42 May-June 2017 DTH still dominates over Asia-Pacific

Asia remains a huge driver of PHOTO: MEASAT SYSTEMS satellite connectivity because ARRIS’ new satellite of the many advantages the receivers support latter offers. However, to be HEVC/.265 and DVB-S2X able to reach out to current ARRIS has two new satellite and future viewers, satellite receiver solutions for satellite distribution operators continue to require a networks. Both the DSR- robust infrastructure, as 7412 integrated receiver/ transcoder and DSR-4470 integrated Josephine Tan discovers. receiver/decoder feature HEVC/H.265 4K/ Ultra HD (UHD) decoding and DVB-S2X demodulation capabilities. The DSR-7412 delivers up to 12 channels of both MPEG- Measat Satellite Systems recently demonstrated the transmission of 4K/UHD HDR content via 2/4 HD and SD transcoding to support its MEASAT-3 hotbird satellite, using the DVB-S2X broadcast standard at 18Mbps. Regardless legacy set-top box capability, while the T he goal of every broadcaster is to maximise of the video resolution, Measat believes that DTH remains the dominant delivery platform in DSR-4470 provides a dedicated decoding the audience for its content by reaching as Asia-Pacific. platform for full compatibility with next- many viewers as possible in the most cost- generation distribution networks. effective manner. With the kind of scale equipment, leading to more 4K/UHD our line-up of programming has been that is available in the highly populated content in the near future.” favourable, and in particular, our Hiltron powers on with Asia-Pacific region, direct-to-home (DTH) In March this year, Measat suc- introduction of the first commercial delivery continues to play an essential role cessfully showcased the transmis- 4K/UHD programming in HDR — Super-HMAM motorised in the broadcast ecosystem. sion of 4K/UHD HDR content via Travelxp 4K — has created a lot of ex- satellite antenna mount DTH is the dominant platform for Asia its MEASAT-3 hotbird satellite using citement among our trial participants.” Based on the HMAM three-axis motorised due to the advantages it offers pay-TV DVB-S2X broadcast standard at Besides Travelxp 4K, programming antenna mount, Hiltron’s new Super-HMAM operators in the region, Yau Chyong Lim, 18Mbps. Alongside five other partners on the SES 4K/UHD line-up include is designed and built to accept “substantial- COO of Measat Satellite Systems, tells APB. — Ateme, BBright, Binasat, Celebrities Fashion One 4K, 4KUniverse, NASA ly larger” reflector dishes. The Super-HMAM These, he elaborates, include: Management and Cisco — Measat TV UHD, Insight TV, UHD1, C4K360, includes high-grade drives for azimuth and n Reliable video delivery over a large demonstrated the playout of 4K/UHD Funbox 4K, Nature Relaxation 4K, as elevation, plus a high-accuracy polarisation geographical area at a fixed distribution cost. HDR content over a 4K/UHD playout well as SES’ 4K/UHD demonstration drive. It is fully compatible with Hiltron’s n The ability to reach mass audiences server. The content was also encoded channel. These channels are hosted on standard HACU antenna positioning system. in Asian countries where terrain can be and compressed using the high-effi- a trio of SES — SES-1, SES-3 A combined head and drive are incor- ciency video coding (HEVC)/H.265 and AMC-18 — which cover the cable porated, forming a three-axis motorised geographically challenging — for example, system with 180° of azimuth adjustment, archipelagos such as the Philippines and compression standard, and decoded headends in the US. 90° of elevation adjustment range and fully Indonesia, or large land areas such as India by a 4K/UHD HEVC/H.265 decoder Although the US is seeing “fast- adjustable polarisation. Positioning accuracy and . that supports the hybrid-log gamma growing” 4K/UHD TV adoption is +/- 0.0° and position-display resolution n The widespread availability of satellite (HLG) standard. compared to Asia-Pacific, Mathur is 0.01°. infrastructure, as compared to terrestrial Yau elaborates: “While 4K/UHD believes that 4K/UHD will be adopted fibre, which can take years to roll out. HDR provides higher quality video widely in Asia in due time, given the Next Month @ Distribution Yau foresees 4K/Ultra HD (UHD) being than HD, it also elevates the broad- strength of growing economics, as well the “main technology trend” in this year that caster’s content above the rest of the as the young and technology-savvy Set-top Boxes for will impact the satellite and broadcast indus- pack to give consumers the best pos- population in the region. “Currently, New TV Platforms tries. He explains: “Satellite has traditionally sible