LOS Spring 2006 v9 - Beaconseek · ing a prototype fully three-axis motorized 1.2m diameter system which again comes under the 32 kg bar. As with AvL, the FA-120 features a multi

T his year NAB showed that for any manufac-turer of flyaway satellite newsgathering

equipment, the target that has to be met has been set by IATA with the mandatory limit of 32 kg for any single piece of checked baggage - not a weight you can get into the overhead bin, but still a significant decrease in SNG system weights of a few years ago.

In terms of a conventional style of flyaway system that can meet this target value, US manufacturer AvL were showing a three-axis

motorized 1 metre diameter system, for the first time, which scrapes in at just under 32 kg. This figure excludes any RF or baseband equipment, - to be carried in additional separate cases - but the AvL 1060K iSNG has a hard case with small flip out legs for stability, and full automation and remote control for acquiring “the bird”.

The auto-acquisition controller automatically locates and peaks on satellite with single “Green-to-Go” and “Red-to-Stow” push buttons – so thankfully no laptop computer is required. The antenna mount and carbon-fibre reflector segments store in one rugged case which is also available in a backpack option to challenge the Norsat NewsLink.

AvL, as purely a manufacturer of antenna mount systems, have developed the 1060i so that it can be integrated with any amplifier/modem combination. As usual with AvL prod-ucts, their proprietary and unique Roto-Lok cable drive promises solid and accurate point-ing even under high wind loading, and in case of power failures, hand cranks on all axes are available.

UK manufacturer GigaSat were also show-ing a prototype fully three-axis motorized 1.2m diameter system which again comes under the 32 kg bar. As with AvL, the FA-120 features a multi segmented carbon fibre reflector and wide spreading multi position legs for high sta-bility on any terrain. However, the segmenting of the antenna has been done in a clever offset-manner so that the petals form a lower profile when disassembled for packing.

The FA-120 antenna packs down into its own mount for transportation and carbon fibre is used throughout, including the main structure of the case. The weight of the complete an-tenna package is less than the mandatory checked luggage limit for airlines.

GigaSat were also showing a new 2.4m vehicle mount antenna system with rather in-triguing auto-deploying tri-fold “wings” on the main reflector in order to make the whole pack-age fit onto the roof of the ubiquitous Mercedes Sprinter used as a base for SNG trucks. At 180 kg excluding amplifiers, the DA-240 multi-band (C, Ku, DBS or Ka-band) satellite antenna has a streamlined monocoque design and lightweight carbon fibre construction. The unusual folding

(Continued on page 3)

BeaconSeek offers:

• Satcomms Consultancy

• Project Management

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• Broadcast Engineering

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• Training

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I N T H I S I S S U E :

NAB Highlights 1

SlingPath Training 4

HD ENG Tests 6

News 7

Useful Resources 10

L I N E O F S I G H T — S P R I N G 2 0 0 6 T H E T R I M E S T R I A L N E W S L E T T E R A B O U T S A T E L L I T E N E W S G A T H E R I N G - V O L U M E 3 I S S U E 1

NAB HI G H L I G H T S J O N A T H A N H I G G I N S

AvL 1060K iSNG

GigaSat Motorized 1.2m prototype

Line Of S ight — Spring 2006

T raining is again an issue we’ve highlighted in this edition with a feature on SlingPath -

the new brand for our formal competency-based on-line training system that we’re devel-oping with e-BLS of New Zealand.

There is such a lack of structured relevant training accessible to the majority of people working in SNG - or who want to work in SNG.

We clearly see the potential for online training supplemented by 3 days of practical training and assessment. I have recently pre-sented our plans to the SUIRG (Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group) meeting in Stockholm, and the reaction from all sectors of the SNG industry is so far very supportive.

At this mid-point in time between NAB and IBC, I’ve given a report on what caught my eye in Las Vegas, and no doubt many of the same will be at IBC.

But quite a few manufacturers are hinting at dramatic new product launches in Amster-dam in September, so maybe there will be something different to report in the next is-sue.

MPEG-4 AVC video compression and the new DVB-S2 modulation standard continued to be widely discussed in SNG circles at NAB, although as yet there have still been few early adopters – but that will change over the next year or so, of that you can be sure.

As I write this, the terrible conflict in Leba-banon is now in its third week, and my best wishes go out to all the SNG crews out there who work diligently in the background to bring the most telling pictures to our screens

It’s a grim reality that much of our indus-try rides on the back of other peoples’ misfor-tune.

But on the other hand, SNG now exposes more of what is happening in the world than ever before - no longer is it so easy for ma-levolent forces to act unobserved and unre-ported.

