He introduced us to a few
of them; for example, the team from ‘Le
Bleu’. In their electronic shop back in the
corner you’ll find a 90cm dish along with
an assortment of satellite receivers.
The manager is Benfreha Becheikh; he
explains to us: “We sell about 50 HD
receivers a month and still about 100
SD receivers.” It’s obvious that it won’t
be long before more HD receivers will
be sold than SD boxes. Most of the cus-
tomers want to use their new satellite
equipment to receive NILESAT.

One of the only shops that deals exclu-
sively with satellite reception is ‘Magh-
reb Sat’. Chafi Abdelhamid is the owner
and explains to us: “I started my busi-
ness in 1993. But today I only deal with
repairs and software updates.” With two
technicians and an assistant he repairs
defective receivers and uploads new
software to these boxes.

Larger manufacturers can also be
found with a branch office along the
Rue Mascara. One of these companies is
Condor, an Algerian manufacturer that
not only produces household goods but
also offers all the necessary compo-
nents for satellite reception.

One of the salesmen is B. Chaouchi
1 and he shows us the new HD recei-

2 3

1. Morsli Hallam (left) in front of his shop that he now only uses
as an office. His former colleague Boudera Kada (right) recently
became self-employed and installs satellite systems.

2. Entrance to the ‘Le Bleu’ electronic shop with owner Benfreha
Becheikh (left) and colleague Berrabah Bouzian (right).

3. In between the washing machines in ‘Le Bleu’ you’ll find the
satellite dishes.

1

1. In a small shop salesman Benbadaismat shows us a 90cm
dish. He explains: “An HD receiver with this dish and an LNB
will run you about 200 Euros here. The same setup in SD
would cost about 60 Euros.”

2. Satellite shop ‘Maghreb Sat’s’ company logo.

3. In the technicians room, Chafi Abdelhamid, Manager of
‚Maghreb Sat‘, points out used or defective receivers.

2 1

ver from Condor: “This box costs only 3
11,500 DA (about 115 Euros).”

Just before we left, we met up with
Boudera Kada. He learned his trade with
Morsli Hallam and became self-employed
a few years ago. He installs satellite sys-
tems. He explains to us: “I install about
500 systems a year.” He charges about
8 Euros for a fixed antenna system and
about 20 Euros for a motorized system.
Of course this only pertains to the labor
performed.

“Most of my customers use an 80cm
dish but that just barely cuts it; for HD
reception I always recommend using a
120cm antenna”, explains Kada to us
from his experience. “Most of the cus-
tomers want to receive NILESAT at 7
west and ATLANTIC BIRD at 5 west so
I install the antenna as close as possi-
ble to 6 west so that both satellites can
be received!” Other popular satellites
for this region include HOTBIRD at 13E,
ASTRA at 19.2E, BADR at 26E and ARA-
BSAT at 30E.

Kada also gave us an idea what the
more popular channels are. In addition
to French channels, there are Arabic
channels such as Al Jazeera Sports, MBC
1 (with programming geared towards
women) and MBC 3 (Children’s TV),
Teletoon Arabic, National Geographic
from Abu Dhabi, Al Jazeera Documen-
tary, Algeria 3 (Family TV) and 2M from
Morocco. Also included in this list are
the religious channels IQRA and MAJD
as well as the pan-Maghrebish channel
El Maghribia 1.

According to Kada, “Algerian Arabic
is closely related to the Arabic spoken
in Morroco and Tunesia and is therefore
easy for us to understand.”

It becomes a little more difficult with
channels from places like Egypt that

1

1 2

3 speak in an Arabic variant that isn’t so
easy to understand. “Only the informa-
tion channels are transmitted in high-
Arabic”, says Kada.

Our tour through all of the electronic
shops along the Rue Mascara in Sidi Bel-
Abbes shows that even in smaller cities
in a country like Algeria you can still find
a large selection of satellite shops where
you can get whatever you need for your
satellite reception pleasure.

4

5

1. HD receivers are among the items in Condor’s
display window.

2. Condor’s salesman shows us an HD receiver.
Condor also sells LNBs and HD TVs.

3. Belarbi Adel is the owner of this well-stocked
shop along the Rue Mascara in Sidi Bel-Abbes.

4. One of the few shops that use ‘satellite’
in their name: Kamel Mancer is one of the
salesmen and can offer anything that a satellite
friend would need.

5. Satellite installer Boudra Kada at work: here
he can be seen installing a satellite dish on the
roof of one of his customers.

1

DXer REPORT Satellite Enthusiasts in Japan

Satellite TV in Tokyo
Takao Kameda is already 61 years of
age and has been a very busy satellite
enthusiast for some 17 years now. He‘s
Aluo a well-known ﬁgure in the Japanese sat-
ellite world and has written numerous
articles about satellite reception. Most of
them were published in ‚Radio Life‘ maga-
zine which sheds light on all aspects of
• Japan's most prominent satellite enthusiasts are
radio and TV reception. „Young people in
Keito Takahashi and Takao Kameda, both of whom Japan these days don‘t watch a whole lot
live in Tokyo. We paid a visit to them and found out of live TV,“ he explains. „Most use PVRs to
record particular events and watch them
about their tricks of the trade. whenever their busy schedule allows

 Tokyo

■ Three of Eastern Asia’s
most inﬂuential satellite
enthusiasts: Keito
Takahashi (left) from Tokyo,
TELE-satellite author Aluo
(centre) from Shenzhen/
China and Takao Kameda
(right), also from Tokyo.
The trio stands in front of
Keito Takahashi’s house.

