|
Astra 2D
Astra 2D was one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES and located at 28.2° East in the geostationary orbit until June 2015. It was a Hughes Space and Communications HS-376HP satellite bus and was launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais in December 2000 to join Astra 2A and Astra 2B at 28.2° East, where it remained for its active life. In service While active, most of Astra 2D's transponders were used to provide television channels available on the Sky Digital satellite service to both Ireland and the United Kingdom, as well as the non-subscription service, freesat. Provision of rights-sensitive broadcasts free-to-air was made possible by the satellite's beam that was tightly focused on Ireland and the United Kingdom. However, surrounding countries had the ability to pick up the signal (dependent on suitably sized satellite dishes) and so could still access Freesat from outside the United Kingdom. Some channels on Astra 2D were encrypted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communications Satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Radio receiver, receiver at different locations on Earth. Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite. Others form satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, where antennas on the ground have to follow the position of the satellites and switch between satellites frequently. The radio waves used for telecommunications links travel by Line-of-sight propagation, line of sight and so are obstructe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astra (satellites)
Astra is the brand name for a number of geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES, a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is also used to describe the pan-European broadcasting system provided by these satellites, the channels carried on them, and even the reception equipment. At the time of the launch of the first Astra satellite, Astra 1A in 1988, the satellite's operator was known as Société Européenne des Satellites ("European Satellite Company"). In 2001 SES Astra, a newly formed subsidiary of SES, operated the Astra satellites and in September 2011, SES Astra was consolidated back into the parent company, which by this time also operated other satellite families such as AMC, and NSS. Astra satellites broadcast 2,600 digital television channels (675 in high definition) via five main satellite orbital positions to households across Asia, Australia, Africa, Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Digibox
The Digibox is a device marketed by Sky UK in the UK and Ireland to enable home users to receive digital satellite television broadcasts (satellite receiver) from the Astra satellites at 28.2° east. An Internet service was also available through the device, similar in some ways to the American MSN TV, before being discontinued in 2015. The first Digiboxes shipped to consumers in October 1998 when Sky Digital was launched, and the hardware reference design has been relatively unchanged since then. Compared to other satellite receivers, they are severely restricted. As of 2020, Sky Digiboxes have become largely outmoded, superseded by Sky's latest-generation Sky Q boxes and Sky Glass televisions; the previous generation Sky+HD boxes are still in use, however. Base technical details The Digibox's internal hardware specifications are not publicly disclosed, however some details are clearly visible on the system. All early boxes except the Pace Javelin feature dual SCART outp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cisco Videoscape
Cisco Videoscape (formerly NDS Group and currently known as Synamedia) was a majority owned subsidiary of News Corp, which develops software for the pay TV industry (including cable, satellite and others). NDS Group was established in 1988 as an Israeli start up company. It was acquired by Cisco in 2012 before being sold back to the private equity company Permira in 2018 for US$1 billion. The company is currently headquartered in Staines, United Kingdom. Filling The Executive Chairman and CEO roles at NDS is Abe Peled with former CEO Dave Habiger having left in 2012. The company's major product is the VideoGuard conditional access system, which is used by more than 85 leading pay TV operators around the world. NDS technology includes end to end connections for satellite, broadband IPTV, Hybrid, OTT, and EPGs. It has launched VideoGuard Connect, the DRM for Pay-TV, designed to help TV operators to seamlessly extend their pay-TV services to connected media devices, enabling se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VideoGuard
VideoGuard (sometimes referred to simply as ''NDS''), produced by NDS, is a digital encryption system for use with conditional access television broadcasting. It is used on digital satellite television systems – some of which are operated by News Corporation, which owned about half (49%) of NDS until its sale to Cisco in 2012 (becoming Cisco Videoscape division). Since 2018 VideoGuard is improved and maintained by Synamedia (Cisco's spun-off company based on its former Videoscape division). Its two most widely used implementations are Sky in the United Kingdom and Ireland and DirecTV in the United States, the former of which launched the digital version of the system in 1998. History Since the majority of content provided by companies like BSkyB requires subscription, VideoGuard protects that content by encrypting both standard subscription channels and pay-per-view movies and events. Access flags can be downloaded to the subscriber's card either over the air (via 'hidden' d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription, other ongoing cost, or one-off fee (e.g., pay-per-view). In the traditional sense, this is carried on terrestrial radio signals and received with an antenna. FTA also refers to channels and broadcasters providing content for which no subscription is expected, even though they may be delivered to the viewer/listener by another carrier for which a subscription is required, e.g., cable television, the Internet, or satellite. These carriers may be mandated (or OPT) in some geographies to deliver FTA channels even if a premium subscription is not present (providing the necessary equipment is still available), especially where FTA channels are expected to be used for emergency broadcasts, similar to the mandatory emergency phone num ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freesat From Sky