As always I hope you enjoy the issue, and thanks again for your support for Line Of Sight. ◙

Jonathan Higgins

Page 2

“It’s a grim reality that much of our industry rides on the back of other peoples’ misfortune.”

AN D AN O T H E R TH I N G …

Line Of S ight — Spring 2006 Page 3

NAB HI G H L I G H T S

structure of the antenna ensures that the stowed width does not increase the vehicle width, and when stowed the DA-240 is a fully enclosed and low-profile pod on the vehicle roof with a low drag co-efficient. The DA-240’s an-tenna controller can automatically acquire and track both stable and inclined-orbit satellites.

(Continued from page 1)

As with the AvL, in the event of motorisation failing, the antenna can be easily hand-cranked.

SISLink, the UK SNG services company which moved into manufacturing their own brand of SNG systems in 2005, were showing their new uPod Fly Drive 1 metre antenna sys-tem. uPod is a complete, self contained, auto-mated satellite uplink system squarely aimed at broadcasters. SISLink are offering a complete single thread SNG uplink system in three cases each weighing less than 32 kg – and later this year the system will also be available with a 1.5m diameter reflector. An increasing trend in SNG seen in systems launched over the last year or two is the ability to assemble an uplink without the need for any tools.

SISlink have taken account of this and ex-tended it to the use of quick release push fit connectors to interface the RF package to the antenna system. Designed to reduce the cost and complexity of satellite uplinking whilst mini-mising setup time and level of operator skill required, the uPod is simple to operate, and requires little knowledge of satellite uplinking by use of automatic acquisition of stable and in-clined orbit satellites.

SISLink can also provide an on-demand satellite booking system offering instant book-ings. The system in flyaway form can be packed for quick deployments and can be easily re-mounted onto most vehicles or used as a tradi-tional style flyaway.

An interesting SNG truck was on the booth of Massachusetts-based SNG/ENG truck manu-facturer Wolf Coach – a GM Suburban built for Peak Uplink, a Colorado-based SNG services company, equipped as a dual path HD uplink


Wolf Coach Dual Path HD Truck

GigaSat DA-240 Tri-Fold Vehicle Mount

“ … the target that has to be met

has been set by IATA with the

mandatory limit of 32 kg for any single

piece of checked baggage …”

SISLink uPod - extensive use of carbon fibre

“BeaconSeek and e-Blended Learning

Solutions have teamed up to produce an interactive on-line uplink training

course ...“

“ More and more people who are

expected to operate SNG uplinks have little or no technical background in the

subject “

M ore and more people who are expected to operate SNG uplinks have little or no

technical background in the subject, and as this has traditionally been the domain of the experienced SNG uplink engineer, many are struggling.

For these ‘newbies’, who are also expected to undertake their primary job function of cam-eraman, picture editor or reporter, there is a scarcity of suitable cost-effective training of-fered, apart from a couple of hours with some-one showing them how to basically get on-air.

Unprepared and lacking critical back-ground information, these poor souls are thrust sometimes literally into the frontline to operate a SNG terminal that the manufacturer has assured the station’s senior management that ‘anyone can operate it’ – and cost-conscious managements are not surprisingly taking them at their word.

The results can sometimes be disappoint-ing and occasionally downright harmful, as incorrectly set up equipment can cause inter-ference to other satellite traffic.

As outlined in the last issue of LOS, Bea-conSeek is rising to meet this need, taking their existing SNG uplink operator training and with the assistance of a specialist distant learning training company, e-Blended Learning Solutions from New Zealand, launching a new online training scheme in the early part of 2007called SlingPath.

No-one wants to invest in excess of USD 100,000 on SNG uplink equipment and not get benefits, yet while all may be fine when the rig operates according to the manufacturer’s


intentions, a small amount of well-placed knowl-edge can often help the hapless operator when the equipment does not behave as intended.

In addition to that, satellite industry lobby group Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group (SUIRG) logged over 4000 interference incidents in 2005 alone – 16% of which are attributable to human error, 39% to equipment failure; and 22% ‘unknown’ – so that probably includes human error and/or equipment mal-function. So well in excess of 50% of the inci-dents can be attributed to factors that could be reduced or eliminated with better training of those who use satellites.

SUIRG, made up of many of the major satel-lite operators around the world, is trying to en-courage users of satellites to invest more in training in order to reduce these problems, and for the broadcast industry that means SNG.

SlingPath is a web-based training (WBT) course, where a participant purchases a ‘seat’ on the course and undertakes approximately seven hours of online training, which they have up to 12 months to complete.