 The World of Satellite DXers
DXers
Previous TELE-satellite DXer Reports can be Read Here:
World http://www.SatcoDX.net

1

some time to be spent in front of the
TV.“ Unfortunately, the entire magic of
receiving foreign satellite channels from
far-away corners of the world is lost in
the process. „When ASIASAT 1 started
we all got very excited, as channels from
■ Keito Takahashi has
mounted his rotatable C that position were transmitted in NTSC,“
band mesh antenna on a Takao Kameda remembers. NTSC was
professional pole with a
height of 7 metres. the analog colour system used in Japan,
so DXers were able to watch channels
from ASIASAT 1 with their existing TV.
Over the course of so many years Takao
Kameda has steadily enlarged his collec-
tion of satellite receivers using all sorts
of CA systems. Right now he is having
an in-depth look at the iCool G2 DVB-S2
receiver.

Keito Takahashi is a similarly commit-
ted satellite enthusiast. He even speaks
Chinese and is a regular viewer of the
Chinese satellite channels by CCTV. He
joined the satellite community more than
ten years ago when he bought his first
satellite antenna: It was a 3-metre KTI
mesh antenna imported from the USA.
Today he operates a 2.4m mesh antenna
for the C band and a smaller 1.2m dish
for the Ku band. Keito Takahashi is a true
celebrity and a popular interview partner
for Japanese TV stations and newspapers
when it comes to experience and exper-
tise in the satellite field. He also loves
China and even sent his son over to China
to learn the language. „I watch Chinese
TV and learn the language from watching
and listening.“ Another worthwhile reason
for becoming a satellite enthusiast!

■ Hardly noticeable
from outside: Keito
Takahashi’s two
antennas in Tokyo (C
band in front, Ku band
in the back).