Freesat from Sky (FsfS) was a British satellite television service from Sky UK. It offered over 240 free-to-air (FTA) channels in its EPG. This is a greater number than its competitors, Freesat, which has 200+, and Freeview, which has 70+. It also had up to six HD channels and used to have Sky Active interactive data service. Sky was not actively promoting the service (in favour of its subscription TV offering) and the service has quietly been discontinued for new customers as of 2021. Service reach , the number of households with free-to-view satellite television is estimated by Ofcom to be 2.045 million, or 8.0% of households with television. This figure includes households with the BBC/ITV Freesat, Freesat from Sky, and churned Sky subscribers who kept their Sky Digiboxes to access free-to-view channels. Reception equipment This service requires use of the proprietary SkyHD or SD set-top box, to receive the FTA channels. Sky's boxes use the proprietary OpenTV EPG for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scientific research, and Earth observation. Additional military uses are reconnaissance, early warning, signals intelligence and, potentially, weapon delivery. Other satellites include the final rocket stages that place satellites in orbit and formerly useful satellites that later become defunct. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). Most satellites also have a method of communication to ground stations, called transponders. Many satellites use a standardized bus to save cost and work, the most popular of which are small CubeSats. Similar satellites can work together as groups, forming constellatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sky UK
Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), Trade name, trading as Sky, is a British broadcasting, broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of Sky Group (currently owned by Comcast) and is headquartered at the Sky Campus, Sky Studios in Isleworth. Sky is a major media company and the largest British broadcaster by revenue. It operates the Sky News news media organisation, Sky Sports which is the largest sports TV broadcaster in the UK, and the Sky Studios film and TV production company. Sky is also the country's leading provider of Pay television, pay-TV services (12.7 million customers as of the end of 2019) through its satellite television, satellite TV platform Sky Q as well as the IPTV-based Sky Glass and Sky Stream products. Its flagship channels include Sky Showcase, Sky Max, Sky Witness, Sky ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transponder (satellite Communications)
A communications satellite's transponder is the series of interconnected units that form a communications channel between the receiving and the transmitting antennas. It is mainly used in satellite communication to transfer the received signals. A transponder is typically composed of: * an input band-limiting device (an input band-pass filter), * an input low-noise amplifier (LNA), designed to amplify the signals received from the Earth station (normally very weak, because of the large distances involved), * a frequency translator (normally composed of an oscillator and a frequency mixer) used to convert the frequency of the received signal to the frequency required for the transmitted signal, * an output band-pass filter, * a power amplifier (this can be a traveling-wave tube or a solid-state amplifier). Most communication satellites are radio relay stations in orbit and carry dozens of transponders, each with a Bandwidth (signal processing), bandwidth of tens of megahertz. M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astra 2A
Astra 2A is one of the Astra communications satellites owned by SES. Launched in 1998 into the 28.2° East orbital position, half its expected end-of-life capacity of 28 transponders were pre-booked by BSkyB, who utilised it to launch their new Sky Digital service. History The satellite suffered pre-launch technical issues with its apogee motors and was moved to a launch by the Proton-K / DM-03 rather than the Ariane 5, as the Proton can inject directly in geostationary orbit (GEO). When positioned at 28.2 East, it joined DFS Kopernikus-1, which served mainly Eastern Europe. The satellite was the first of Astra's craft to never carry analogue television services (with the exception of a solitary test card in 1999 ), and as of 2006, carried standard definition digital television, digital radio, and high-definition digital television, as well as Sky Interactive streams and the AVC Broadband and Silvermead satellite Internet services. Two beams "2A North" and "2A South" tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satellite Bus
A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are less customized than specially-produced satellites, but have specific equipment added to meet customer requirements, for example with specialized sensors or transponders, in order to achieve a specific mission. They are commonly used for geosynchronous satellites, particularly communications satellites, but are most commonly used in spacecraft which occupy low Earth orbit missions. Examples Some satellite bus examples include: * Boeing DS&S 702 * Lockheed Martin Space Systems A2100 * Moog Inc. SL-OMV, Meteor, Meteorite * * INVAP ARSAT-3K * Airbus D&S Eurostar * ISRO's I-1K, I-2K, I-3K, I-4K, I-6K, and Indian Mini Satellite bus * NASA Ames MCSB * SSL 1300 * family * Orbital ATK Star Bus family, inc GEOStar * Mitsubishi Electric DS2000 * Spacecraft bus of the Jam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
