I701 CanalSat/Canal+ changes

[merlinux]

Hi Merliux, Channels like BFM and NRJ would be pretty good as I watch them online and see that they are part of the TNT (freeview) bouquet en France. It seems the French Televisions channels seem to have extensive coverage on this sat.

It wont happen if you can read french and go to this --> youll find out that the next channel on the TNT will be local in the near future. IMHO its a good thing as NC never had a commercial channel of its own.... to give u an idea, when I left in 2000 there were 3 channels rfo, tempo (both gvt own with very little local content that became france 0 and premiere i think)and canal + which was delayed broadcast from france. I hope it will happen anyway.... nothing is ever sure there :P
france television being gvt owned for sure have extensive rights in the TNT.... remember the first commercial channel in france came in 1986.... Tv has been a french gvt lobby for most of its history

edit: Arg my bad! they might be some private channels from france coming as I read on the link I gave you (tf1 and m6 maybe next year), they must have changed it from the last time I read it a few months ago.... but yeah there will definitely be some space for local channels
And you also have to understand the political context of new caledonia, as it is the only french territory with an independantist agenda. We have our own congress (parlement) and I can hardly see NC going the metropolitain france way in anything in the future, including TNT. They will def be pushing for some local TV channels....

[Bizzibee]

...Thanks for your info bizzibee...

No problem, happy to help!

... I m not interrested by france 24 as I can get a live feed from the net legally using their website or livestation..

Fair enough!

... However arte is maybe the best channel Ive ever watched in my life and france 2/3 have good programs about french comedians/music etc....

I look forward to watching them in the future when I purchased the Decoder and included Viaccess Smart Card.

...I just called antelec in noumea and they confirm that they are not allowed to sell the smartcard by itself.
They sell the aston simba hd for 36 800 cfp ( $420) or 43 800 cfp ($507)including postage to australia..

O.K. that is consistant with the information I received also.

...About the new satelite, the guy from antelec said it will be around december or january...

Intelsat have to get the Intelsat 18 Satellite up there and operational ASAP. If launched in September, will will take time to move the workload over from Intelsat 701, so those figures might well be correct.

... About the TNT, I doubt it is legal as such to be using it in australia. Knowing NC well I think they just don't really care about selling it to people in australia......

AFAIK I thought it was perfectly legal as many French expats living in Australia have expressed their desire to watch the French public TV stations. Anyway space on Intelsat 701 (Transponder 11774 H) was leased By France Television and there is a provision in the bill passed by parliament in France that any French people could access these services even if living outside the French Territories. So buying the Aston Simba Satellite Decoder from Antelec in Noumea can be done without any guilt. They even have a special PDF Flyer created for Australie. See:




But I'm happy to be proven wrong.

... I doubt LBF will ever get the rights....

I think you are right because they are running a commercial operation here in Australia. So the only option is to buy Aston Simba Satellite Decoder from Antelec in Noumea which includes the Viaccess Smart Card.

Kind Regards

Mark

[Bizzibee]

I... if you can read french and go to this --> youll find out that the next channel on the TNT will be local in the near future....

.....edit: Arg my bad! they might be some private channels from france coming as I read on the link I gave you (tf1 and m6 maybe next year), they must have changed it from the last time I read it a few months ago.... but yeah there will definitely be some space for local channels
And you also have to understand the political context of new caledonia, as it is the only french territory with an independantist agenda. We have our own congress (parlement) and I can hardly see NC going the metropolitain france way in anything in the future, including TNT. They will def be pushing for some local TV channels....

Those of you who can't read French, or read it very well (which includes me). Use this link:



Kind Regards

Mark

[Bizzibee]

I thought I'd check the Sea Launch Web site to see where the Intelsat 18 launch date was up to. It's slipped again to early October now. See here for details:

Launch of Intelsat 18 is scheduled for early October 2011

BERN, Switzerland, September 2, 2011 – The spacecraft for the 5th Land Launch mission contracted for launch by Sea Launch AG has been delivered to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch complex in Kazakhstan.

The Intelsat 18 communications satellite arrived on an Antonov-124 cargo plane at the launch site, with representatives from Intelsat; Orbital Sciences, the satellite provider; and Energia Logistics Ltd., Sea Launch AG’s prime contractor, on hand to receive the spacecraft and its associated support equipment.

Following customs clearance, the satellite and equipment were delivered to the clean room of the Payload Processing Facility at Site 45, where mission operations and integration efforts are now underway. The launch of Intelsat 18 is scheduled for early October 2011.

