Public News

10th January 2012

Freesat confirms Manhattan as partner for launch of its next generation of set-top boxes
Freesat today confirmed it is partnering with Manhattan as a manufacturer of its next generation set-top boxes due to launch early this year.In September last year, Freesat confirmed that Sagemcom and Humax would also be producing the new boxes.

The main French TV channels have been broadcasting in analogue from the orbital position 5w for many years (originally Telecom now Altlantic bird). This service supplied rural communities in France that had no terrestrial service. The time has come to switch  from analogue to digital. The French Fransat service includes the 18 TNT digital channels including TF1 M6 France 1, 2 3, 4, and requires a Fransat receiver and viewing card. There are 2 receiver options to choose from, a standard definition box and a high definition box. The card last indefinately and there are no subscription fees. A 60cm dish can be used across most of the UK to receive Fransat. If an analogue system has previously used it is likely the dish will be compatible with the new receivers.

SD Channels

• TF1
• FRANCE 2
• FRANCE 3
• FRANCE 4
• FRANCE 5
• M6
  
• ARTE
• FRANCE O
• DIRECT 8
• W9
• TMC
• NT1
• NRJ
• LCP
• BFM
• ITELE
• EUROPE TV
• GULLI

• TF1 HD
  
• FRANCE 2 HD
• ARTE HD
• M6 HD

Sky broadcast in the UK and charge a monthly subscription for their channel package to UK residents.  There are similar channel packages across Europe that are also only available to the residents of the country of origin. Due to the fact that the channels are broadcast via satellite it means that the channel packages can be received across most of Europe with correct receiver and subscription card. 

Generally foreign channels subscriptions are far more expensive than Sky due to the markup added by the various suppliers in the chain so do not represent good value to domestic users as an alternative to Sky. Commercial users however benefit from far lower subscription charges than the Sky commercial rate which is one of the reasons UK pubs and clubs run European channel packages for their sports channels. Another reason is that foreign broadcasters have the rights to show the 3pm kick offs that are blocked in the UK to protect the attendance at the stadiums where the games are played.

So what are the options for domestic customers?
If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to an official Sky subscription then an official foreign channel package is not for you. If money is no object and your keen to receive 3pm kick offs then there are various packages to choose from.

Piracy
The only other way to receive foreign channel packages is the unofficial route using illegal pirating methods. Years ago  it was possible to insert an pirated card into a satellite receiver or enter pirate codes to unlock channels.  Broadcasters continually altered their codes and scrambling technology making this method very unreliable.   

Card sharing
Card sharing is now the method used by pirates to gain unofficial access to scrambled channel packages.  Basically an official card and receiver is obtained and connected via a server to the internet where compatible receivers share the card details.  Some receiver manufacturers provide their own servers with a free “gift” for a limited period of time. Others offer a service in return for a monthly, quarterly or yearly fee.  Go to Google and search for CCCAM and you will see lots of providers offering services in return for a subscription of around 20 euros a month for dozens of packages including UK sky channels. 

Whats  the downside to card sharing?
Its illegal across the whole of Europe and providers have been prosecuted and have had their servers closed down. Not sure how they track end users but you are liable to prosecution if you are found to be using a card sharing service.   Secondly the fact that there may be many users sharing simultaneously means that channels are slow to unscramble and may freeze. Many card sharing servers claim to offer the fastest channel change with little freeze.

What do you need to make it work?
Its best to install an 80cm or 1m motorised dish to be able to move between the satellites broadcasting the channel packages assuming line of sight to the satellites is not an issue. You need a satellite receiver that is either CCCAM compatible or can be connected to the manufacturers own server. If your willing to take the risk then card sharing is the only cheap alternative method available. 

The judgement could be costly to those who sell exclusive territorial rights to sports and other events and will be costly and complicated for the broadcasters who buy those rights.

However, the free market ruling is more pertinent to private use – essentially declaring there must be a free market in decoders in Europe – as using an ‘unauthorised’ decoder for public viewing may still be a breach of the broadcaster’s copyright, specifically in the presentation – graphics etc – around a game rather than the game itself.

