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DVB News 110 -1A

                             
                         Volume One
                          Issue Ten
                        October 1996
                              



..."Anyone who enjoys the privilege of publishing and
broadcasting in open societies should demonstrate their
unshakeable belief in the universality of free speech should
they ever seek to broadcast in societies that are closed."




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     UKFORUM        Section 7 Satellites
     CEVIDEO        Section 5 DBS/DTH

                    For general satellite news:
 Satellite Journal International is available free by Email
                              
                                               
                      News by Region:          
                      World News               Page 2
                      North America            Page 13
                      Europe                   Page 18
                      Miscellaneous            Page 19
                      Transponder Charts       Page 20
                              
                              
                              
                              
                              
World News .......

                              
            International Broadcasting Convention
                              
                              
     DiviCom Inc. has introduced a new program encoder, the
MediaView MV25, which will be available in limited
quantities this Fall.

     The MediaView MV25 is especially suited to PAL
applications and for satellite broadcasting applications
where getting as many signals as possible on a satellite
transponder or cable channel is critical. The new
encoder_built around C-Cube Microsystems E-3 compression
chipset_offers video quality at low bit rates, and is also
the first encoder in the industry to integrate the pre-
processor and an advanced video compressor within the same
unit.

     The MediaView MV25 can be configured with a wide
variety of input, output and control modules to provide
flexible solutions independent of the transmission medium.
In addition, interoperability with other products and
systems is ensured through compliance with the MPEG-2 and
DVB international standards.

     The new encoder also offers advanced PAL and NTSC
composite decoding and processing.  The standard modules
included in the MediaView MV25 include:

     Advanced Video Compressor (AVC): Independent of its
interaction with the pre-processor, the Advanced Video
Compressor works to dynamically reduce artifacts.  Other key
capabilities of this module include adaptive spatial
filtering; adaptive temporal median and low pass filtering
for noise reduction; automated I-frame insertion based on
scene changes or picture content; MPEG-2 adaptive
field/frame motion estimation and DCT; dual B frames which
increase the efficiency with film material; and activity-
based Dynamic Rate Optimisation algorithm for statistical
multiplexing.  Other features also contribute to superior
filtering and compression efficiency.

     Enhanced Video Input Module (EVIM): One of the key
features of the new encoder is the Enhanced Video Input
Module, or EVIM.  This module decodes PAL signals with a
programmable high quality adaptive field/frame or 3-line
comb.  PAL or NTSC comb filtering enables the MV25 to
completely remove composite video artifacts, and this
further enhances picture quality and compression efficiency.
The EVIM module also offers level adjustment of Luma and
Chroma; serial digital video input; and video
synchronisation.  It also extracts and outputs embedded
audio from digital video.

     Audio Encoder Module (AEM): The Audio Encoder Module
offers two stereo pairs, MPEG layer 2, and performs at bit
rates of 64-192 kbps per channel.  It handles digital or
analogue inputs.

DiviCom Ships its 1000th MPEG-2/DVB Encoder

     The recipient of DiviCom's MediaView encoder number
1000 is broadcaster Kanal 5 in Sweden.  Kanal 5, a
subsidiary of Scandinavian Broadcasting System (SBS), will
use the encoder to distribute programming to cable headends
throughout Scandinavia.

     Kanal 5 will use its new encoder  to uplink programs
via the Teracom uplink facility in Stockholm, Sweden to a
receiving system in London. From London, the signal will be
retransmitted to cable headends in Sweden.


TV/COM's new Universal Data Processor
     
     
     TV/COM has unveiled its Universal Data Processor (UDP)
for transporting high-speed data.

     The UDP is the first in a series of TV/COM DVB
compliant data processing products that will add high-speed
data capabilities to uplink, headend and downlink systems,
providing a complete end-to-end data transmission solutions.
The global market for uplinks and cable headends will
increasingly demand a range of data applications.  These
applications will require different data rates depending on
the transmission of the data to the uplink site and the
types of information being transmitted to the end-user.

     Standard data rates, including T1 and E1 ranging from
1.544 to 2.048 Mbps, are most likely to be required as
inputs.  Long term, the data requirement will range from
19.2 Kbps to the "fire-wire" IEEE 1394 speeds of 100+ Mbps.

     The UDP product line consists of three parts: the UDP,
which is a rack-mountable computer that provides the power
to process the required maximum bandwidth; and two PCI-based
platform products developed by TV/COM_an Uplink Data
Insertion (UDI) module and a Downlink Data Extraction (DDE)
module for the downlink side.  Both the UDI and DDE are
installed in a UDP.

