Ease Of Use
Beyond size, Euro broadcasters want SNG equipment that sets up fast and works without a lot of fuss. Fortunately, "Equipment is becoming a lot friendlier to use," says Globecast's Wilde. "Thanks to feature such as auto-positioning, you no longer need to send out an RF engineer on many jobs; an operator will do. This frees up your RF engineers to handle more complex assignments."
Another "ease of use" SNG product is BT SatNet. Offered by BT Broadcast Solutions, BT SatNet handles everything involved with SNG, save the actual newsgathering.
"BT SatNet is a fully automated SNG solution," says Paul Claydon, BT's head of new product development. "In the field, BT SatNet is a software/mobile satellite terminal solution that autopoints your antenna directly at the right satellite. BT SatNet also automates satellite capacity and scheduling. What this means is that your bandwidth and upload time is pre-programmed into the SNG unit. At the right time, the SNG antenna will lock onto the satellite, and send up the video automatically."
"The BT SatNet mobile terminal is small," he adds. "The 1-meter dish pod fits on a roofmount, while the electronics goes into the trunk."
Cost-Effective Bandwidth Use
After size and ease of use, Euro broadcasters want SNG solutions that are cost-effective. Hence the thinking behind Scopus Network Technologies' new DVB-S2 compliant IRD. Currently in development with Akelia Wireless Ltd., this new Scopus IRD will give Euro broadcasters the ability to better use their satellite bandwidth.
"The new DVB-S2 IRD will set a new standard for cost-effective channel encoding and FEC," says Ovadia Cohen, Scopus' vice president of marketing. "Using MPEG-4 compression, we are now able to provide a reasonably decent picture for SNG using 750 kb to 1 Mb of bandwidth. This is quite incredible when you recall that only a few years ago, we needed 8 Mb to provide a good video feed."
In the meantime, Scopus digital encoders can be found at SNG providers such as Globecast. Recently, Globecast began deploying Scopus Codico E1100 encoders in its SNG vehicles. Besides handling encoding at 50 Mbs, the E1100 also supports the new EBU DSNG scrambling standard. This ensures secure transmission for Globecast SNG crews, wherever they are.
Euro SNG Vibrant And Technically Demanding
Clearly, European broadcasters have big expectations when it comes to SNG equipment and services. In addition, it is also obvious SNG manufacturers and service providers are doing their utmost to meet these expectations. The bottom line: European SNG is a vibrant, but technically demanding, sector of the global satellite industry. In other words, it is no place for the slow, the backward or the faint-hearted.
James Careless is senior contributing editor to Via Satellite.
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