245 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
245 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
bbcid MORGAA01 @ BBC-BH
|
|
|
|
Skyguide Issue 024 Page 1
|
|
|
|
-------------------------------- SKYGUIDE UK ---------------------------------
|
|
| |
|
|
| Your digest of the latest news in the world of Satellite & Cable TV |
|
|
| |
|
|
---------------------- Week Ending Sun September 12th ------------------------
|
|
|
|
* MULTICHANNELS EUROPE
|
|
|
|
Rupert Murdoch unveiled his "Global Vision" at a lengthy dinner in London
|
|
recently. Amongst other things, it now seems likely that he will form an
|
|
alliance with "Pro 7", a channel owned by German media magnate Leo Kirch, to
|
|
launch a package of subscription satellite channels throughout Europe.
|
|
|
|
The agreement, made at International Funkaustellung '93, is understood to pave
|
|
the way for the marketing of six English language channels, initially in
|
|
Germany, and eventually throughout Western Europe.
|
|
|
|
The European package is likely to be similar to the Sky Multi-Channels package
|
|
in the UK. It is almost certain that some channels in Sky's UK package will
|
|
also join the European package.
|
|
|
|
While the actual channels included in the package are not yet known, likely
|
|
candidates include MTV, VH-1, Discovery, CMT Europe, and possibly even
|
|
Eurosport.
|
|
|
|
Eurosport, currently free to dish owners, could be a distinct possibility to
|
|
join a subscription package that guarantees availability in the UK and Europe.
|
|
Eurosport's French service, TV Sport, is already part of a subscription
|
|
package on France's Telecom satellites.
|
|
|
|
Once the package is up and running, there is no reason why other channels (not
|
|
necessarily in English) could not join the package, which itself could differ
|
|
from county to country.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* THE SPORTING LIFE
|
|
|
|
As part of his "Global Vision", Mr Murdoch also put an end to speculation by
|
|
confirming his intent to launch a second sports channel on Astra.
|
|
|
|
As previously predicted in Skyguide, the second channel is very likely to
|
|
become a testing ground for pay-per-view events, and is likely to be up and
|
|
running in time for the next Premier League football season.
|
|
|
|
All that remains now is what the channel will be called - "Sky Sports 2" and
|
|
"Sky Sports UK" have been mentioned, although most likely at the moment is
|
|
"Sky: The Sports Channel".
|
|
|
|
|
|
* DIGITAL NEWS
|
|
|
|
Also announced at the same time is News International's intent to form a
|
|
group developing a digitally compressed TV system for satellite viewers.
|
|
|
|
UK company NTL, already pioneers of digital compression with their "System
|
|
2000" system, has been contacted to join the group.
|
|
|
|
Like News International's previous baby, Videocrypt, the technology will
|
|
eventually be mass-produced by licensed manufactuers in the UK and Europe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* OLD PIRATES NEVER DIE
|
|
|
|
New company "Active Logic" has been very active in the UK recently, placing
|
|
adverts in satellite magazines and conducting extensive bulk-mailing to
|
|
satellite dish owners.
|
|
|
|
Active Logic's press advertising claims that they can offer a pirate Filmnet
|
|
smartcard for just 55 pounds, or Filmnet and four other channels (helpfully
|
|
labelled TV?, TV?, TV? and TV? in their advertising) for 75 pounds.
|
|
|
|
Their direct-mailing also offers a "Perfectly Legal" device for Videocrypt
|
|
decoders called a UVSD (Universal Videocrypt Signal Detector) Processor. The
|
|
unit will, it is claimed, allow you to identify whether a signal is clear,
|
|
Videocrypt soft-encoded, or Videocrypt hard-encoded.
|
|
|
|
The UVSD processor apparently also has an unfortunate side-effect of decoding
|
|
any Videocrypt signal - their literature is keen to point out this side
|
|
effect, advising that purchasers of this unit should continue to pay their
|
|
subscriptions as normal, as not to do so would be illegal.
|
|
|
|
Despite these devices being "perfectly legal" according to the advertising,
|
|
Active Logic is keen to point out that orders for such devices should be
|
|
placed through their Munich office in Germany, which is outside the
|
|
jurisdiction of the UK Government.
|
|
|
|
Needless to say, Active Logic's products - of which no examples have yet been
|
|
seen - are sailing very close to the wind indeed with respect to UK law.
|
|
|
|
The Videocrypt processor would fall foul of the Copyrights, Designs and
|
|
Patents Act of 1988 which makes it an offence to sell, buy or use a device
|
|
designed to receive a scrambled UK-originated satellite service without due
|
|
payment.
|
|
|
|
When the act was originally brought into force in 1988, another of its
|
|
targets was devices designed to copy computer programs - these devices came
|
|
back on sale, however, when it was discovered that as long as a product had a
|
|
"legitimate use", the sale or use of the item could not be proscribed by the
|
|
act.
|
|
|
|
Active Logic is clearly going for the "legitimate use" angle for their UVSD,
|
|
although it would seem that the "unexpected" de-scrambling of Videocrypt
|
|
channels, of which the majority are uplinked from the UK, is ancillary to the
|
|
legitimate use - and is therefore illegal.
|
|
|
|
The pirate D2-MAC Eurocrypt cards said to descramble the four "TV?" channels
|
|
can only refer to the three TV3 channels and TV1000.
|
|
|
|
Although TV1000's subscriptions are restricted to Scandanavia, it is uplinked
|
|
from the UK, and it is therefore covered by the CDP act - thus, any reception
|
|
of this channel in the UK by use of a pirate card is, once again, illegal.
