olympics everywhere supplement
special report
The Satellite Interference Reduction Group (sIRG) has been busy lobbying the industry to introduce ‘carrier identification’ for video transmissions in time for the 2012 Olympics. Of course, 2012 is not far away and although a great deal of progress has been made in the last month or so, there is still a long way to go, so how do we ensure that it is rolled out in time, and why is it even important? Martin Coleman, executive director of the Satellite Interference Reduction Group and director of Colem, reports.
RF interference is mostly caused by human error, bad installation, lack of training, poor equipment or system design, and a lack of adherence to industry standards and guidelines. Occasionally, interference may be deliberate, but this is rare and the majority of interference issues lie largely within the heart of the satellite industry itself. The orbital spacing of satellites is being reduced and the fill rate is getting higher. It is getting crowded up there, leading to increased interference. One of the major issues in the fight
against satellite interference is the lack of carrier identification. If carriers are not identified when interference occurs, it is almost impossible to
Reducing interference T
he satellite industry loses millions of dollars per year down to cases of interference and a great deal of manpower has to be given over to discovering its causes.
Martin Coleman, executive director of the Satellite Interference Reduction Group and director of Colem.
determine where the problem has come from. Therefore, by introducing ‘carrier identification’ in the form of an embedded code that, via a satellite operator database, leads to contact and transmission information, across all transmissions, interference can be mitigated almost as quickly as it starts. It will also significantly reduce the time taken to track and correct those day-to-day interference issues that do crop up. It is estimated that it will help mitigate 80% of interference cases, so although it isn’t the complete answer in the long-term, it is certainly a leap in the right direction.
Interfering with the Olympics
The Olympics is a huge event in the broadcasting calendar. It will involve coverage from a great number of broadcasters across the globe and will be watched by many millions of viewers. The very nature of it means that viewers will simply not tolerate the effects of interference. Imagine watching one of your country’s leading sports people battling for gold and, just at the crucial moment, losing coverage! The coverage will also be
extensive, with as many as 300 events taking place at various venues across the UK over a period of about three weeks. During that time a whole host of broadcasters across the globe will be acquiring feeds and many will be distributing those via satellite networks.
26 l ibe l olympics everywhere supplement november/december 2011 l
www.ibeweb.com Establishing ‘carrier ID’
It is clear that establishing ‘carrier ID’ is extremely important, although it is not simple as it requires the support and backing of the entire satellite industry, including satellite operators, broadcasters and manufacturers. We have been lobbying the entire
industry for a couple of years now to ensure we can do this. And it is starting to have an effect. At IBC, we had a couple of key announcements. The first was an announcement by Eutelsat, that Eutelsat carrier ID will be integrated into transmission parameters for all SNG transmissions and new DVB broadcasts in time for the London Olympics. We are now working with others to enable them to put similar requirements in place. The other important milestone
reached at IBC was that six modulator and modem manufacturers agreed to work together to have new carrier ID technology adopted as a specification by the DVB Forum. It has been accepted as a working topic and will now move to the next stage of the process. The initial system put forward is developed by Comtech EF Data, but the technology group will, no doubt, examine alternatives before issuing a standard. The technology being included in the proposed specification contains the carrier ID information within a separate spread-spectrum carrier. It is visible to satellite operators without the need to interrupt the original feed, saving
at the London Olympics
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