The first of SlingPath’s courses - Basic SNG Operations - is aimed at the absolute beginner, and will take the student through the basics of satellites, how they are used in newsgathering, and the various key technical parameters and

SL I N GPAT H R A D I C A L N E W A P P R O A C H T O S N G T R A I N I N G

An example of the SlingPath style of highly graphical and interactive delivery of knowledge

“ This is the first competency-based

training for the SNG community.”


critical component parts of an SNG system and how to work with satellites. At the end of each of the seven modules there will be a multi-choice test, which the participant must correctly answer in order to progress to the next module.

Finally there is a multiple choice question examination which the student must pass in order to achieve the award of a certificate.

The SlingPath presentation of the material is highly graphical, interactive and user-friendly, with potentially complex subjects presented in a fashion that can make it understandable by the most techno-phobic participants. As well as an on-screen avatar to help with tips and sugges-tions, there will be an online forum where par-ticipants can post questions to a content-matter expert and the answers will be shared amongst the community.

To further assist the student, Jonathan Hig-gins’ primer book on SNG - Introduction to SNG & ENG Microwave - will be the recommended textbook to be used with the course.

The SlingPath online course is then followed up by a 3 day practical course with a hands-on examination, which can be undertaken at one of eight practical training centres which will be established around the globe by the end of 2007. The first three centres will be in Europe, Cyprus and Singapore, to be followed by centres covering Central and South America, two in North America, one in Africa, and one in India-

thereby every continent will have ready access to at least one practical training centre.

Once the participant has completed this second practical stage, they will be awarded a final certificate which will demonstrate to any satellite operator that they have not only at-tended a training course but actually been ex-amined and passed to a standard which will be recognized throughout the industry.

What makes this approach so different is twofold. Although there a few formal SNG train-ing courses, participants are only required to attend to gain a certificate – this is the first competency-based training for the SNG commu-nity.

Secondly, because SlingPath is delivered principally over the internet, it makes it very accessible – there are not the associated costs of taking people out of the system and travel expenses are minimized to the practical section only.

For those who do not have ready access to relatively speedy internet connections, there are plans to develop a CD-ROM version of the course that will only require the participant to go online for the assessment elements of the course. With a window of one year to complete the course, the participant can complete it at their own pace, and retake modules as many times as they need without penalty within that


SL I N GPAT H

“ Remember the name - SlingPath … SNG uplink training for the 21st century “


subjects and introduce additional elements such as equipment troubleshooting, some of the mathematical background and link budgets.

The aim is to produce training that is opera-tor-orientated, relevant, affordable, and compe-tency based. Although final course fee struc-tures have yet to be finalized, it is hoped that some satellite operators, SNG equipment manu-facturers and other interested parties may step in to help prospective participants from poorer parts of the world to be able to take part, and very promising discussions are already under-way with some of these entities. It is in the inter-ests of everyone in the SNG industry to ensure that every uplink operator is as well-qualified as the antenna system they are using.

So remember the name – SlingPath – and what it stands for – SNG uplink training for the 21st century delivered by leading experts in the field. ◙

SL I N GPAT H period should they have a particular difficulty.

Although travel is required for the practical element of the training, the aim is to have practical training close to principal air travel hubs, and so should be within 12 hours travelling time for the majority of par-ticipants.

Initially Sling-Path will be deliv-ered in English – the lingua franca of the satellite world – but there will be other language versions rolled out through 2007 – 08 accord-ing to demand. The additional languages envisaged include Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, Arabic, and French. With these languages SlingPath will be accessible to virtually everyone on the planet with an interest in SNG.

But the SlingPath scheme does not stop there. With the steady advances in technolo-gies, the participant will be required to keep their knowledge fresh, and so they will be re-quired to re-take a ‘refresher’ version of the training between the second and third anniver-sary of their initial qualification.

This ensures that this is a living program that keeps step with technology and makes sure that SlingPath graduates are always at the vanguard of SNG technology.

It is hoped that after the initial launch of the SlingPath program, a second tier at a higher level for the more advanced engineering-orientated participant will be launched in 2008. This will go into greater depth in the complex

HD ENG LI N K TE S T SU C C E S S

F ollowing recent extensive testing in New York, CBS believes new digital microwave

equipment can meet their HD ENG require-ments.

