Satellite Television (DBS, DTH, DSat, DVB-S, DVB-S2) News

SES and Armstrong initiate Ultra HD trial
Jul 20, 2015 – SES (Paris; Luxembourg: SESG) has announced that it has initiated the first-ever live and linear Ultra HD (UHD) trial with cable MSO Armstrong. The trial combines satellite broadcasting with the multicast capabilities of DOCSIS 3.0.
News categories: SES S.A, Armstrong, Steve Corda, Mike Giobbi, Cable TV, Content Distribution, Digital TV, DOCSIS, Satellite, USA

Star One C4 satellite begins post-launch manoeuvers
Jul 16, 2015 – Space Systems/Loral (SSL) has announced that a satellite built for Embratel Star One has been launched and is successfully performing post-launch manoeuvers. Star One C4 features 48 Ku-band transponders which will be used for Broadcast Satellite Services at 70°W.
News categories: Space Systems/Loral, Embratel Star One, Arianespace, John Celli, Gustavo Silbert, Brazil, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Latin America, Satellite

Airtel Digital TV launches 'Made in India' set-top-boxes
Jul 16, 2015 – Airtel Digital TV has announced the launch of its first indigenously manufactured set-top-boxes. The Made in India set-top-boxes will be available in HD to begin with and soon all Airtel Digital TV’s set-top-boxes will be manufactured in India.
News categories: Airtel, Shashi Arora, Digital TV, India, Satellite, Set Top Box

Sky Deutschland adds satellite capacity for Ultra HD
Jul 16, 2015 – SES (Paris; Luxembourg: SESG) has announced that Sky Deutschland has secured additional capacity for Ultra HD broadcasts on ASTRA at 19.2 degrees East. Ultra HD delivers four times the resolution of today's HD TV.
News categories: SES S.A, Sky Deutschland, Ferdinand Kayser, Holger Ensslin, Austria, Content Distribution, Germany, Satellite

Pay TV booming in German-speaking territories
Jul 15, 2015 – According to the Association of Commercial Broadcasters and Audiovisual Services (VPRT), pay-TV continues to record ongoing expansion in Germany. In 2014, new record figures were reached in terms of revenues, subscribers and viewing times.
News categories: VPRT, Frank Giersberg, Austria, Cable TV, Digital TV, Germany, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Subscribers, Switzerland

Humax and Freesat launch compact and connected Freetime box
Jul 15, 2015 – Humax and Freesat have launched the most compact and affordable Freetime set-top box recorder to date, bringing the benefits of the subscription free satellite TV service to a wider group of cost-conscious consumers in the UK.
News categories: Freesat, Humax, Paul Gilshan, Graham North, Digital TV, Satellite, Set Top Box, UK

CANAL+ DTH goes all-HD with Thomson Video Networks
Jul 15, 2015 – Thomson Video Networks has announced that the CANAL+ Group has deployed its ViBE EM4000 HD/SD encoder to power the migration of its entire CANALSAT satellite offering to an all-HD delivery infrastructure based on the H.264 codec.
News categories: Thomson Video Networks, CANAL+ Group, Eric Louvet, Frederic Vincent, Content Distribution, Digital TV, France, Satellite

HD+ unveils first HD+ embedded UHD TV
Jul 9, 2015 – HD+ (Paris and Luxembourg: SESG) and TechniSat have unveiled the first Ultra High-Definition (UHD) TV with integrated HD+ decryption system (no CI+ module for HD+ required). HD+ also announced the launch of its UHD demo channel in September.
News categories: HD PLUS, TechniSat, SES S.A, Georges Agnes, Digital TV, Germany, IFABerlin, Satellite, Smart TV

Pay-TV use among U.S. Netflix streamers relatively stable
Jul 8, 2015 – According to TDG, the use of legacy pay-TV services among Netflix Streamers in the U.S. has declined only three points in the last three years, from 87% to 84%. At the same time, the use of Netflix streaming among pay-TV users has increased 33%.
News categories: TDG, Nick Beyer, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Streaming, USA