1

NEWS HDTV & 3D Programmes

Edited by
Branislav Pekic

EUROPE frame. The reconstructed right and left images
maintain their original resolution, preventing an
of UK households now have a HD set, just ahead
of the US with 57%. In the US, 44% of households
unbalancing of the vertical or horizontal resolution. receive up to 404 HD channels, followed by Japan
with 43% accessing up to 103 channels, France
FRANCE PORTUGAL with 42% enjoying up to 55 channels and the UK
with just 13% accessing up to 50 channels.
MARC DORCEL LAUNCHES PORTUGUESE BROADCASTERS
3D ADULT TV SERVICE INVEST €17 MILLION IN HDTV
Marc Dorcel Television has launched the first 3D
adult entertainment subscription VoD service in
The Portuguese national TV channels have started NORTH AMERICA
investing in HD as part of preparations for the
Europe. The company is initially making the channel analogue switch-off (ASO) due to take place on 26
available via French IPTV platform Free, but plans UNITED STATES
April 2012. SIC has announced it will invest up to
to roll it out with other partners in the country and €12 million in HD, in both equipment and content.
elsewhere in Europe. The programming has been SONY MOVIE CHANNEL
Rival TVI estimates investments at €3-5 million, LAUNCHES HD SERVICE
produced together with French firm 3DLized. mainly for the acquisition of transmission equip- The Sony Movie Channel is dedicated to show-
ment. Public broadcaster RTP is already commis- ing Sony movies in HD and in uncut and uninter-
FASHION TV BOOSTS 3D CONTENT sioning all Portuguese and foreign TV series in HD. rupted states. Programming will be selected
The Fashion TV channel has announced that it is
from over 3,500 Sony films which have won
ramping up its 3D content. The broadcaster, which SERBIA 184 Academy Awards. The channel is avail-
has just finished filming the fashion weeks in Milan
able the Dish, DirecTV and U-verse platforms.
and Paris in high-definition 3D, plans to make more TELEKOM SRBIJA LAUNCHES HDTV OFFER
than 40 hours a year of 3D content for its FTV HD Telekom Srbija has launched a HDTV package
channel and its video-on-demand service. A full
VERIZON BROADCASTS LIVE
for subscribers of its IPTV service Open ITV. COLLEGE FOOTBALL IN 3D
3D HD service is slated for launch next autumn. The package, costing RSD 400 a month, offers Verizon has started broadcasting college American
a total of seven channels: Discovery Showcase football games live in 3D on its pay-TV platform
GERMANY HD, National Geographic HD, FoodNetwork FiOS TV, making it available to all subscribers
Channel as well as four Arena Sport channels in across the country. The 3D transmissions are
NINE HD CHANNELS AVAILABLE HD. The installation of a set-top box required for available to all FiOS TV subscribers who have a
ON HD+ PLATFORM watching HDTV channels costs RSD 2034 and 3D television set, 3D glasses and a HD set-top
sixx HD and RTL II HD launched in high-definition the monthly subscription costs RSD 338.98. box. The games are also being made available in
(HD) quality on the HD+ platform in December.
HD and SD. Verizon is also offering access to 3D
sixx HD is the fourth channel of the ProSie- SPAIN feature films on-demand on its pay-TV platform.
benSat.1 group to join the technical platform.
Other channels to launch on HD+ include RTL LA SEXTA LAUNCHES HD CHANNEL
group’s RTL HD, VOX HD, RTL II HD, as well as
LATIN AMERICA
La Sexta has launched a pair of new chan-
SPORT1 HD, a channel owned by Constantin nels and overhauled the programming line-up
Medien. Since its launch a year ago, 1.5 mil- at its existing second channel La Sexta 2. The
lion HD+ smart cards have been delivered to first is La Sexta 3, a classic scripted series BRAZIL
manufacturers and 400,000 HD+ set-top boxes and movies channel, while La Sexta HD is a
have been sold. TV viewers can chose between high-definition version of its main channel. SKY BRASIL TO REDUCE
38 different kinds of set-top boxes that have COST OF HD PACKAGES
been brought to market by 22 manufacturers. SWITZERLAND The president of DTH operator Sky Brasil, Luis
Eduardo Baptista, has said there must be a price
IRELAND SWISSCOM TO EXPAND HD OFFERING reduction for HD packages in Brazil. According to
Swisscom has added two free new HD channels for him, when the threshold of 250,000 subscribers
IRELAND GETS FIRST HD CHANNEL all subscribers - Arte D HD and France 2 HD - bring- is reached, programming costs have significant
UTV became the first broadcaster in Ireland to ing the total number of free HD channels available discounts. His expectation is that in 2-3 years
launch a high-definition (HD) TV service. Public to ten. Swisscom is also introducing two new HD there will be no more differences in costs between
broadcaster RTE has proposed a HD channel to be packages for customers - ‘HD Deutsche+’ and ‘HD HD and SD packages. Sky Brasil in Septem-
carried by free-to-air DTT platform Saorview that Français+’, each offering nine HD channels, and ber had 302,000 HD subscribers, with the base
is pending a review by the Broadcasting Authority each costing CHF 9 (US$ 9.26) per month. Games growing at a rate of about 30,000 per month.
of Ireland. The plan is to show “HD light” coverage from the Swiss Axpo Super League, Italian Serie A,
of live sporting events such as GAA matches, Six Spanish La Liga and Portuguese Liga Zon Sagres TVA LAUNCHES HD DECODER
Nations rugby and international football. However, will be broadcast in HD quality, costing CHF 2.50 TVA has launched a new digital decoder, the TVA
RTE has no plans to launch a national service, per month. Swisscom TV subscribers with a Tel- HD+, developed in partnership with Unicoba/
as upgrading RTE’s infrastructure to support HD eclub Sport subscription will also benefit from eight Topfield and Nagravision. It has two tuners and
channels would cost over €25 million, money additional HD sports channels at no extra cost. universal remote control and also lets users to
that is simply not available to the broadcaster. schedule recordings and automatically records the
UNITED KINGDOM content being viewed. At the launch, new custom-
ITALY ers who take the TVA HD packages will be able
BBC LAUNCHES BBC ONE HD to test the TVA HD+ for a year without charge.
PIEDMONT FIRST IN ITALY FOR The BBC has launched the BBC One HD channel
BACKWARD COMPATIBLE 3D which is available on Freesat, Freeview, Virgin
Italy’s Piedmont Region has initiated the first Media and Sky. The One Show, Holby City, Film ASIA & PACIFIC
free-to-air terrestrial 3D HDTV broadcasts, with a 2010, Eastenders and Children in Need are some of
system for backwards compatibility with 2D TV sets. the other programs that will be aired on the channel. SKY NEWS HD DISTRIBUTED VIA MEASAT 3
The initiative is the result of a partnership between RRsat Global Communications Network and BT
public and private bodies operating in the area, UK WORLD LEADER IN HD TV OWNERSHIP Wholesale’s Media and Broadcast team have
including Sisvel, Quartarete TV and CSP Innovazi- The UK leads the world in HD TV set ownership, worked together to support the launch of Sky News
one nelle ICT. The broadcasts rely on an innova- but lags far behind in take-up of HD digital TV HD on the Measat 3A satellite BT and RRsat are
tive technique for formatting stereoscopic images, services, a new report by Ofcom has revealed. The providing an end-to-end managed fibre and satellite
known as 3D Tile Format, which makes it possible UK and Spain have the highest digital TV takeup, service. A fibre network from the BT Global Media
to integrate two 720p frames within a single 1080p at 91% of their respective populations, while 59% Network carries Sky News HD from the Sky News

1

Centre in Osterley, UK, to RRsat’s Global Network and teleport
facility, where it is uplinked onto the Measat 3A satellite and
distributed to customers throughout the Middle East and Asia.

CHINA

HDTV SUBSCRIBERS IN CHINA TOP 2 MILLION
Total HDTV subscribers in China passed 2 million subscribers in
the fourth quarter of 2010, up from 2 million in July 2010. Several
factors are expecting to accelerate the HDTV take-up in 2011. First,
an increasing number of cable operators are expected to roll-out
HDTV over the next year. Second, the government will expand
the number of HDTV channels from the current 12 to 42 by the
end of 2011. Finally, cable operators in China are utilizing “mass
market” upgrade pricing packages for migration to HDTV services.

INDIA

DOORDARSHAN FAILS TO DELIVER HD CHANNEL
Prasar Bharati’s promise to deliver a channel on HD has
fallen flat, with Doordarshan’s sports channel now back on
standard definition, according to a report in The Hindustan
Times. The broadcaster had spent over R300 crore to ensure
that the Commonwealth Games were shown on HD. The
entire production was outsourced to UK-company SISLive,
which has now been accused of tax evasion and outsourc-
ing over 70% of the work to Zoom Communications.