|
|
The sale of such devices would also be illegal.
|
|
|
|
Some reports have alleged that Active Logic have already had their credit card
|
|
facilities revoked, although we have been unable to confirm this.
|
|
|
|
Further unconfirmed reports strongly suggest that the people behind Active
|
|
Logic are the same people who were behind pirate decoder manufacturer "PR
|
|
Technology", who eventually ceased trading after having found themselves in
|
|
the unfortuante position of having cashed cheques and debited credit cards of
|
|
people ordering their new Filmnet digital audio decoders, but then being
|
|
unable to supply the decoders as their computer had been stolen, upon which
|
|
were the designs for the decoder, and also details of the customer orders -
|
|
which made them unable to give any refunds. An explanation which many did not
|
|
believe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* RHTV IS BACK!
|
|
|
|
Red Hot Television returned to the satellite airwaves last week, but not
|
|
where they were expected.
|
|
|
|
It is understood that RHTV were unable to secure their previous transponder
|
|
on Eutelsat 2F1, (lending weight to the claims of "TV69" that this is where
|
|
they will broadcast from - see Skyguide 23) and the channel is now
|
|
broadcasting on a completely different satellite - Eutelsat 2F3, at 16
|
|
degrees East.
|
|
|
|
RHTV viewers who have purchased a second LNB to receieve RHTV from Eutelsat
|
|
2F1 at 13 degrees east may be less than happy at this news. The new satellite
|
|
is much close to Astra, and may prove difficult to receive with a second LNB.
|
|
|
|
The good news is that Eutelsat 2F3 is a stronger satellite than 2F1, so UK
|
|
viewers at least should be able to get away with 60cm dishes for reception.
|
|
|
|
The channel is alternating between its existing SAVE encryption system, and
|
|
new Videocrypt-compatible system "Enigma".
|
|
|
|
The UK Government's attitude is that RHTV is still illegal, and the
|
|
proscription order still stands, even if it is only smartcards as opposed to
|
|
actual 'decoders' that are sold. They maintain it is illegal to buy, sell, or
|
|
use these smartcards in the UK.
|
|
|
|
RHTV can be found on Eutelsat 2F3, 16 degrees East, Transponder 20. (10.986 H)
|
|
|
|
|
|
* MTV DIGITAL
|
|
|
|
MTV Europe can now be found in MAC on Norway's "Thor" satellite. The channel
|
|
is currently broadcasting in the clear, with digital sound.
|
|
|
|
MTV has also appeared on Eutelsat 2F1 at 13 degrees east - programming is
|
|
currently identical to the Astra version, although in the future it is
|
|
understood that this outlet will be used to offer specific programming (and
|
|
advertising) to Germany.
|
|
|
|
It is thought that MTV's appearance on Eutelsat could also be to counter the
|
|
future opposition of German youth channel "Viva", also set for the same
|
|
satellite.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* MCM TO SCRAMBLE
|
|
|
|
Just weeks after MCM returned to TDF1, and viewers across Europe welcomed its
|
|
return, comes the news that MCM will scramble its transmissions from October
|
|
15th.
|
|
|
|
Subscriptions will be made available to European viewers, although pricing
|
|
details are not known at this time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* ORBITAL
|
|
|
|
Superchannel's Teletext satellite news service, "In Orbit", is now available
|
|
to Astra viewers via UK Gold's teletext service. While UK Gold is scrambled,
|
|
even viewers without a subscription can view the teletext.
|
|
|
|
Weekly satellite news, updated every Tuesday, is available on page 333, with a
|
|
letters section on 334.
|
|
|
|
The content of the services vary slightly - Superchannel's version is
|
|
consistently more critical of Astra and Sky, while the UK Gold version
|
|
appears (at the moment) to be much more neutral.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* READY FOR LAUNCH
|
|
|
|
The Cartoon Channel and TNT are now broadcasting Test Transmissions on Astra
|
|
1C, transponder 37, ready for their September 17th launch.
|
|
|
|
The channels will broadcast in English, French, Norwegian and Swedish, with a
|
|
Spanish language service to follow by the end of 1994, possibly in line with a
|
|
Spanish audio service for CNN International.
|
|
|
|
French authorities are apparently unhappy at the prospect of these new
|
|
channels broadcasting in the French language, apparently viewing the prospect
|
|
as an invasion of French territory.
|
|
|
|
The authorities and broadcasters have been lobbying to get the channel to
|
|
drop the French audio, apparently unsuccessfully so far.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* AND FINALLY
|
|
|
|
We apologise for the lack of Skyguide last week!
|
|
|
|
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Skyguide Issue 24 Edited by Ant Purvis
|
|
|
|
Skyguide is published every week. You can find it on London's CIX conferencing
|
|
system in the Skyguide conference, the Fidonet Satelite TV echo, the Packet
|
|
Radio Network, and on internet in the alt.satellite.tv.europe newsgroup.
|
|
|
|
Skyguide is not a commercial publication, nor is it a cut-down version of a
|
|
printed journal. Nonetheless, it is copyright, and is not to be redistributed
|
|
in any form without consent. Errors and Omissions expected.
|
|
|
|
Back issues can be mailed to internet mailboxes on request.
|
|
|
|
Comments, suggestions, stories and monetary donations are always appreciated!
|
|
You can contact Skyguide in the following ways:
|
|
|
|
CIX : mail to bignoise, or use the Skyguide/comments conference.
|
|
Fidonet : Netmail to ANTONY PURVIS at 2:251/203, or leave a message in the
|
|
Satellite TV echo. Please note the new netmail address!
|
|
Internet: bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|