Dateline Asia
GAMBLING ON DIGITAL CONVERGENCE
The Latest Industry Trends Show That Its a Whole New Ballgameby Mark Long
copyright 1999 MLE INC. All Rights Reserved
(This article originally appeared in the September/October 1999 issue of Cable & Satellite Asia.)
In Las Vegas during the summer of 1999, the American home satellite TV industry collectively faced the biggest series of techno-shocks since high-powered digital DTH services were first introduced back in 1994. Digital convergence is moving from the think tank to boob tube faster than you can "Wink" or sing "I want my Web TV."
The startling array of innovative new gadgets previewed in Las Vegas runs the gamut from automated TV guides and hard disk recording devices to HDTV receivers and interactive set-top boxes. Satellite TV, American style is promising to be the "can do anything" entertainment technology of the 21st century as well as the trend setter for much of the rest of the world. Well hold to your hats because its going to be a bumpy ride.
Photo 1: Local channels via satellite began arriving in many major American TV markets in December of 1999.The American rules of engagement have been turned upside down just when everyone was getting into the swing of things. Direct-to-home satellite TV systems are now in one out of every nine U.S. television households--more than 12 million total--and new subscribers are coming on board at a dizzying rate of 250,000 every month. Sustaining these growth numbers, however, will be challenge given the higher complexity of the new technologies being deployed.
Many American consumers used to be able to install their own receiving systems but that's about to change. DBS operators DIRECTV (101 and 119 West Longitude) and Echostar (110 and 119 West Longitude) are both moving to multiple satellite delivery platforms, which will require the installation of antennas equipped with two or more feedhorns and LNBs in order to receive the 500-channel TV universe that will soon be available.
The multiple feedhorn array allows a single prime focus antenna to simultaneously receive signals from satellites that are adjacent to the central satellite at which the antenna points. The multiple feedhorn array along with the associated LNB units are aligned in a plane that is perpendicular to the polar axis of the offset-fed antenna.
The mounting bracket used to support the multiple feedhorn array is constructed in a such way that the installer can adjust the positions of the secondary feeds so that maximum signal levels are obtained from satellites located to either side of the antenna's main beam. If used on a slightly larger antenna than what is required for single satellite reception, the secondary feedhorn or feedhorns will capture sufficient signal even though the secondary focal points are of lesser intensity than the antenna's main beam. The bad news is that installing a multi-feed antenna is not as straightforward an operation as putting in a dish dedicated to receiving a single satellite.
Photo 2: To access local channels via satellite in the smaller TV markets either a second satellite dish, or one equipped with a multi-feedhorn array must be used to access the services.RESHAPING THE TV SCREEN
The shape-shifting going on is also not confined to the outdoor antenna; the TV screen itself is undergoing revolutionary changes. On 1st August 1999, DIRECTV Inc. began offering the HBO HDTV channel, which represents the first continuous high-definition TV broadcasts available to American TV viewers with a crystal-clear picture with a cinemascopic 16:9 aspect ratio.
HBO HDTV features the same programming schedule as HBO's main programming service, but with 60 percent of the available movies offered in a picture-perfect high-definition format. Those movies which are not available in an original HDTV format are being upconverted to a 1080-line format in order to enhance the picture quality over what a standard digital TV signal can achieve. DIRECTV has also concluded an agreement with movie-maker DreamWorks to air pay-per-view films in a high-definition format in the near future.
Would-be subscribers will face two major challenges. DIRECTV is broadcasting its new HDTV services through a second satellite, which means that subscribers will be required to use a special multi-feed antenna or two dedicated dishes to receive programming in both the HDTV and standard-definition TV formats. Moreover, none of the existing receiver/decoders already installed are equipped to process HDTV signals. Subscribers will therefore need to purchase an HDTV set with a built-in digital DTH receiver or a digital-DTH-enabled HDTV set-top converter box.
LOCAL AND FOREIGN VIA SATELLITE
Both DIRECTV and Echostar also have announced plans for delivering local broadcast network channels via satellite to approximately 50 million homes, or about half of the nation’s television households. Many of these "local-into-local" services, however, will broadcast through secondary satellites, which is one more reason why the multi-feed antenna will quickly become an absolute necessity.
The introduction of local channels via satellite is currently awaiting final Congressional approval. Its anticipated arrival later in the year is expected to coincide with the introduction of a combination set-top box that will allow consumers to seamlessly integrate satellite TV programming with digital off-air signals, as local broadcasters convert to digital.