JAPAN

NHK PRESENTS ULTRA HIGH-DEF TV PLANS
NHK is planning public previews of its developing Ultra High
Definition (UHDTV) television system, which promises images
that contain roughly 16 times more picture information that
that which is found in today’s HDTV systems. NHK plans to
expose the public to its system in 2012, by shooting some of
the London Olympics in Ultra High Definition, which is also
referred to as Super Hi-Vision. The footage would be transmit-
ted to public viewing sites in the U.K., U.S. and Japan. Plans call
for trials of UHDTV broadcasting to begin in Japan in 2020.

SKYPERFECTV BROADCASTS FIRST 3D DRAMA
Sky PerfecTV started broadcasting Japan’s first 3D drama series
on its 3D specialty channel starting in January. “Tokyo Con-
trol” airs every Wednesday from 23:00 to 00:00 for 10 weeks,
preceded by a 2D version in the hour earlier. Produced by Fuji
TV with technical assistance from Sony and Sony PCL, the
show is set in an air traffic control tower. Satellite station BS
Fuji and Sony partnered to launch “3D*3D” on January 1. The
30-minute show airs weekly and includes sports and live music.

MIDDLE EAST
OSN FIRST IN MIDDLE EAST FOR 3D
OSN made history in December by becoming the first TV
network in the Middle East to bring its viewers 3D movies.
The launch follows on from the huge success of its HD ser-
vice which now has an estimated 5 million viewers.

OMAN

OMAN SIGNS HD CONTRACT WITH SONY MIDDLE EAST
Oman’s information ministry has signed an OR 26.55 million
contract with Sony Middle East to prepare for the Sultanate’s TV
shift to HD transmission in 2011 by setting up a new complex
to replace the present studios, Times of Oman has reported.
When completed in November 2011, the Salalah complex is to be
equipped with HD digital technologies and will include four digital
studios for drama production, a news department and three other
digital studios for news-related programmes, among other facilities.

NEWS IPTV & Cable

SCANDINAVIA analyse and learn user preferences, to record things it
thinks the user will like. The box can also access BBC
VIASAT CONTENT TO BE iPlayer, YouTube, eBay, Twitter and Facebook, with more
Edited by AVAILABLE ON LG TV SETS sites set to follow. Its arrival in the UK comes ahead of
Modern Times Group (MTG) has signed an agree- BBC-backed IPTV initiative YouView and Google TV,
Branislav Pekic both of which are due to debut in the market in 2011.
ment with LG Electronics in the Nordic region for
its Viasat OnDemand pay-TV services to be avail-
EUROPE able directly on all LG TV sets enabled with NetCast
functionality. The online on-demand pay-TV service NORTH AMERICA
features live sports content, hundreds of episodes
GERMANY of hit shows—with programming from TV3, TV6 and CANADA
TV8 in Sweden; TV3 and Viasat4 in Norway; and TV3
T-HOME ADDS HDTV CHANNELS and TV3+ in Denmark—and some 200 feature films. BELL FIBE TV ADDS 7 START CHANNELS
TO IPTV OFFERING Bell Fibe TV has added 4 South Asian Star channels
Deutsche Telekom launched a new HD package for its TURKEY and three Star Mandarin-language channels to its IPTV
IPTV service T-Home Entertain in December. The new line-up. The channels launched include Star One, Star
package initially offers six channels: TNT Film HD, TNT HD TTNET ROLLS OUT IPTV India Gold, Star India News, Star Vijay, Star Chinese
Series, Syfy HD, HD SPORT1, Classica HD and Planet HD. SERVICE NATIONWIDE Channel, Star Chinese Movies 2 and Channel V Taiwan.
A seventh channel, AXN HD, will be added to the package TTNET has started the rollout of a new IPTV service
in February 2011. The channel will be available to all cus- called IPtivibu nationwide across 81 cities, using UNITED STATES
tomers with a VDSL connection for €9.95 per month. At the HD set-top boxes and wireless ADSL gateways from
end of 3Q, the IPTV service had 1.04 million subscribers. AirTies. The ISP has opted for AirTies Air 7120 set-top DISH NETWORK EXPANDS DISH WORLD IPTV
boxes and WAV-275, an all-in-one ADSL2 modem and The Dish World IPTV service now offers access to the
PORTUGAL VoIP residential gateway solution capable of stream- largest Arabic-speaking channel line-up in the U.S. The
ing personal media including photos, music and video service distributes select Dish Network international
ZON LAUNCHES NEW ZON wirelessly to devices on the home network. The Air programming via broadband to the television without
FIBRE 360 MBPS SERVICE 7120 set-top box also comes with NAND flash storage the need for a satellite dish. Its line-up of popular Arabic
Zon has launched its new service Zon Fibra 360, and offers pause-live TV functionality as standard. channels includes Al Jazeera, MBC, ART America,
which includes download speeds of 360 Mbps and Dream 2, Murr TV, with packages start at just $29.99.
upload speeds of 24 Mbps. These speeds are being UNITED KINGDOM
sold only in packages that also include the TV pack-
age with more than 120 channels and fixed telephony VIRGIN MEDIA PRESENTS TIVO STB LATIN AMERICA
with unlimited calls. According to the operator, Virgin Media has unveiled details of its new TiVo-powered
this is first global launch of a commercial service set-top box, featuring access to an app store and 1TB ARGENTINA
supported by the EuroDOCSIS 3.0 standard. hard drive, capable of holding some 500 hours of SD
programming. It uses TiVo’s recommendation engine to TDA LAUNCHES VOD SERVICE OVER ADSL

