Direct Broadcasting By Satellite Research Articles

Distribution and Emission of Multichannel Audio Programs, and Implications for Post-Production

Many new digital television emission formats, including digital video disk (DVD), community antenna TV (CATV), direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS), and terrestrial television, incorporate the Dolby Digital (AC-3) low bit-rate audio coding system. This system is capable of delivering discrete multichannel audio to the consumer, and also offers several unique features such as dialogue normalization and dynamic range control. The Dolby Digital is intended for use in emission, which is defined as the final link in the delivery path to the consumer Many of the features of Dolby Digital are best controlled in the post-production process. A distribution path is required between the output of post-production and the input to the final AC-3 emission encoder Although the handling of multichannel audio is routine in the post-production area, the infrastructure needed to distribute multichannel audio in the broadcast environment is currently lacking. This paper will describe some of the unique features of Dolby Digital that should be understood and managed by those in post-production. The paper also illuminates some of the problem areas in distribution of the completed multichannel audio program to the actual point of emission to the final consumer.

A signal monitoring approach for the Korean DBS system

The monitoring purpose of the broadcast transmission system is to provide a means of determining how the transmission system is performing and where a fault or abnormal condition exists in the transmission chain. This article presents the monitoring system for digital DBS (direct broadcasting by satellite). The author describes the monitoring requirements relating to which signals need to be monitored, where to monitor in the transmission chain, and how often each signal needs to be monitored.

Twenty-first-century commerce: The case of QVC

The changing media environment has introduced Europeans to new types of television text, with the coming of DBS (direct broadcast by satellite) and SCS (satellite to cable services). To date these new television forms have been little studied: there is a widespread anxiety that 'more means worse' in terms of television but as yet very little evidence that there is anything at all different on the new channels. The present paper takes one of those new channels, Sky's QVC (Quality, Value, and Convenience) which is a 24-hour shopping channel, and attempts to demonstrate some of its distinctive features as a form of broadcast social interaction. Particular attention is paid to its character of sales monologue, and to the interactive work which the presenters have to do whilst they are on air

HDMAC coding for MAC compatible broadcasting of HDTV signals

The authors consider the problem of bandwidth reduction needed to allow HDTV (high-definition television) signals to be transmitted through the narrow DBS (direct broadcast by satellite) channel and to simultaneously fulfil the compatibility requirement with the European DBS transmission standard, the MAC/packet family. This problem is studied in the context of the EUREKA 95 project. The HDMAC coding system is outlined; it is a three-mode system (stationary 80 ms, tracking 40 ms, and dynamic 20 ms modes) with motion compensation used in the 40 ms mode. The system was built in hardware and has been demonstrated.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The D-MAC transmission system for satellite broadcasting in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is about to enter a new and exciting phase of its broadcasting history. On 27th August 1989 a satellite was launched for the world's first high-power direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS) service which is funded entirely privately. For the success of this service the broadcaster needs to establish a large customer-base quickly and yet needs to offer the potential of receiver improvements for the future. Against this background the D-MAC/packet system has been adopted as the signal format to be used. This system offers a reception option involving a relatively inexpensive set-top convertor and yet it also provides a number of important options for enhancing the service. The paper briefly describes the D-MAC transmission system and highlights in particular how it can provide an evolution to high-definition television (HDTV) in the future.

DBS and the South Pacific

Western European governments have been keen either to collaborate with private entrepreneurs to develop DBS (Direct Broadcasting by Satellite) projects or to allow them to finance and operate such ventures on their own. An examination of programming and production. advertising. and news and information shows that governments are allowing DDS to be developed without adequate control and accountability structures. Its economic impact varies depending upon whether a country is a sender or a receiver of the signals. Its likely entertainment-based programming format and heavily commercialised flavour looks set to have a profound effect upon the existing terrestrial broadcasters. The countries of the South Pacific are both more vulnerable to external commercial interests and more susceptible to the claims of economic and industrial benefit by prospective DBS operators. Australia should playa role in providing policy expertise to the South Pacific nations so that adequate control and accountability structures can be established before any DDS services become operational. Without such Structures. these nations may find it increasingly difficult 10 preserve their political and economic integrity.