viewing experience they can have a lot still has to happen in Asia-Pacific been strong in multi-point video distribu- at home. Thus, with infrastructure and before 4K/UHD can roll out as a mass- tion, and this strength will assist the industry pipelines already in place, satellite is market service. Most developing Asian to distribute 4K/UHD content effectively, a convenient and cost-effective video countries are still growing their HD PANELLISTS despite increases in bandwidth require- delivery mechanism that maximises its bouquet, and the digital switchover ments. The progress made in the 4K/UHD reach to pay-TV operators.” (DSO) in some countries is still in- space includes high dynamic range (HDR) Another company which has con- complete. While we have not carried standards being cemented, and vendors ducted 4K/UHD test trials over satel- out 4K/UHD trials in Asia to date, we Dr Ali R Ebadi increasing production of 4K/UHD-related lite capacity is SES. To accelerate 4K/ are not ruling out its possibility in the Advisor UHD home delivery, SES recently col- future,” he adds. Board of Directors laborated with US-based telco Verizon Despite the ongoing developments Measat Satellite to drive the development of 4K/UHD in the delivery of 4K/UHD content Systems solutions for Verizon Fios subscribers over satellite, HD remains the standard throughout the US. offering, even in developed markets As part of the alliance, Verizon such as Japan, , and received and tested content from SES’ South Korea. In developing markets Martin Coleman pre-packaged 4K/UHD platform, such as Thailand, the Philippines and Executive Director Satellite Interference which combines a line-up of 4K/UHD Indonesia, HD channels are also in- Reduction Group channels and reception equipment in a creasingly occupying a larger propor- service delivered over satellite capacity. tion of the channel line-up. Commenting on the trials, Deepak In China, Mathur, senior VP, commercial, Asia- (CCTV) has signed an agreement with Pacific and the Middle East, SES, Intelsat for the distribution of five HD Amitabh Kumar To empower media operators to better serve their says: “Our trials have shown that SES’ channels via IntelsatOne terrestrial customers, SES has introduced its subsidiary company MX1, Director, Corporate which offers digital video and media end-to-end solutions approach has been very effective in fibre and teleport services. As a result Zee Network to enable operators to capture a spectrum of viewers with accelerating the take-up of 4K/UHD of the agreement, CCTV will expand different entertainment and lifestyle needs. in the US. The market’s reaction to its use of the HD format for its new and May-June 2017 DISTRIBUTION 43

❝While non-linear TV represents another DTH still dominates over Asia-Pacific potential revenue stream for media operators, our customers view this documentary style programming based network to an automated move, in areas where there is lack as a complementary to viewers in the US. Three HD hybrid satellite and terrestrial of terrestrial connectivity, and channels — CCTV-4, CGTN and converged IP network. even enables live video and the revenue stream to their CGTN Documentary — are avail- Designed to optimise network streaming of high-quality content linear distribution, which able now on Intelsat 34, with two efficiency, IntelsatOne Prism ena- on planes and ships today. additional HD channels, CGTN- bles service providers to transmit Although OTT is changing continues to be the primary Français and CGTN Español, content via a single platform, consumers’ viewing behaviour, source of revenue.❞ slated to be aired in the future. including live video, file transfer, and prompting some broadcast- — Terry Bleakley, Regional Vice-President, Terry Bleakley, regional VP, voice-over-IP (VoIP), Internet ers to move certain content from Asia-Pacific Sales, Intelsat Asia-Pacific Sales, Intelsat, ex- access and data exchange. satellite to OTT distribution, OTT plains: “Using a DTH platform, Acknowledging the rise of and linear TV over satellite need media organisations can generate OTT and non-linear services, not be a zero-sum game, Measat’s means content is being localised quirements will fuel the adoption higher revenue streams by custom- SES’ Mathur stresses that pay-TV Yau stresses. Instead, it is possible for different languages. These of HTS in the region.” ising content to regional audiences. “continues to be popular among for the two to co-exist and comple- areas, Mathur adds, is where Similarly, Intelsat has also Cable distribution is also cost- viewers and remains a dominant ment each other in the emerging HTS spot beams can be