Telefonica de Argentina (TdA) has launched a VOD
service over its Speedy ADSL broadband network.
INDIA AFRICA
On Demand subscribers have unlimited access to BHARTI AIRTEL LAUNCHES
a library of content, including a wide variety of TV IPTV IN BANGALORE EGYPT
programmes and movies. The service is priced at ARS Bharti Airtel has launched IPTV services in Bangalore, fol-
39.90 (USD 10.20) per month, with no activation fee; lowing a successful run in the Delhi NCR region. The oper- ERTU TO LAUNCH VOD SERVICE
subscribers must have a minimum broadband con- ator currently offers 42 linear channels on its IPTV service, ERTU is preparing to launch its first internet TV and
nection speed of 1Mbps to access the VOD offering. as well as time-shift capabilities and interactive services. VOD service. The broadcaster operates a bouquet of
channels in the region, will make its content avail-
BRAZIL SAUDI ARABIA able through internet-connected TVs, computers and
mobile devices. The service will be accessed by a
GVT TEAMS UP WITH ERICSSON FOR IPTV SAUDI TELECOM SELECTS ALCATEL-LUCENT home hub set-top box, which will also allow viewers
GVT has signed a contract with Ericsson to deploy Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has selected Alcatel-
to surf the web and buy entertainment applications.
the platform for its pay-TV service to be launched in Lucent as a technology partner in its plans for a
2011. The operator’s plan is to launch a program grid major expansion of its broadband access network.
including linear channels, interactive services such The operator has deployed Alcatel-Lucent’s Intel-
as remote recording of programs, watching programs ligence Services Access Manager (ISAM) platform, WORLD
up to 30 days, on-demand video along with access to which enables the delivery of high-speed broadband
internet content like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. multimedia services including data, IPTV, VoIP and GLOBAL IPTV SUBSCRIBERS
video-on-demand. The large-scale project will leverage
GVT has yet to select the supplier of set-top boxes. TOP 40 MILLION
Alcatel-Lucent’s VDSL2 and GPON technologies.
At the end of September 2010 IPTV subscribers globally
SOUTH KOREA stood at 40.5 million, having increased by almost 8%
ASIA & PACIFIC from the previous quarter and by 37% over the last four
IPTV OPERATORS REACH 3 quarters. TeleGeography’s database now counts IPTV
CHINA MILLION SUBSCRIBERS subscribers at 160 service providers in 74 countries, with
IPTV has grown to take up about 30% of the pay-TV market at least 15 more operators about to join the list, which
CHINA BUILDS NATIONAL IPTV NETWORK with subscribers surpassing 3 million in December 2010. will boost the country count to 78. The lead country for
China has built a national platform network for online TV KT, which has the largest number of subscribers (over subscribers remains France, accounting for no fewer than
broadcasts. The IPTV platform is divided into two tiers, 1.64 million), provides 119 different channels, 90,000 24% of global subscribers. It is followed by the US (16%),
namely the central level, which will provide programmes episodes of VOD as well as 3D content. SK Broadband,
China (16%), South Korea (8%), Japan (4%), Germany (3%)
catering to all audiences throughout the country, and which comes in second with 691,025 subscribers, features
the local level, which will provide more programmes and Hong Kong (3%). China has by far the highest growth
89 channels and 60,000 VOD episodes on its B tv, but dif-
designed for audiences in specific regions. It has capacity ferentiates itself by providing real-time broadcast on IPTV. rate and China Telecom is already the service provider
for 100 SD channels, 15 HD channels and 20,000 hours of LG Uplus has 597,905 subscribes for its U+ TV Smart 7 with the highest number of IPTV subscribers. Second is
VOD services. It is already available in five pilot regions service which offers 91 different channels and allows sub- Iliad (France), followed by Verizon (US), France Telecom,
in Sichuan, Hubei, Beijing, Shenzhen and Shandong. scribers to browse the Internet and TV application store. AT&T (US), SFR (France), Korea Telecom and NTT (Japan).


INTELSAT 10-02 - Europe, Middle East, North India ◄ 359.2 East (000.8 West)
C-Band: INTELSAT 10-02 - Europe, Africa, South East Asia ◄ 359.2 East (000.8 West)
THOR 5, 6 - Europe ◄ 359.2 East (000.8 West)
AMOS 2, 3 - Europe, Middle East ◄ 356.0 East (004.0 West)
THOR 3 - Europe ◄ 356.0 East (004.0 West)
ATLANTIC BIRD 3 - Europe ◄ 355.0 East (005.0 West)
C-Band: ATLANTIC BIRD 3 - Africa, Europe, Middle America ◄ 355.0 East (005.0 West)
NILESAT 101, 102, 201, ATLANTIC BIRD 4A - Middle East ◄ 353.0 East (007.0 West)
ATLANTIC BIRD 2 - Europe, America, Middle East ◄ 352.0 East (008.0 West)
EXPRESS AM44 - Middle East ◄ 349.0 East (011.0 West)
C-Band: EXPRESS AM44 - Europe, North Africa, Middle East ◄ 349.0 East (011.0 West)
ATLANTIC BIRD 1 - Europe, America ◄ 347.5 East (012.5 West)
TELSTAR 12 - Europe, South Africa, Am. ◄ 345.0 East (015.0 West)
INTELSAT 901 - Europe, Middle East ◄ 342.0 East (018.0 West)
C-Band: INTELSAT 901 - Europe, Africa, Atlantic Ocean Region ◄ 342.0 East (018.0 West)
C-Band: NSS 5 - Africa ◄ 340.0 East (020.0 West)
NSS 7 - Europe, MIddle East, Africa, America ◄ 338.0 East (022.0 West)
C-Band: NSS 7 - Europe, Africa, America ◄ 338.0 East (022.0 West)
INTELSAT 905 - Europe ◄ 335.5 East (024.5 West)
C-Band: INTELSAT 905 - Europe, Africa, America ◄ 335.5 East (024.5 West)
C-Band: INTELSAT 907 - Europe, Africa, America ◄ 332.5 East (027.5 West)
HISPASAT 1C, 1D - Europe, America ◄ 330.0 East (030.0 West)
C-Band: INTELSAT 903 - Europe ◄ 325.5 East (034.5 West)
TELSTAR 11N - Europe, Africa ◄ 322.5 East (037.5 West)
C-Band: NSS 10 - Europe, Africa, America ◄ 322.5 East (037.5 West)