The UK D-MAC/packet standard for DBS

The United Kingdom standard for direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS) is described. A multiplexed analog component (MAC) vision format was devised to overcome the inherent limitations of PAL. The resulting D-MAC/packet system offers improved pictures compared to PAL, together with rugged high-quality digital sound, secure encryption, the flexibility to provide widescreen pictures and, in the future, higher definition. The system is evolutionary in concept, and can be used in conjunction with existing television displays. The single-wire baseband format of D-MAC/packet takes up a bandwidth of approximately 8.5 MHz. It consists of time-compressed components of the luminance and color-difference vision signals, together with a 20.25 Mb/s digital data burst in duobinary form. Frequency modulation is applied for satellite transmission, while for distribution on cable networks, vestigial sideband amplitude modulation can be used. >

Direct broadcast satellites: The media—industrial complex in the UK and Europe

A fusion of industrial interests, media enterprises and governments - a media-industrial complex - has developed and is extending to the new media of direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS). This article examines the consequences of such control for broadcasting in the UK and Europe. Among the issues considered are financing of DBS, take-up, local content, diversity of choice, public service broadcasting, advertising, cultural formation, free flow of information and European integration. The author asks whether multinational media enterprises are the appropriate entities to exercise control over such matters. Two developments are necessary in order to realize the potential benefits of DBS for Europe: European cooperation in hardware manufacture, and effective regulation of DBS in accordance with overt broadcasting principles.

Direct broadcasting by satellite in the USA: Interim regulations and implications

Technological advances in satellite communications and changes in regulatory philosophy in the USA came together at the end of the 1970s to foster a new medium — direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS). DBS, similar to other new television distribution systems, holds the promise not only of serving the people who cannot be reached by conventional television systems, but also of offering diverse programming to existing television audiences. However, the potential problems raised by the FCC's interim DBS regulations might jeopardize the economic viability and the development of future DBS systems in the USA, and might affect the interests of DBS audiences.

B-MAC: An Optimum Format for Satellite Television Transmission

This article describes the B-MAC transmission format recently developed for direct broadcast by satellite (DBS) that meets both technical and commercial needs. The custom integrated circuits (ICs) necessary for decoding in this system are expected to be commercially available in the early part of 1985. Requirements beyond satellite transmission include capability of distribution on cable for single-family homes, through satellite master antenna TV systems for multiple dwellings, and via UHF terrestrial broadcast. Other considerations involve encryption of the material, scrambling of the video, teletext facilities, and potential expansion for extended-definition TV (EDTV). Several of the other systems investigated are discussed, together with the reasons for this choice.

Direct Broadcast Satellites: An Interview with Hartford Gunn

The use of satellites to broadcast television programs and provide other information services directly to the home has been recently approved by the Federal Communications Commission. This new technological innovation is known as direct broadcast by satellite (DBS) and will go into limited operation during 1984. The Satellite Television Corporation (STC), a subsidiary of COMSAT, is the company that will be providing the first national satellite to home television network in the United States. In this interview with Hartford Gunn, Vice‐President of Program Development for STC, the concept of DBS is explored. As discussed in this interview, DBS holds potential for librarians. There is no doubt that another element in the telecommunications web is coming into place as we move further into the Third Wave.

New Forms of Broadcasting: RSTV &amp; Cable TV — But What Happened to the Satellite?

The possible relationship between Radiated Subscription Television (RSTV) and public television, as well as between these two and the development of new satellite services is discussed. Some of the relevant factors emerging from overseas DBS (Direct Broadcasting by Satellite) are highlighted.

The DBS dilemma

Direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS) technology is developing rapidly, and is likely to be widely used throughout the world. For Britain, however, the emergence of DBS poses and awkward dilemma