Satellite TV Receiver

Ultimate Spectral Efficiency Will Soon Be Here with DVB-C2

Tom — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 09:19:58 +0000

The old DVB-C standard has been used since 1994. The second generation standard came into effect during 2006 when European cable operators conveyed large concerns about the limited bandwidth they have utilise for the distribution of their services. The main aim was to use of the available bandwidth in cable networks more efficiently. Subsequently the DVB-C2 standard was created by experts from 20 various companies and scientists from numerous universities. Chairmanship of the endeavour was supplied by one of Europe’s major cable operators, Kabel Deutschland. Happily, the standard was finalised last year and supplements the DVB-S2 and DVB-T2 standards developed earlier.

The demand for more effective utilisation of coaxial cable bandwidth is logical. Despite the fact that in satellite TV it’s sufficient to move the dish to a different satellite and once more receive a frequency spectrum of 1 or 2 GHz, this can only be achieved with cable TV if you put in additional cables and, let’s face it, nobody wants that. The rising competition from IPTV plus the increasing interest in HD channels has finally put pressure on cable operators to take necessary action.

DVB-C has extremely efficient modulation and error correction schemes which are much more effective than DVB-S and DVB-T. Improving it substantially in DVB-C2 was by no means an easy feat. However, they triumphed! In the worst case, DVB-C2 provides a 30% gain in spectral efficiency over DVB-C. This number jumps up to 80% when upgraded from DVB-C based on 64-QAM. But even a 30% increase lets providers transmit 60 Mb/s through a 6 MHz channel (the maximum for 256-QAM in DVB-C is only 38.47 Mb/s)

Remember: HD Channels require roughly 20 Mb/s. The higher quality SD channels demand 4-5 Mb/s while most will typically use only 2-3 Mb/s. Regarding bandwidths, there are 6 and 7 MHz channels in coaxial cable TV Channel Plans. Yet, DVB-C2 allows the creation of wider channels with much higher bandwidths. Such a new wide channel does not have to be necessarily a multiple of 6 or 8 MHz. The bonus is that we do not waste bandwidth for channel separation and the spectral efficiency goes even higher.

David Attenborough teams with Sky for 3D wildlife doc

Tom — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:50:57 +0000

Sky is gearing up for the launch of its 3D channel, with its first original 3D programme commission.

Flying Monsters 3D, fronted by Sir David Attenborough, will premiere on Sky 3D before its release in IMAX and large format cinemas. The film will see the veteran wildlife broadcaster investigating the pterosaurs – flying lizards with a wingspan of up to 45 feet, which lived between 220 million and 65 million years ago.

The programme will use 3D technology and CGI effects work to enable viewers to “see the world as the pterosaurs did,” according to Attenborough, who also notes that he’s been involved with pioneering broadcast technology for his whole career. “Having learnt my television skills in the days of black and white, and been involved with the introduction of colour,” he says, “I’m thrilled to be part of one of the first 3D television projects.”

Sky 3D – Europe’s first 3D TV channel – will launch to commercial customers in April, before being rolled out to Sky+HD homes later in the year.

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TeVii DVB-S/S2 PCIe S470 Review

Tom — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:15:50 +0000

Over the past few years the Taiwanese company TeVii has recognized the trend for satellite viewing via addon cards/usb boxes and PC’s. Today they’re back with one of their latest products, the TeVii DVB-S/S2 PCI-E S470 PC Card.
This new model is connected directly to the motherboard via a PCI-E slot. This is perfect for HDTV reception. According to the manufacturer, the minimum PC requirements are a 2 GHz CPU for SDTV or 2.4 GHz for HDTV, 512 MB RAM for SDTV and 1GB for HDTV as well as a graphics card with 128 MB of memory. The TeVii card supports the Windows 7, XP and Vista as well as Linux operating systems. The software supplied however is Windows flavor only though.

The TeVii card includes a remote control, IR receiver, software CD and installation instructions. The S470 is plug & play compatible and simply requires “plugging in” to your existing motherboard. This isn’t really out of the question for those inexperienced with PC’s, and on a similar level to upgrading memory or a video card.
It is also possible to select whether just the drivers and software should be installed or if the TeViiData program should also be installed. This program permits the use of Internet via satellite services. There is also a demo version of ProgDVB available on the included CD.