Satellites
NSS 806 - Europe ◄ 319.5 East (040.5 West)
C-Band: NSS 806 - America, Europe ◄ 319.5 East (040.5 West)
INTELSAT 11 - Brazil ◄ 317.0 East (043.0 West)
C-Band: INTELSAT 11 - Brazil ◄ 315.0 East (043.0 West)
INTELSAT 14 - Europe, North Africa, South America ◄ 315.0 East (045.0 West)
C-Band: INTELSAT 14 - America ◄ 315.0 East (045.0 West)
INTELSAT 1R - America ◄ 315.0 East (050.0 West)
C-Band: INTELSAT 1R - America ◄ 315.0 East (045.0 West)

World
INTELSAT 707 - America ◄ 307.0 East (053.0 West)
C-Band: INTELSAT 707 - America, Africa ◄ 307.0 East (053.0 West)
INTELSAT 9 - Mexico, Brazil, Europe ◄ 302.0 East (058.0 West)

of the
AMAZONAS 1 - Brazil, South America ◄ 299.0 East (061.0 West)
C-Band: AMAZONAS 1 - America ◄ 299.0 East (061.0 West)
AMAZONAS 2 - North America ◄ 299.0 East (061.0 West)
ECHOSTAR 12,15 - Conus ◄ 298.5 East (061.5 West)
TELSTAR 14 - Brazil, Mercosul ◄ 297.0 East (063.0 West)
STARONE C1 - Brazil ◄ 295.0 East (065.0 West)
C-Band: STARONE C1 - South America ◄ 295.0 East (065.0 West)
STARONE C2 - Brazil ◄ 290.0 East (070.0 West)
C-Band: STARONE C2 - South America ◄ 290.0 East (070.0 West)
AMC 6 - North America ◄ 288.0 East (072.0 West)
C-Band: AMC 6 - North America ◄ 288.0 East (072.0 West)
DIRECTV 1R, NIMIQ 5 - Conus ◄ 287.5 East (072.5 West)
HORIZONS 2 - North America ◄ 286.0 East (074.0 West)
C-Band: BRASILSAT B3 - Brazil ◄ 285.0 East (075.0 West)
ECHOSTAR 4, 8 - America, Mexico ◄ 283.0 East (077.0 West)
SIMON BOLIVAR - South America ◄ 282.0 East (078.0 West)
C-Band: SIMON BOLIVAR - South America ◄ 282.0 East (078.0 West)
AMC 2,5 - North America ◄ 281.0 East (079.0 West)
NIMIQ 4 - Canada ◄ 278.0 East (082.0 West)
C-Band: BRASILSAT B4 - Brazil ◄ 276.0 East (084.0 West)
GALAXY 28 - America ◄ 271.0 East (089.0 West)
C-Band: GALAXY 28 - America ◄ 271.0 East (089.0 West)
NIMIQ 1 - Canada ◄ 269.0 East (091.0 West)
GALAXY 17 - North America ◄ 269.0 East (091.0 West)
C-Band: GALAXY 17 - North America ◄ 269.0 East (091.0 West)
GALAXY 3C - North America ◄ 265.0 East (095.0 West)
C-Band: GALAXY 3C - North America ◄ 265.0 East (095.0 West)
DIRECTV 4S, 8 - America ◄ 259.0 East (101.0 West)
SES 1 - North America ◄ 259.0 East (101.0 West)
C-Band: SES 1 - North America ◄ 259.0 East (101.0 West)
ANIK F1R - North America ◄ 252.7 East (107.3 West)
C-Band: ANIK F1R - North America ◄ 252.7 East (107.3 West)
C-Band: ANIK F1 - South America ◄ 252.7 East (107.3 West)
ECHOSTAR 10, 11 - America ◄ 250.0 East (110.0 West)
DIRECTV 5 - America ◄ 250.0 East (110.0 West)
ANIK F2 - North America ◄ 248.9 East (111.1 West)
C-Band: ANIK F2 - North America ◄ 248.9 East (111.1 West)
SATMEX 6 - America ◄ 247.0 East (113.0 West)
C-Band: SATMEX 6 - America ◄ 247.0 East (113.0 West)
SATMEX 5 - America ◄ 243.2 East (116.8 West)
C-Band: SATMEX 5 - America ◄ 243.2 East (116.8 West)
ANIK F3 - Conus ◄ 241.0 East (119.0 West)
C-Band: ANIK F3 - America ◄ 241.0 East (119.0 West)
ECHOSTAR 14 - Conus ◄ 241.0 East (119.0 West)
DIRECTV 7S - Conus ◄ 241.0 East (119.0 West)
ECHOSTAR 9, GALAXY 23 - North America ◄ 239.0 East (121.0 West)
C-Band: ECHOSTAR 9, GALAXY 23 - North America ◄ 239.0 East (121.0 West)
GALAXY 13, HORIZONS 1 - North America ◄ 233.0 East (127.0 West)
C-Band: GALAXY 13, HORIZONS 1 - North America ◄ 233.0 East (127.0 West)
CIEL 2 - America ◄ 231.0 East (129.0 West)