SATELLITE TV GETS HYPERACTIVE
DIRECTV also is launch a new technology known as Wink Enhanced Broadcasting to a new generation of advanced DIRECTV System receivers. Using the new Wink technology, subscribers will be able to receive high-resolution interactive enhanced broadcasts from many of the available satellite TV channels, including CNBC, CNN, ESPN, HBO, Showtime, TNT and the Weather Channel. Moreover, DIRECTV subscribers have access to Wink-enabled "virtual channels," which include full screen graphics and text used to deliver information, entertainment and electronic shopping services.
Wink is a simple-to-use enhanced television broadcasting system that adds program-synchronous interactivity to TV programming and advertising. Wink content is displayed on the TV screen in the form of a small text and graphics window that the subscriber enables using the system's hand-held remote. The gives TV viewers the option of accessing more information about a TV program or commercial while they are watching.
For example, TV viewers can instantaneously access sports scores on demand, call up local and national weather information or even participate in polls, contests, and game shows without ever leaving the comfort of their easy chairs. While viewing regular television commercials, TV viewers can also use Wink to order a brochure, coupon or product with a remote click that commands the modem inside the Wink-enabled receiver to automatically dial a toll-free telephone number to relay the TV viewer's response. Current providers of Wink E-Commercials include AT&T, Levi-Strauss & Co., and General Electric.
DIRECTV's program originators are using the latest Wink authoring tools to add interactive content to their programming. This data is multiplexed along with the video and sound information into the digital bit stream that is broadcast via satellite to those DIRECTV subscribers who purchase a new Wink-capable DIRECTV System. To access a Wink enhancement, the viewer simply clicks the remote control when the Wink symbol appears on the screen. The viewer also can navigate through a variety of program enhancement options by using the arrow keys on the remote control.
FROM PC TO TV
Echostar is rolling out a competing technology called WebTV that allows subscribers equipped with either a stand-alone decoder or a WebTV-enabled IRD to access Wink-style program enhancements as well as Internet content right from their living rooms. This is possible because of WebTV's ability to convert Internet content to a format that can be displayed big and bold on the TV screen.
DISHPlayer--Echostar's ultimate WebTV enabled device--has so many innovative features that you need a PC just to keep track of them all. It built-in, ultra-fast 8.6 gigabyte hard drive can simultaneously record and play back digital video signals as well as automatically program a VCR to record any available program, up to seven days out, with the press of a button on the remote control. A Dolby Digital output also is included for full theater surround sound.
DISHPlayer's picture-in-picture capability allows subscribers to surf the web and watch TV simultaneously. Also included are a wireless keyboard, audio and video inputs for attaching digital photos audio messages to outgoing e-mail and a printer port for printing out TV Listings of upcoming shows or incoming e-mail messages.
DISHPlayer also features an interactive Electronic Program Guide (EPG) with TV Search capability, so that viewers can quickly find subjects of interest from the detailed TV show listings up to seven days in advance. The EPG also links Internet content with programming found in TV Listings, so that program-related information can be obtained at the touch of a button.
YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU
Satellite TV is no longer just for living rooms; innovative devices are now available that allow you to take your digital DTH system on the road, aboard a jet plane or anywhere else you may need to go. Living up to the new spirit of the American satellite industry's "can do anything" attitude, San Diego based SatCom Electronics used the Las Vegas show as the platform for unveiling the world's smallest portable and mobile DBS-TV system.
SatCom Passport Mini Plus is a compact, one-piece flat-antenna system with an integrated LNB that employs an advanced phased array antenna technology consisting of numerous small radiating elements working together coherently in phase to form a peak energy beam toward the direction of the incoming satellite signal.
SatCom PASSPort Mini Plus is compatible with all current DBS receivers, including the DIRECTV and DISH Network system units that play in the USA. The antenna requires no assembly; users simply plug, aim, play and enjoy satellite TV programming at any location that is not in motion.
The product can be transported in a streamlined carrying case equipped with a compass, portable mount, cables and Digital Satellite Seeker--a pocket-sized meter with an LCD display that measures satellite signal strength to achieve optimum antenna-to-satellite alignment. A new version of the Digital Satellite Seeker now under development will even contain a built-in intelligence that can discriminate between the targeted satellite and other nearby satellites. A two-way communications SatCom PASSPort for on-the-go Internet and multimedia satellite connections also is currently under development.
Sooner or later, all of the innovations previewed above will be implemented right here in Asia. America should be regarded as a testing ground that will reveal which aspects of these new technologies must be revised to make Asia’s digital convergence experience a comparatively shock-free experience for TV viewers and satellite professionals alike.