ASTRA GET CLUBBERS LINKED UP
DC Sat.Net has completed the first series of commercial IP streaming transmissions using the Astra BBI News feed system. The live transmissions were carried out for DC’s client Escape TV, the world’s first night club TV channel, by using a BBI satellite interactive terminal (SIT) and Ka-band uplink dish situated on the roof of Club Eden in Ibiza.
The new Astra BBI system facilitated live entertainment featuring DJ Dave Pearce’s Dance Anthems from Club Eden, to Escape TV’s subscriber base of night clubs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“This technology will revolutionise the club entertainment scene worldwide since it provides live event coverage for world class DJs targeting independent night club owners at affordable rates,” said Escape’s director, Jonathan Wignall.
Using capacity on Astra 1H at 19.2 degrees East, the BBI Ka-band transmissions were streamed to Astra’s headquarters in Betzdorf, Luxembourg and forwarded to the subscribers over the Astra-Net Ku-band IP multicast platform, where they were received by PC-based receiver stations situated in the subscribing venues. Each club then played out DJ Dave Pearce’s performance into the venue using large video screens and the clubs’ sound systems.
“Using Astra’s innovative BBI two-way satellite technology for these events, gave us the opportunity to get content from places not normally noted for their broadband communications infrastructure,” said Stephen Flood, DC Sat.Net’s managing director, “This entailed live transmissions with no real backup communications available on the island, so there was little margin for error. The BBI system performed flawlessly in an environment as far removed from the lab as you could possibly get.”
Robert Feierbach, broadband interactive system business director at SES-Multimedia, welcomed the successful DC-Sat.Net live streaming trials, “As the Astra BBI system is being readied for commercial launch in early 2001, this application illustrates the wide range of potential uses for interactive satellite services.”