TELE
GLOBAL C-Band: GALAXY 12 - North America ◄ 227.0 East (133.0 West)
DIGITAL TV
satellite
MAGAZINE C-Band: AMC 7 - North America ◄ 223.0 East (137.0 West)

002.0 East ► ASTRA 1C - Europe
002.8 East ► C-Band: Rascom QAF 1 - Africa
004.0 East ► EUROBIRD 4A - Europe, Asia
004.8 East ► ASTRA 4A, 1E - Europe
007.0 East ► EUTELSAT W3A - Europe, Africa
009.0 East ► EUROBIRD 9A - Europe
010.0 East ► EUTELSAT W2A - Europe
010.0 East ► C-Band: EUTELSAT W2A - Global
013.0 East ► HOTBIRD 6,8,9 - Europe, Middle East
015.8 East ► EUTELSAT W2M - Europe, Madagascar
015.8 East ► EUROBIRD 16 - Europe, Madagascar
015.8 East ► EUTELSAT SESAT 1 - Europe
017.0 East ► Amos 5I - North Africa, Middle East
017.0 East ► C-Band: Amos 5I - Africa, Middle East
019.2 East ► ASTRA 1H,1KR,1L,1M - Europe
020.0 East ► C-Band: ARABSAT 2B - Africa, Middle East
021.6 East ► EUTELSAT W6 - Europe, Asia, West Africa
023.5 East ► ASTRA 3A,3B - Europe
025.5 East ► EUROBIRD 2 - Europe, Asia
026.0 East ► BADR 4,5,6 - North Africa, Middle East
028.2 East ► EUROBIRD 1 - Europe
028.2 East ► ASTRA 2B - Europe, Nigeria
028.2 East ► ASTRA 2A,2D - Europe
030.5 East ► ARABSAT 5A - Middle East
030.5 East ► C-Band: ARABSAT 5A - Asia,Middle East
031.5 East ► ASTRA 1G - Europe
033.0 East ► EUROBIRD 3- Europe
036.0 East ► EUTELSAT W7 - Europe , South Africa, Asia, Russia
036.0 East ► EUTELSAT W4 - Russia, Nigeria, Africa
038.0 East ► PAKSAT 1 - Pakistan, North India
038.0 East ► C-Band: PAKSAT 1 - Pakistan, India, Middle East, Africa
039.0 East ► HELLAS SAT 2 - Europe, Middle East, Asia
040.0 East ► EXPRESS AM1 - Europe, Russia
040.0 East ► C-Band: EXPRESS AM1 - Europe, Russia
042.0 East ► TURKSAT 2A - Europe, Russia
042.0 East ► TURKSAT 3A - Europe, Russia, North India
045.0 East ► INTELSAT 12 - India, South Africa, Middle East, Europe
049.0 East ► C-Band: YAMAL 202 - Global
053.0 East ► EXPRESS AM22 -Europe, Middle East, North India
055.0 East ► C-Band: INSAT 3E - India
056.0 East ► BONUM 1 - East Russia
057.0 East ► NSS 12 - Europe, Russia, Africa, India
057.0 East ► C-Band: NSS 12 - Europe, Russia, Africa, India, Global
060.0 East ► INTELSAT 904 - Europe
060.0 East ► C-Band: INTELSAT 904 - Europe, Africa, Global
062.0 East ► INTELSAT 902 - Europe, Middle East
062.0 East ► C-Band: INTELSAT 902 - Europe, China, Australia, South Africa, Global
064.2 East ► INTELSAT 906 - India, Nepal
064.2 East ► C-Band: INTELSAT 906 - Europe, Africa, South India, Global
066.0 East ► INTELSAT 702 -Europe,Russia
068.5 East ► INTELSAT 7 - South Africa
068.5 East ► INTELSAT 10 - Africa, Europe, Middle East
068.5 East ► C-Band: INTELSAT 10 - Global
070.5 East ► EUTELSAT W5 - Europe,Middle East, India
074.0 East ► INSAT 4CR - India
074.0 East ► C-Band: INSAT 3C - India
075.0 East ► ABS-1 - Europe, Asia, Middle East
075.0 East ► C-Band: ABS-1 - Global
075.0 East ► EUTELSAT W75 - Middle East, North India, China
076.5 East ► APSTAR 2R - North East Asia
076.5 East ► C-Band: APSTAR 2R - Global
078.5 East ► THAICOM 5 - Thailand
078.5 East ► C-Band: THAICOM 5 - India,China,Thailand, Global
080.0 East ► C-Band: EXPRESS MD1 - Russia, North India
083.0 East ► INSAT 4A - India
083.0 East ► C-Band: INSAT 4A - India, Middle East
083.0 East ► INSAT 3B - India
083.0 East ► C-Band: INSAT 2E - Asia, Middle East, Europe
085.2 East ► INTELSAT 15 - Middle East
087.5 East ► C-Band: CHINASAT 5A - China, India, Midle East
088.0 East ► ST 1 - India, Malaysia
088.0 East ► C-Band: ST 1 - India, Thailand
090.0 East ► YAMAL 201 - Russia, North India
090.0 East ► C-Band: YAMAL 201 - Russia, North India
091.5 East ► MEASAT 3 - Malaysia, South Asia
091.5 East ► C-Band: MEASAT 3 -Global, Thailand, Australia, East Asia
091.5 East ► C-Band: MEASAT 3A -Global
092.2 East ► CHINASAT 9 - China
093.5 East ► INSAT 3A,4B - India
093.5 East ► C-Band: INSAT 3A,4B - India, Middle East
095.0 East ► NSS 6 - India, Middle East, South Africa, North East & East Asia, Australia
096.5 East ► C-Band: EXPRESS AM 33 - Asia, Russia,China
100.5 East ► ASIASAT 5 - East Asia, India, Middle East, Thailand
100.5 East ► C-Band: ASIASAT 5 - Global
103.0 East ► C-Band: EXPRESS A2 - Russia, China
105.5 East ► ASIASAT 3S - East Asia, South Asia, Australia
105.5 East ► C-Band: ASIASAT 3S - Global
108.0 East ► NSS 11 - South Asia, North East Asia, China
108.0 East ► C-Band: TELKOM 1 - Indonesia
108.0 East ► SES 7 - South Asia, Australia
110.0 East ► BSAT 2A,3A, N-SAT 110 - Japan
110.5 East ► C-Band: CHINASAT 5B - China, Asia Pacific
113.0 East ► KOREASAT 5 - South Korea, North East Asia
113.0 East ► C-Band: PALAPA D - Asia, Australia
115.5 East ► C-Band: CHINASAT 6B - Global
116.0 East ► ABS 7 - South Korea
122.0 East ► ASIASAT 4 - East Asia, Australia
122.0 East ► C-Band: ASIASAT 4 - Global
124.0 East ► JCSAT 4A - Japan
125.0 East ► C-Band: CHINASAT 6A - China
128.0 East ► C-Band: JCSAT 3A - Asia
132.0 East ► VINASAT 1 - Vietnam
132.0 East ► C-Band:VINASAT 1 - Asia, Australia
134.0 East ► APSTAR 6 - China
134.0 East ► C-Band: APSTAR 6 - Asia, Australia
138.0 East ► TELSTAR 18 - India, China
138.0 East ► C-Band: TELSTAR 18 - Asia, Australia
140.0 East ► EXPRESS AM3 - Russia, China
140.0 East ► C-Band: EXPRESS AM3 - Russia, China
144.0 East ► SUPERBIRD C2 - Japan
146.0 East ► ABS 5- Myanamar
146.0 East ► C-Band: ABS 5 - India, China
150.0 East ► JCSAT 1B - Asia
152.0 East ► OPTUS D2 - Australia, Newzealand
154.0 East ► C-Band: JCSAT 2A - Asia&Oceania&Hawaii
156.0 East ► OPTUS C1,D3 - Australia, Newzealand
160.0 East ► OPTUS D1 - Australia, Newzealand
162.0 East ► SUPERBIRD B2 - Japan
166.0 East ► INTELSAT 8 - Australia, Newzealand, North East Asia
166.0 East ► C-Band: INTELSAT 8 - Pacific
169.0 East ► C-Band: INTELSAT 5 - Pacific
172.0 East ► GE 23 - South Pacific, South East Pacific
172.0 East ► C-Band: GE 23 - Pacific Copyright 2011 by TELE-satellite Magazine
180.0 East ► INTELSAT 701 - Australia, Pacific
180.0 East ► C-Band: INTELSAT 701 - Pacific www.TELE-satellite.com

