theibcdaily Broadcasting from a bivouac witnessing the great
Inmarsat BGAN allows journalists to work from anywhere
Inmarsat By Heather McLean
Mobile phones and social media are changing the journalistic landscape and therefore the technological
requirements of the job, according to Inmarsat. With smartphones making up 30% of all the phones shipped last year, many people have more technology in their pocket than most journalists had just a decade
ago, stated Martin Turner, director of media business at Inmarsat.
He commented: “Combined with social media and the 24 hour news cycle, the result has been a revolution in the news industry. We are
democratisation of the media. The advent of citizen journalism has turned the audience from consumer into competitor. And it’s usually far easier for a member of the public to upload a video to YouTube than it is for the news media to broadcast it.” Turner stated that in this new market, journalists face the challenge of making sense of the flood of available information regardless of where they are. He said this means extending the newsroom into the field so they have access to the latest information and intelligence about the story, and also providing the capability to mount more sophisticated productions in the field when the story merits it.
“A single mobile satellite terminal that requires no expert knowledge to use
Multiswitch will work under extreme conditions Unitron
By Ian McMurray
Featuring four satellite inputs/one terrestrial input, eight outputs (eight legacy set-top boxes or 24 OLT set-
top boxes) is the recently- announced 9742 Single Cable Multiswitch from Unitron (Johansson). By cascading several units, more receivers can be connected. Thanks to the legacy support, says
Unitron, the multiswitch can be used even if no SCR set- top boxes are installed yet. The wide range of satellite input levels (60 to 91dBV) is designed to ensure the multiswitch will work even under extreme conditions.
provides the connectivity that the news media needs, wherever the story is,” explained Turner. “It can be used for simple live and recorded contributions or it can be the hub around which more complex broadcasts are built. It can enable new collaborative workflows that tapeless formats have introduced and create a Wi-Fi cloud that services an entire team. “Higher data rates will continue to transform the quality of live video from the field and connectivity for those working there. And as Ka-band offerings come online, broadcasters will benefit from unprecedented bandwidth, coverage and flexibility. The news industry is changing. And so is the communications technology on which broadcasters depend,” concluded Turner. 2.C28
The 9742 features high output power (AGC controlled) and supports auto-tuning of set-top boxes. It is low trunk-loss (ideal, says Unitron, for cascading several multiswitches) and incorporates multistandard
support: EN50494/ BSkyB/Legacy (backwards compatible with old set-top boxes). Also included is DC input for LNB powering. Unitron is also presenting its new configuration software, called Universal User Interface. This platform is said to be able to manage all configurable Johansson
products, including Digital Modular Headends (DMH) and Profilers. The DMH range has been extended to DVB-S2, DVB-T, DVB-T2 and AV inputs and is available with DVB-T, DVB-C or IPTV output. In addition, the company is presenting its new compact headend, called Colosseum, which is described as a very compact and easy solution, even after the switch-off. The
Colosseum is a plug & play solution with a preconfigured channel list. Johansson is also focusing on LTE (4G) protected devices. This new range includes not only filters and masthead amplifiers, but also ultra- high power distribution amplifiers. The brand new range of distribution amplifiers comes in a Zamak housing, making it, says the company, a very attractive and efficient solution. 4.C56