useful in launched its second satellite un- efficient, but infrastructure may mode of content delivery in Asia- economies of Asia, he suggests. delivering local content for local der the Intelsat EpicNG platform vary greatly from region to region. Pacific”. He explains: “Linear “In the longer term, we may see consumption. — Intelsat 33e — that has already Hence, DTH represents a more TV is achieving strong growth the convergence of linear and non- SES’ hybrid HTS satellite fleet commenced service from the reliable distribution platform.” in fast-growing markets such linear services through hybrid currently comprises the SES-12, 60°East orbital location, extend- In the midst of an evolving as Indonesia, Vietnam and the DTH-OTT set-top boxes (STBs). SES-14, SES-15 and SES-17 satel- ing Intelsat’s HTS services in C-, media landscape, the broadcast in- Philippines, while in established As for the more immediate future, lites. Out of these, SES-12, which Ku- and Ka-band to Europe, the dustry is also seeing the emergence TV markets such as India, local we continue to see opportuni- is scheduled for launch later this Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, of over-the-top (OTT) platforms, media content and hundreds of ties for DTH growth in Asia. For year, will extend services to Asia- Mediterranean and Indian Ocean. which has resulted in the shift channels are readily available to example, India — one of Measat’s Pacific at the 95°East orbital loca- Equipped with a flexible HTS towards non-linear viewing. consumers today.” key DTH markets — recently an- tion. Mathur describes: “With a payload design, the Intelsat 33e Bleakley highlights that non- To enable broadcasters and nounced the need for more tran- combination of Ku-band wide will enable the delivery of broad- linear TV represents “potential service providers to capture a sponders. Additionally, Nepal and beams and multi-spot Ku- and band services to fixed and mobile revenue streams” for program- spectrum of viewers with different Pakistan have announced that they Ka-band beams, SES-12’s spot network operators, as well as mers, and Intelsat customers are entertainment and lifestyle needs, are looking to launch new DTH beam will be more competitive for the distribution of regionalised viewing this as a “complementary he recommends that satellite ope­ platforms,” Yau concludes. regional broadcasters who are in- content for media organisations, revenue stream” to linear distri- rators offer integrated DTH and Another development impact- terested to broadcast local content according to Intelsat’s Bleakley. bution. “All of the multi-screen OTT services on hybrid platforms. ing the satellite industry is the to a province that is covered by a He further reveals that Horizons options create additional com- For instance, SES has introduced deployment of high throughput spot beam — as opposed to using 3e, which is expected to launch in plexity to our media customers’ its subsidiary, MX1, a move that satellites (HTS), which is capable traditional wide beam. 2018, will complete the coverage operations, yet at the same time, has enabled the company to scale of delivering higher throughput “The increasing uptake of HTS, of Intelsat 33e in Asia-Pacific. “The they would also like to find more up its existing video capabilities at a “lower cost per bit”, making however, will largely be due to the digital payload of Intelsat EpicNG efficiencies,” he adds. while offering digital video and it a compelling connectivity solu- demand for connectivity on the satellites allows for connectivity This was one of the factors media end-to-end solutions to tion for broadcasters and service go. Consumers will come to expect between spectrum types, in any that drove Intelsat to develop the empower its customers to better providers in Asia, SES’ Mathur constant connectivity, available bandwidth increment, and from IntelsatOne Prism service, a multi­ serve their consumers. points out. anytime and anywhere, and will any beam to any beam, offering media networking platform and With increasing consumption While the majority of broad- increasingly want to view content media customers total flexibility portfolio of managed services that of video and content on the go, casters still require traditional and video everywhere. The need and the capability to use C-band allows broadcasters and service Mathur adds that satellite makes wide beams for a particular coun- to provide affordable connectivity and Ku-band depending on their providers to upgrade a satellite- content viewing possible on the try or region, the diversity in Asia solutions to fulfil consumers’ re- needs,” he concludes.