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1103 02-03/2011 3 December 2010 14 January 2011 28 January 2011
TELE-satellite Magazine 02-03/2011 will be displayed at these exhibitions:
8 - 10 February 2011
CABSAT Middle East North Africa MENA 2011
The Leading International Digital Media Event
for Middle East, Africa & South Asia
Sheikh Saeed Halls, Dubai International Convention
and Exhibition Centre, Dubai, UAE
www.cabsat.com

7 - 9 March 2011
DVB World 2011 - International Conference & Exhibition
The essential annual conference and exhibition dedicated
to DVB standards and their implementation
Hotel Le Méridien, Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France
www.dvbworld.org

23 - 25 March 2011
CCBN 2011
Asia-Paciﬁc’s Largest Broadcasting Show
China International Exhibition Center, Beijing, China
www.ccbn.tv

1105 04-05/2011 4 February 2011 18 March 2011 1 April 2011
TELE-satellite Magazine 04-05/2011 will be dispalyed at these exhibitions:
11 - 14 April 2011
NAB Show 2011
Where Content Comes to Life - The Essential Destination
for Broader-casting® Professionals
Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
www.nabshow.com

3 - 5 May 2011
ANGA Cable 2011
Trade Fair for Cable, Broadband and Satellite
Exhibitions & Congress Center, Cologne, Germany
www.angacable.com

eng TELE-satellite-1103

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