Tony Ballard, partner at law firm Harbottle & Lewis, said:”The Court held that the showing of a broadcast in a pub without consent is itself an infringement of copyright. Rights holders may therefore yet see off the pubs and the biter may yet be bit.

“This is because the pub is perfectly free to get itself a decoder card from a Greek broadcaster,which the Court has ruled is a single market issue, but if they use the card in the pub then that is a copyright issue. In other words, the landlady can’t use the card to show Premier League football to customers,but only for her private use.”

The case came about because a UK pub landlady was fined £8,000 after being charged with using a Greek decoder to allow her customers to watch Sky soccer on Nova for about one third of what Sky charges for public house subscriptions.

The ECJ – which has followed the advice of its Advocate – now says national laws which prohibit the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards are contrary to the freedom to provide services. It said national legislation, which banned the use of overseas decoders, could not “be justified either in light of the objective of protecting intellectual property rights or by the objective of encouraging the public to attend football stadiums”.

Mrs Murphy, who has been fighting the case for eight years, said she was “overwhelmed with relief” and looking forward to getting the case back to the High Court. The ECJ findings will now go to the High Court in London, which had sent the matter to the ECJ for guidance, for a final ruling.

The judges said the Premier League could not claim copyright over Premier League matches as they could not considered to be an author’s own “intellectual creation” and, therefore, to be “works” for the purposes of EU copyright law. But the ECJ did add that while live matches were not protected by copyright, any surrounding media, such as any opening video sequence, the Premier League anthem, pre-recorded films showing highlights of recent Premier League matches and various graphics, were “works” protected by copyright. To use any of these parts of a broadcast, a pub would need the permission of the Premier League.

The Premier League’s television income from mainland Europe is about £130 million, less than 10 per cent of its total £1.4 billion overseas rights deal.

Collossus Productions will develop original 3D programming for both UK and international audiences. The home-grown shows will be showcased on Sky 3D before being distributed to other platforms and countries. Sky has a number of existing commissions in production, including a 3D series on plants currently being filmed at Kew Gardens, presented by Sir David Attenborough, and The Bachelor King 3D, a theatrical-release feature documentary, also with David Attenborough, that looks at the lives of penguins in South Georgia.

Sky has also signed a 3D output deal with MTV, which follows on from the Discovery 3D output deal confirmed earlier this week and has secured rights to an expanded range of 3D film titles from Disney.

John Cassy, Director, Sky 3D, comments: "The BAFTA award-winning Flying Monsters 3D showed just how stunning and genuinely immersive great 3D TV can be. Working alongside Anthony and his talented team will help us continue to deliver the highest quality home-grown 3D content to our growing number of 3D subscribers. We also want to help the UK become a global leader in 3D TV and this deal demonstrates the depth of our commitment. We look forward to extending our selection of content even further by showcasing the best of Discovery, Disney and MTV in 3D."

Anthony Geffen, Atlantic Productions CEO, adds: "This venture with Sky extends Atlantic Productions’ historical ethos of creating award-winning television and theatrical titles which embrace new production techniques and technologies, and the company’s work will complement our continuing dedication to high-quality 2D programming at Atlantic Productions."

The new agreement will see the companies working together on the development and licensing of radio frequency (RF) system 3D active glasses technology, including RF system protocols between consumer 3D active glasses and 3D displays such as televisions, personal computers, projectors and 3D theatres with XPAND active shutter glasses.

The standardization will also include multiple types of infrared (IR) system protocols between 3D active glasses and 3D displays, ranging from the protocols jointly developed by Panasonic and XPAND 3D, to the proprietary protocols of Samsung and Sony, respectively.

"Panasonic has been working to standardize 3D glasses technologies, and in March, we announced a joint licensing of IR system protocols with XPAND, backed by several participant companies. We are very pleased that today’s latest collaboration will incorporate our previous concept into these new standardization efforts," said Masayuki Kozuka, General Manager of Media & Content Alliance Office, Corporate R&D Division, Panasonic Corporation.