The Software
When the TeVii software is started for the first time, it initially greets the user with a blank screen. A pre programmed channel list isn’t activated nor does the software ask the user to perform a channel scan. The TeVii developed user interface provided us with a very clean and organized impression. On the right side are the channel list and available satellites; the currently selected channel is displayed to the left. An EPG bar at the bottom of the display window provides information on the currently running program. The size of the playback window can be adjusted to your liking; the TV picture can also be viewed in full screen mode. Clicking the right mouse button opens the Options menu giving the user access to all of the necessary settings. The TeVii software itself is very international; it can communicate with the user in a variety of languages: English, French, German, Arabic, Chinese, Finnish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.
The settings menu comes with a variety of options and settings possibilities. Nearly every aspect of the software can be matched to the users requirements, such as, how content is displayed, the storing and operation of the channel lists, the control of LNBs, the use of multiple monitors, setting up recordings and time shifting, the video and audio Codec’s, the IR receiver, the parameters for the EPG display and last but not least an Expert menu that provides access to the basic parameters of the software. Despite all of these settings possibilities, the Main menu has remained clear and easy to understand. TeVii accomplished this thanks to the window architecture that is part of MS Windows. It would not be possible to clearly present so many settings in a standard set top box. Once all of the needed settings are taken care of, the TeVii card must then become acquainted with the antenna system with which it will be used.

Everyday Use
Thanks to the PCI-E bus, the S470 can switch between channels very quickly; it makes channel surfing a breeze. It doesn’t matter if you’re switching between HD channels or SD channels or if you’re switching from HD to SD or vice versa, the switching time is just a little over one second. It is also possible to make the EPG information as well as channel data visible on the on-screen display.
In addition to the playback of live TV, the S470 naturally also comes with recording and time shift functions. Recordings can be manually started and can also be started at a specific time through the EPG or programmed manually.

CPU Load?
In SD mode, a PC with half way decent hardware will have no problems at all. But with HDTV the outlook is different. If your PC has anything less than a Core2Duo CPU, 1080i playback will be choppy. On suitable hardware though, you’ll find the card performs admirably no matter what is thrown at it.
Additionally, with a little jiggerypokery on the codec front, this card can perform better than most set-top boxes.
As the S470 is missing a CI slot, it means that PayTV reception is not normally possible. However, there are solutions to this! Using other software such as ProgDVB however, will allow card sharing to some extent.

Rating 8.5/10
The S470 would have been better with a CI slot, but that should be available in the next version. Our advice is to hang on and wait for that. If it compares well to the S470 they’ll be on to a winner!

Contact – TeVii

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We’re Back

Tom — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:40:44 +0000

Theme has been changed and seems to be working a bit better – there may be a problem with the post pictures, do let us know if you spot anything.

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Changing Theme

Tom — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:42:12 +0000

It seems we’re having a few problems with our website theme and the comment system, so we’ll be changing it within the next 24 hours. Sorry about any downtime, and we’d just like to thank a couple of forums for mentioning us, thanks to satbox4all.nl and allsats.co.uk, we’ll put up a couple of proper links to you guys once we’ve fixed everything!

We’d also love to hear from anyone with Satellite news or related items you’d like to tell us about, email us at news@sattvreceiver.com or twitter us, and we’ll get right back to you.

Thanks again to everyone that’s visited so far, we’d like to make this a useful news site for everyone and help out both pro’s and amateur’s alike where we can!

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Freeview HD Fake deals – Beware!

Tom — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:46:10 +0000

In the wake of Freeview HD’s ‘launch’ this week, we’ve noticed few websites selling receivers which combine ‘Freeview‘ with ‘HD’ in ways likely to mislead.
As Freeview made clear on Wednesday, the short supply of components for the new DVB-T2 transmission system means no receivers will go on sale until January.Eagle-eyed Wotsat readers soon noticed a few ‘Freeview HD’ products on sale already, most notably on Pixmania, but other places too (feel free to name and shame them below).