CBS discussed their test results with affili-ates at NAB. CBS measured HD feeds from an ENG van parked at various sites up to 35 miles away from its receive site on the Empire State Building, replicating the typical coverage area for ENG operations. With a line-of-sight to the building from the van’s microwave mast. CBS measured 100% success at HD data rates ranging from 18 - 28 Mbps

They also tested 'bounced' transmissions from various locations within New York’s ur-

ban canyons, such as Times Square and Rocke-feller Center. The reception rate for bounce transmissions was 95% at a data rate of 18 Mbps, and 90% for 22 Mbps.

CBS hope that they can replace the use of SNG trucks in key metropolitan markets with COFDM digital receive sites for digital ENG vans

CBS transmitted the compressed HD micro-wave feeds within an 8 MHz channel using transmission equipment from Microwave Radio Corp. and HD encoders and decoders from NTT Electronics.

COFDM allowed CBS to test different modu-lation configurations at a range of data rates; for example, CBS used a 9 Mbps stream for

SlingPath multi-choice question style

signal alignment and sighting the antenna. CBS also tested sending HD feeds with a

prototype non-COFDM transmission system at a high data rate of 35 Mbps. That system proved reliable for line-of-sight applications, with a 100% success rate for distances less than 35 miles, but unsuitable for bounce applications, with a success rate of only 15%.

Broadcasters are in the midst of an FCC-mandated transition from analogue to digital ENG equipment, freeing up spectrum for


The Best Books On

Satellite Newsgathering


Sprint Nextel. The wireless carrier is spending up to $US 500 million to compensate stations for new digital microwave equipment.

While Sprint Nextel is providing only stan-dard-definition equipment, some broadcasters plan to spend more for HD capability. But since HD video has four to five times the information of SD video (1.48 Gbps v. 270 Mbps) and im-proving the robustness of a microwave signal generally means lowering the data rate, ques-tions emerged as to whether reliable HDTV feeds could be sent in the new ENG channel. ◙

HD ENG LI N K TE S T SU C C E S S

Industry

U K SNG Fee Rise - Under proposals from the UK regulator Ofcom, SNG uplink fees in the

UK may rise by 50% next year . Typically an SNG uplink operator pays £1,000 (US$1,800) pa per uplink terminal to operate an uplink in the UK, but this could rise to £1,500 (US$2,700) next year. Ofcom’s proposals are currently out for consultation, and BeaconSeek is representing a number of UK uplink operators - under its um-brella industry lobby group UK-UP (UK Uplink

NE W S Providers) - in formulating a response to the consultation in time for the September deadline.

Five years ago BeaconSeek successfully led an industry lobby to reduce the UK SNG annual fees from £8,500 (US$15,300) - the second highest in Europe at the time - to an average £1,000.

Anyone interested in joining UK-UP should contact BeaconSeek.


" A remarkable machine, more for event c o v e r a g e t h a t newsgathering ... And a lovely big toy … “


with Tiernan HD MPEG-2 encoders, twin Xicom 200W HPAs and a Swe-Dish DA-150 1.5m antenna. A clever use of the minimal interior space including a Sony DNW-A25 SX laptop editor, gave the impression of a very practical newsgathering tool in a compact format.

Inmarsat had probably one of the busiest booths I’ve seen since they started exhibiting at NAB, with live demonstrations of their new BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) ser-vice which will shortly potentially offers speeds of up to 490 kbps – sufficient for use with MPEG-4 AVC compression to produce fairly acceptable pictures for use on news bulletins. Both Quicklink and Streambox (who each have their own different and proprietary video com-pression systems) had equipment in use on the stand with BGAN, and some of the results seemed quite impressive. Inmarsat’s range of compact terminals combined with the use of laptop based software compression certainly offers the potential of making the title of this article pertinent.

On the ND SatCom booth was the first of ten Ford SNG trucks they are building in co-operation with Florida based SNG/ENG truck builder Frontline for the ten O&O (owned and operated) ABC stations across the US. The ND SatCom SkyWAN VSAT system is used as a communications backbone working with their SmartSNG system, using their compact SkyRAY 1.5m SNG pod-mount antenna.

The truck and the NOC (Network Opera-tions Centre) also utilise a SheduAll system called ScheduLINK. This automates the book-ing of an SNG transmission, including coordi-

nation between the satellite desk and the satellite operator, space-segment allocation, and time, day, and duration of the transmis-sion.

The collaboration with ND SatCom on the smartSNG takes this process a step further. Once the smartSNG vehicle is on site, the operator — with the push of one button — initi-ates deployment of the antenna and the SmartSNG system locates and acquires the correct satellite. This is what is becoming to be known as a “red button - green button” style of operation.


ScheduLINK working over the SkyWAN link ensures all technical and booking parameters for the transmission have been met; bringing the uplink online at the booked time and en-suring all points on the network that need to receive the transmission receive the transmis-sion.