Jun Yonemitsu, Deputy Senior General Manager, Home Entertainment Development Div., Sony Corporation, added: "Through this alliance, we all look forward to addressing critical industry issues to enable a better consumer experience across products. We believe active 3D technology is the most suitable method to deliver full 1080p picture quality to each eye, giving consumers the 3D experience they most desire".

The licence of the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative is to be released in September 2011, at which time the development of new standardization-applied active 3D glasses will begin. Universal glasses with the new IR/RF protocols will be made available in 2012, and are targeted to be backward compatible with 2011 3D active TVs.

The catch-up TV player is available for the DTR-HD500 and DTR-Z500HD via a free USB software upgrade, downloadable from the product support section of the manufacturer’s website on the 26 August.BBC iPlayer can be accessed through the ’red button’, provided a network connection is established.Once upgraded, future software and feature updates can be automatically downloaded via the viewers internet connection.

We know that discussions have been ongoing between the broadcasters and Freesat to increase the number of interactive services and it appears that Freesat are now finishing their email news announcements with the following tag line:

Freesat is a subscription-free satellite TV service offering digital television to everyone in the UK. It offers more than 150 TV, radio and interactive channels, including free HD services from ITV, the BBC and Channel 4; Freesat+ to record, pause and rewind; BBC iPlayer, ITV Player with 4OD and Demand 5 coming soon; all for free.

Now of course “coming soon” doesn’t mean much in this industry, but the suggestion that they will is certainly very promising and a further positive step for this forward thinking platform.

The Trust said proposals by the free-to-air satellite platform to introduce the listing of pay content delivered on-demand via broadband did not represent a significant change to the approval previously given in 2007. There was no need for a Public Value Test or for further regulatory process.

Under the plans some pay content, such as films, would be added to the Freesat EPG alongside the existing free-to-air content. However, there would be no adult material or live streamed sports coverage. The possibility of live paid-for linear broadcast channels remains open, but these were not a part of the approval.

Freesat itself will not supply any of the on demand content, but will allow third parties to do so through its EPG.

Some content will also be made available through existing channels using an on-screen prompt that would take viewers to an on demand environment. The plan is to use the upcoming launch of its next generation receivers – understood by Broadband TV News to include HbbTV – to add support for Digital Rights Management (DRM). Where technically possible paid for content will also be made available on existing receivers.

Freesat boxes are already used for on demand content, most notably the BBC iPlayer, and yesterday it was announced that ITV Player would be made available as an open beta. After plans for micropayments were revealed, ITV was yesterday forced to make clear that it would not be charging for content that is currently available for free on ITV Player.

The Trust says Freesat remains an important part of the BBC’s distribution strategy and is of relevance to licence fee payers. “Having considered the BBC’s position with respect to implementing this proposal on the Freesat platform, the Trust’s view is that the proposal to implement this function on the Freesat platform is consistent with, and will further the delivery of, the BBC’s wider distribution strategy.”

Between them the BBC Executive and Freesat consider that the proposal would create minimal market impact. It would add between 100,000 and 300,000 additional users and a small amount of incremental income over the next 3 years.

Bearing the branding View21, the Freeview HD and Freesat HD receivers are aimed at customers who want to “future proof their TV experience” without having to switch to pay-TV.

The receivers will enable users to watch all the standard and high definition channels available on Freeview and Freesat, as well as record shows using the digital video recorder (DVR) functionality.

The receivers have two tuners and an electronic programme guide (EPG) designed by Harvard, which also produces set top boxes under the Goodmans brand. In addition, the boxes offer some catch-up TV services and a range of web apps optimised for use on the television screen.

Developed in partnership with software company ANT and using the company’s Galio connected TV platform, View21 boxes will launch with four in-built web services – BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Flickr, and Twitter.

Paul Fellows, who joined Harvard as chief technology officer from IPTV firm Amino, said that the firm wanted to create an “integrated” product that brought together broadcast TV and the web.

Fellows said that there is often a “big clunk” when shifting between the internet and TV using connected products, but Harvard wanted View21 to offer users a more seamless experience.