These are not compatible with Freeview HD – at best they’re designed for the French TNT HD service, which uses a different HD broadcast format; at worst they’ve just got an HDMI socket and aren’t HD in any way.

The bottom line is that Freeview HD receivers need to have DVB-T2 – if it isn’t mentioned then the product is bogus.

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Ofcom’s roadmap for HD TV from 3D to Ultra High Definition

Tom — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:13:30 +0000

Ofcom predicts a slow start but bright future for 3D and Ultra High Definition TV in the next decade.

A report backing the best technology to get 3D and UHDTV on Freeview, satellite and broadband platforms predicts a tough time for technology’s flavour of the month, 3D.

It comes from ZetaCast, the consultants who proposed the current scheme for launching Freeview HD.

Beyond HDTV: Implications for Digital Delivery, says the bubble of hype around stereoscopic 3D is set to burst but it will prove itself after a difficult start.

It recommends ’2D plus Difference’ as the optimum 3DTV technology, where the left eye view is a 1080p HD image in two dimensions, while 3D information is sent enabling the decoder to create a second image for the right eye.

It’s more efficient than the side-by-side half-HD system Sky plans to launch next year, but offers a less satisfying depth experience.

The report looks forward to 2020 and says Freeview should be able to carry four 3D HD channels on a multiplex, while satellite would manage five per transponder.

There’s also a look at Ultra High Definition, which suggests improvements to compression and modulation could allow a Freeview mux or satellite transponder to carry two UHD channels at 8,000×4,000 pixels.

The full 85-page report is also a detailed primer on the state of the art and predicted improvements in digital TV encoding and compression, 3D production and delivery, and the development of high definition displays.

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Sony unveils 3D Television technology

Tom — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:09:04 +0000

Sony has this week unveiled its prototype 3D display technology, demonstrating their growing expertise in the field of 3D HD technologies.
Although the technology isn’t yet named, it produces a true color image which looks a lot like a hologram, but unfortunately isn’t. The unit is approximately a third of a meter tall, with the display itself being much smaller but still providing around 3.9 million pixels, similar to a 1080p HD image. Early uses for this technology are likely to be in the medical field, such as imaging, and also CAD (computer aided design).

The as yet un-named display isn’t a true hologram, but that’s the first thing the Future AV Japan ’09 team thought when the full-colour image was revealed. The whole unit is about 30cm tall and the display itself is maybe 10x10cm of that, but it still contains 4 million full colour pixels, which is about the same as a full HD 1080p picture. The first applications are likely to be medical imaging, telecoms, and computer-aided design – entertainment will require completely new film-making techniques.

It’s the first time the device has been shown to anyone outside Japan, and we’ve no idea how it works inside the black box – any suggestions gratefully received below…

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BBC HD boss sticks up for picture quality

Tom — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:52:33 +0000

The fuss over BBC HD’s picture quality has made it as far as the newspapers now, with the Telegraph and (predictably) the Daily Mail wading in to hammer the BBC over whether the channel’s putting out sub-par “fuzzy” broadcasts.
The BBC’s Andy Quested, meanwhile, has been defending the channel’s position on the BBC Internet Blog (starting with this post). Wotsat recently spoke to Danielle Nagler, Head of BBC HD, who was keen to defend the channel’s broadcast picture quality: “There is a very vocal group of people who believe that the picture quality on BBC HD has gone down over time,” she said, “and that that is due to the reduction in broadcast bitrate for the channel over time. I think we’ve been very clear that the broadcast bitrate has been reduced; we believe that there is no direct correlation between a drop-off in picture quality and that reduction in bitrate. We’ve been able to reduce the bitrate because of advances in technology.”

She also points to differences in filming style and cinematography as being a cause of many complaints. “I think when you look in detail – and I have looked in detail – at the complaints that are being made, and the programmes that are being cited, quite a lot of the issues that are being aired around picture quality are about what I would call styles of HD,” she notes. “That’s not by the way to dismiss the complaints, because the people that make the complaints do genuinely believe that the picture quality on our channel is not as good as it was or as they believe it should be.”