During transmission, the truck is con-nected back to the network or station and can be fully remotely controlled. Operators have a full range of communications, including inter-coms, phones, and IFB. If there is an editor in the truck, smartSNG enables field editing and sending of packages back to the network or station. Transmission completed, the operator just needs to push just one button to stow the antenna.

Lastly, one of my favourites of the show - not ground-breaking technology, but for a European used to see nothing much bigger than a Sprinter van as the standard SNG mo-bile platform, US operator PACSAT had their latest truck on the Frontline stand, a behe-moth built for the HDTV market.

This is a project I know PACSAT’s Chief Engineer Eddie Maalouf has been working hard on for over a year - I can remember talk-ing to him at Satellite 2005 about it - and the result was so impressive that it was even catching the eyes of people not interested in satellites!

An Andrew 4.5m tri-fold, a 1.8m antenna - both on one truck - multiple chains … the list goes on. A remarkable machine, more for event coverage that newsgathering, and a tribute to the engineering skills of PACSAT and Frontline. And a lovely big toy ... ◙

ScheduLINK

NAB HI G H L I G H T S

PACSAT Behemoth - at NAB, & outside


NE W S

V C-1 Standard Approved - SMPTE have finally approved Microsoft’s VC-9 com-

pression as the new VC-1 standard. Standardi-zation of VC-1 took more than two years of work by more than 75 media and entertain-ment companies.

T elecast - the CopperHead Generation Two (G2) has been released by Telecast Fiber

Systems. CopperHead G2 provides full "triax-like" functionality for professional camcorders via a single, lightweight tactical fibre optic cable, or via SMPTE hybrid cable for those who want to power their cameras remotely. The interface supports all signals between the camera and 1RU base station, including bidi-rectional analog composite or component video, digital SDI and HD-SDI video, multiple audio, two channels of intercom, full camera control, multiple data paths for control of ex-ternal devices, and transport of metadata and Ethernet

H olkirk - are having an unexpected suc-cess with their innovative quick release

fitting for WR-75 flanges. Developed for their own flyaway systems, they are an excellent solution to quickly connecting/disconnecting LNBs and transmit flexi-waveguides. The quick release sets - selling for around £150 ($US 270) a pair - are selling like pro-verbial hot cakes!

Training

B BC Training - their basic satellite commu-nications course - Satellites in Broadcast-

ing - is running October 9 - 13 in Evesham, UK. (There are currently no planned dates for their SNG course, Digital Satellite Communica-tions.)

N AB Satellite Uplink Operators Training — running October 2 - 5 in Washington DC.


B eaconSeek - offers both bespoke courses for SNG manufacturers and operators as

well as a customized training programme for satellite operators to train their customers in SNG operations. Contact us for details. Watch for details of our upcoming SlingPath training program at www.slingpath.com ◙

Holkirk WR75 Quick Release

BeaconSeek Ltd. Hithermailes, 212 Mancroft Road, Aley Green, Luton, Beds LU1 4DR United Kingdom

Phone: +44 (0)1582 842 717 Fax: +44 (0)1582 849 013 Email: [email protected] Line Of Sight is published three times per annum and is available as a free download from our website © BeaconSeek Ltd. 2004 - 2006

We’re on the Web @

www.beaconseek.com

Web addresses for organizations/companies featured in this issue

AvL www.avltech.com BBC Training www.bbctraining.com CPI www.cpii.com/satcomm e-BLS www.e-bls.com Frontline www.frontlinecomm.com GigaSat www.gigasat.com Holkirk www.holkirk.com Inmarsat www.inmarsat.com MRC www.mrcbroadcast.com ND SatCom www.ndsatcom.com NTT www.nt.co.jp PACSAT www.pacsat.com Peak Uplink www.peakuplink.com QuickLink www.quicklink.tv Sat-Comm www.sat-comm.com ScheduALL www.scheduall.com SISLink www.sislink.co.uk SlingPath www.slingpath.com StreamBox www.streambox.com SUIRG www.suirg.org Swe-Dish www.swe-dish.com Tiernan www.tiernan.com Wolf Coach www.wolfcoach.com Xicom www.xicomtech.com


• Looking to rent an uplink? Then look at TVZ, which has both current and upcoming news events around the world, and contact details for who’s covering what — www.tvz.tv

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Documents

LOS Spring 2006 v9 - Beaconseek · ing a prototype fully three-axis motorized 1.2m diameter system which again comes under the 32 kg bar. As with AvL, the FA-120 features a multi