The EPG lays out programmes as normal, but there are a variety of filter tabs at the top that show the additional content, such as iPlayer, YouTube and any programmes recorded on the box.

Twitter has been “optimised” for the TV screen, meaning the updates can be shown in a range of ways, such as a news ticker on the bottom of the screen showing the latest tweets.

One of the most impressive features of the box is how it integrates with other mobile devices, including iPhone and iPad. The products come with an app that enables the user to control the EPG using their mobile device rather than the remote control.

The app has a remote record function for setting DVR recordings, while any saved content can be streamed from the hard drive to watch on other devices. This effectively means that the boxes enable a dual-screen viewing experience, with one person watching a channel on the TV and another simultaneously watching another channel or recorded content on an iPad or iPhone.

Harvard decided to create the View21 brand after running a strategic review of the business, which led to increased investment in its technical capabilities and products.

Fellows said that the current digital switchover in the UK has meant more people are upgrading to HD TVs, and so there was more “screen real estate” available to present sophisticated EPGs.

Equally, there has been a 10% growth in average broadband speeds in the UK over the past six months, according to Ofcom, meaning there is more capacity to run services over the internet.

Fellows confirmed that the team is “definitely considering” the idea of offering paid-for content, such as Hollywood movies, on View21 boxes in the future, while the partnership with ANT means that the firm can access existing relationships with thousands of developers for potential future app launches.

In a statement, Harvard chief executive Mike Ashley added: “Following our strategic review we have invested heavily in expanding our technical capabilities – both in software and hardware design.

“The culmination of this investment is a range of products that is innovative, easy to use and affordable. We’ve designed View21 to be a reliable, future-proof solution that enables consumers to empower their televisions with a truly connected, all-in-one entertainment experience.”

The View21-branded Freeview HD and Freesat HD receivers will launch before the end of the year, most likely around Christmas. Fellows said that the products are “aimed predominantly at the mass market”, meaning Harvard will not “whack a premium price” on them.

Extra HD TV is among up to six new TV channels that could be joining Saorview, Ireland’s nascent free digital terrestrial TV service.

But Irish state broadcaster RTE, which operates Saorview, has been criticised for the fees it’s charging rival broadcasters to join.

Commercial broadcaster TV3 and Irish-language channel TG4 have both proposed new Saorview channels to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

TV3 hopes to launch timeshift channel TV3+1, a high definition simulcast channel, TV3HD, and a daytime kids channel, 3Kids, which would become a classic TV channel in the evening.

TG4, the Gaelic-language channel, wants to launch a youth-oriented channel and a timeshifter.

The BAI has recommended TV3’s plans go forward, but said TG4’s youth channel should be subject to a market assessment and public value test before it goes forward.

But the BAI has also warned new channels could be put off joining Saorview by the 1million Euro annual fee proposed by RTE.

The BAI said 11 channel operators have expressed an interest in Saorview, but it was unlikely any would join the service until closer to Ireland’s Digital Switchover date of October 2012.

With 3D future-proofing

Panasonic has added two new Freeview HD PVRs to its line up, with the DMR-HW100 handed a UK release date of mid-September and the space saving DMR-PWT500 making its debut a month later.

The DMR-HW100 is Panasonic’s first Freeview HD+ hard-disk recorder - whilst the DMR-PWT500 brings all of the features of the DMP-BDT210 in a smaller form factor.

As you may expect, Panasonic is not only talking about the HD, but also the players’ 3D capabilities - as and when we see it arrive on Freeview.

Converted?

"Panasonic’s DMR-HW100 and DMR-PWT500 are the first hard-disk only HD recorders of their kind to offer 2D HD recording, plus the future proof capability to record 3D HD when it becomes available on Freeview, and offering the capability to convert any 2D recording to 3D even when time shifting," states Panasonic.

"Plus streaming - great for those who want to experience more 3D content on their 3D ready panel and glasses."

One interesting feature of note is the capability to edit content - meaning that you can partially delete those half watched movies and documentaries clogging up your box.

Talking of which, both boxes have 320GB hard drives - perhaps a little skimpy for HD recording - although Panasonic suggests that this equates to 79 hours of HD content.