“Film-look” versus “sharp, crisp line”

Nagler’s suggestion is that viewers are mistaking one kind of HD shooting style – the “clean” HD used for news broadcast – as the ne plus ultra of HD picture quality, and that dramas shouldn’t be judged by that standard, as they’re aiming for a “film-look” shooting style. “When there is a big discussion around a programme like Criminal Justice, and complaints about the picture quality there,” she explains, ”I think it becomes clear that some of those complaints are about the film-look that we quite often use on BBC drama, where you don’t get what some people see as the typical characteristics of HD – that very sharp, very crisp line, which is what to them is HD picture quality.

“That is part of HD,” she continues, “but actually what we do is encourage a whole lot of different looks which producers and directors will use as they see fit. And the look of a programme like Criminal Justice, which uses HD in a much softer way, which quite often shifts focus so that you get a kind of blurred background, is not bad HD and is not bad picture quality on the HD channel. It’s a creative choice to use HD to give a feature-film look to drama. And I think that’s an important distinction.”

“The other thing I would say is we broadcast a very wide range of material,” she adds, “and that material brings a whole lot of different looks and feels of HD with it, in the same way that our standard definition programmes have a lot of different looks and feels to them. I think it would be absolutely wrong for us to say, “HD picture quality is purely about one thing that you can do with the technology.” What we’re aiming to do is to explore it creatively and to use it to bring better pictures across the board to HD. I appreciate that that is not to everyone’s taste; some people have a very very clear view of what they want HD to be, but I don’t think that’s what we’re trying to achieve.”

Working with new technology

Nagler also stresses that the BBC is still experimenting with HD, and that, inevitably, some experiments will be more successful than others. “I have looked at it, and I am continuing to look at it; I am not persuaded that there are issues across the board in relation to our picture quality,” she says. “I would be the first person to say that of course there are some programmes which don’t work as well as we would like them to do; that’s in the nature of moving programmes to HD and getting people used to working with new technology. But we do test – we put every programme that’s delivered in HD through a testing system to look at the HD content of the programme, and to look at the quality. And we will send programmes back – we do have debates about those programmes, and we do occasionally have issues on transmission, whether it’s around sound or picture – which we acknowledge. I don’t think there is a problem across the board in relation to the bitrate at which we broadcast and a drop-off in picture quality across the board. But I recognise that there are people who believe that that is the case.”

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Review Dreambox DM8000HD

Tom — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:42:42 +0000

Dreambox DM8000 HD

What is immediately striking is the size of the box DM8000, especially if you are satisfied with the DM800. DM8000 is a “Stereo” size, and much larger than the DM7025.

Personally, I don’t like the arrangement of LCD screen, but it is a matter of taste. The selected “green” display, which is easy to read, such as the DM800 but I prefer the color white. It seems that changing the OLED Displays form / color is simply not available.
You can add DVD-RW Slim Line player. The software still can not use Blu Ray, but I think that this is only a matter of time, most hardware can be considered.

Image quality is better than the DM800 I think that if you see for a long time and compare the results show brighter and sharper image.
De-interlacing is a good thing, it’s not 100% of the DM800. This example shows a news channel “RSS info bars. In addition, the DM800 is a really good product DM8000 Satellite Freaks video, if you have more than one card.

DM8000 with build-in two-S2 card, so you will, in principle, be sufficient. There are two free slots host to another S / C or T tuner.
I like the possibility of future Blu-Ray, so you can get a complete multimedia machine.
Far from almost the same as the DM800, but the extra buttons are also a number of better service.
Enigma2 software is the same as DM800, but more natural ability. Box works very well and is also faster due to faster than the DM800 processor. I would venture to say that the DM8000 is at least as stable as a DM800. I am currently a beta version of PLI image box and there is not an error I can not find. Havent seen a problem yet. Of course, next time, next to update the drivers and software are often more DMM functionality.

For Dreambox fans whether this device costs less than € 999.00 (retail consumer prices). A lot of money, but my hobby is worth it.

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