     The UDI provides an interface to insert a data stream
and transform it to DVB/MPEG-2 transport packets (T-Link).
The output T-Link stream is connected to TV/COM's Universal
Services Processor (USP), which multiplexes the data stream
with video and audio channels, thus providing an outgoing
video/audio/data MPEG-2 transport stream.  The DDE accepts T-
Link inputs at the downlink and extracts the data from the
transport stream for processing.

     
     
TV/COM's VBI Teletext Processor
     
     
     TV/COM introduced a Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB)
compliant VBI Teletext Processor (VTP) at the International
Broadcasters Conference in Amsterdam.

     The VTP processes teletext provided within the video
input in the Vertical Blanking Intervals (VBI) of digital
video broadcast streams. The VTP complies with the DVB
specification for conveying teletext in digital video, and
is used in conjunction with an Enhanced Digital Video
Adapter (EDVA) to perform initial processing and separation
of VBI data.

     The VTP is a module designed to work as part of
TV/COM's DVB compliant Universal Services Processor (USP),
which digitally encodes video, audio and data signals for
transmission over cable, satellite, or telco distribution
systems.

     The unit meets all applicable DVB and MPEG-2 world-wide
standards (including DVB specification ETS 300 472), which
outline the interface requirements for providing compatible
teletext and subtitling.

     Other VTP features include frame accurate
synchronisation, i.e., the ability to accept source teletext
data and synchronise it externally to the video.  The VTP
supports three teletext input channels per board.  The VTP
operation begins when the EDVA receives digital serial video
inputs from the broadcast digital video stream.  The EDVA
VBI data extraction includes Closed Captioning, teletext and
Vertical Interval Time Code (VITC).  The EDVA also supports
the pan and scan vectors of the VITC, and supports one
serial data channel up to 19.2 Kbps.


TV/COM Transport Multiplexer
     
     
     TV/COM also announced a DVB/MPEG-2 compliant Transport
Multiplexer (TMUX) that multiplexes up to four multichannel
transport streams into a single transport stream.

     The TMUX is especially useful for digital satellite
uplinks and cable headends and for digital broadcast
networks requiring video servers, redundancy and/or full
transponder utilisation.  While each TV/COM Universal
Services Processor (USP) digitally multiplexes video, audio
and data into one transport stream, the TMUX remultiplexes
up to four USP DVB/MPEG-2 compliant transport streams into a
single transport stream.

     For efficiency purposes, satellite uplinks often
require full 54 MHz transponder utilisation, which can be
achieved by transmitting 24 multiplexed video channels.  In
addition to providing redundancy and improved reliability,
the TMUX can act as a switch for selecting a backup USP.
For either redundancy or full transponder utilisation, the
USPs must be linked together, requiring Program Clock
Reference (PCR) restamping to reduce the jitter and ensure
overall consistent video quality.

     Cable headend sites also require packet identification
(PID) filtering, remapping and packet duplication, as well
as program specific information/service information (PSI/SI)
extraction, reprocessing and insertion to allow externally
multiplexed MPEG-2 transport streams to be remultiplexed
into a new MPEG-2 stream.  The TMUX also performs these
critical operations for program insertion and management at
headends.

Future uses of the TMUX could include introduction of an
electronic program guide, conditional access information,
low- and high-speed data streams, and ATM (Asynchronous
Transfer Mode) stream inputs.

TV/COM's QAM receiver
     
     
     TV/COM announced its Quadrature Amplitude Modulated
(QAM) cable receiver provides 256 QAM throughput at the same
cost as the standard 64 QAM implementation.

     The QAM receiver is a circuit board designed to be
incorporated into both consumer cable set-top boxes and
commercial digital cable decoders.

     Featuring variable rate technology that combines the
functions of two chips into a single ASIC, 256 QAM
throughput allows 30 percent more data transmission over 64
QAM in the same channel bandwidth.


     The QAM cable receiver performs the tuning, digital
demodulation and error correction of an RF cable input to
produce an MPEG-2 outstream, and provides low-cost and high
performance reception of the modulated Transport Layer over
cable networks.

     This reception includes the capability of a high-speed
link for MPEG-2 digital video, audio and data transmission
over a broad cable bandwidth.  TV/COM's QAM cable receiver
supports variable bandwidth which provides flexibility in
bandwidth allocation and throughput.

     The receiver accommodates signals transmitted via 16,
32, 64, 128 or 256 QAM.  The occupied bandwidth of the
channel can be varied in real time from 2 to 10 MHz with a
maximum data rate of 64Mbps.

     This data rate capacity and bandwidth variability
allows 30 percent cost savings for the service operator by
providing greater program capacity and flexibility.
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