Star Ray TV is an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
community television
Community television is a form of mass media in which a television station is owned, operated or programmed by a community group to provide television programs of local interest known as local programming.
Community television stations are most c ...
station in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada. The station, which broadcasts in
digital on channel 22 in Toronto's
Beaches
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
neighbourhood, was launched in 1997 when Jan Pachul, an
amateur radio operator, applied to the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for a licence to serve the community. Star Ray TV has temporary authority from
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; french: Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada; french: ISDE, label=none)''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal I ...
(formerly Industry Canada from 1993 to 2015) to transmit on
UHF channel 15 and 22 in Toronto with call sign VX9AMK.
History
On August 21, 2000, after five interventions from established broadcasters, the CRTC turned down Pachul's application, on the grounds that it did not meet with the CRTC's
low-power broadcasting (LPTV) policy, but Pachul alleged that the CRTC was simply protecting established corporate broadcasters who had already failed in their responsibility to provide programming of community interest. On September 9, the station began broadcasting illegally as a pirate station.
Pachul appeared before the CRTC on September 19, 2001, and was ordered to shut the station down by November 15 of that year. In December, the CRTC published a new policy permitting the development of community stations on LPTV.
At one point in 2002, Star Ray broadcast on UHF 15 as text-only, based on a loophole by which it claimed text did not constitute "programming" and was therefore not prohibited. More recently, Star Ray has faced allegations that its operations interfere with
VHF channel 13, home to
CTV's
CKCO-DT
CKCO-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Part of the CTV Television Network, it is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside London-based CTV 2 station CFPL-DT, although the two stations mainta ...
in
Kitchener.
In recent years, the station has broadcast over the Internet. Pachul applied for another broadcasting licence on June 3, 2004, but as of 2008 the CRTC has not published a decision either approving or denying the 2004 licence application.
Since its inception, Star Ray broadcast on UHF channel 15. However, since
CHCH-DT
CHCH-DT (channel 11) is an independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Hamilton; prior to 2021, it was located near the corner of Jack ...
moved its signal to UHF 15 on December 2, 2013, Pachul moved Star Ray TV to UHF channel 22 and began broadcasting in digital with a new
ATSC transmitter on December 13, 2013, with the
virtual channel
In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...
remaining 15 via
PSIP
The Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) is the MPEG (a video and audio industry group) and privately defined program-specific information originally defined by General Instrument for the DigiCipher 2 system and later extended for the AT ...
.
[ ]
References
External links
Star Ray TVVX9AMK (STAR RAY) history- Canadian Communication Foundation
Internet Broadcasting from TorontoTOchat, Star Ray's online forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Star Ray Tv
Television stations in Toronto
Mass media regulation in Canada
Pirate television stations
Canadian community channels
Television channels and stations established in 1997
1997 establishments in Ontario