Built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, Intelsat 18 is one of 10 STAR GEO communications satellites ordered by Intelsat and will carry a C-band and a Ku-band payload and be located in an orbital slot at 180 ° E. Intelsat 18 will have a launch mass of 3,200 kg (7,055 lb.) and is designed for 15 years of service. Intelsat18’s C-band payload will serve Eastern Asia, the Pacific and the Western United States, and its Ku-band payload will serve French Polynesia, Eastern Australia and the United States.

So all things being equal, Intelsat 18 should be operational towards the end of 2011. Not sure how long it will take to transfer the workload over from Intelsat 701. Intelsat 18 will have stronger transponders and bigger footprint areas than Intelsat 701 and will carry 24 C-band transponders to cover the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and 12 Ku-band transponders to provide services to the United States, French Polynesia, Australia, New Caledonia and other Pacific Islands. There has been a bit of consolidation done as there are less C-Band & Ku-Band Transponders on Intelsat 18 compared to Intelsat 701.


See here for details:




Kind Regards

Mark

[Solarpoweredwok]

Mircea,

Here are the details where you can order the Aston Simba

antelec-nc@canl.nc

Cost: ~$497.00
The parcel insured came in 3 days.

Please note that you cannot only order the Viaccess smart card.

This card has life time validity.

Mid 2011, more channels will be added.

If you need help please contact me.
Michell

Hi Michell and all,
Is this a Seca 2 card with the Aston Box.
Also a refresher on current price.

Cheers SPW.

[mandc]

Hi Michell and all,
Is this a Seca 2 card with the Aston Box.
Also a refresher on current price.

Cheers SPW.

Viaccess card decrypting a DVB-S2 mpeg4 signal.
I ended up paying around $540 (including bank charges) when the dollar hit around US $1.02 a few weeks ago but it is the Euro against the A$ that causes change as the Vanuatu currency is tied to its value and they wanted payment in Euros

[Bizzibee]

IS-18

BERN, Switzerland, September 23, 2011 – The Intelsat–18 spacecraft was successfully encapsulated on 23 September. The Zenit–3SLB fairing separation system was successfully checked out and launch vehicle protective operations completed.

Taken from:



So all looks good for the planned 4th October launch.

Here you can see the (Left to Right); Block DM-SLB Upper Stage, Intelsat 18 satellite and the Fairing.



Taken from :



More info on the earlier operations done before it was encapsulated available here:



and here:



Full Intelsat blog here:




Information on the Launch Vehicle (Zenit-3SL Rocket) available here:




Sea Launch AG successfully launched the ATLANTIC BIRD 7 broadcast satellite on 24th September from the Equator on the ocean-based Odyssey Launch Platform. You can see a video of the launch here if you are interested. See:



Anyway just thought I'd post this info for those interested.

Kind Regards

Mark

[Bizzibee]

Looks like everything is going to plan for the October launch of Intelsat 18. Saw this latest update on the Sea Launch site:

IS-18

September 27, 2011

The Ascent Unit/Zenit-2SB LV Mechanical Docking

At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the prelaunch processing of Zenit-2SB launch vehicle (LV) with the Upper Stage DM-SLB and Intelsat-18 telecommunication spacecraft has been completed on 27 September 2011.

Today at the Assembly & Test Facility of the Cosmodrome (Site 42), specialists assembled the Integrated Launch Vehicle and mated the Ascent Unit consisting of Upper Stage Block DM-SLB and Intelsat-18 spacecraft encapsulated within the payload fairing with the two-stage Zenit-2SB LV. Upon completion of mechanical operations the specialists began to provide mating of electrical connections between the Launch Vehicle and the Ascent Unit.

These operations have been completed on schedule.

The launch of Zenit-3SB Integrated Launch Vehicle with Upper Stage DM-SLB and Intelsat-18 telecommunication spacecraft is planned for October 2011.

Taken from:



So it looks like Intelsat 18 will launch on 4th October as scheduled at this stage.

Cheers

Mark

[poiuytrewq]

And she's up and away ...

The Sea Launch company’s Land Launch division have followed up their return to flight of their oceanic adventures with the launch of their Zenit 3SLB, which is carrying the Intelsat-18 telecommunications satellite into orbit. Launch was on schedule at 17:00 Eastern (21:00 UTC) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, ahead of over six hours of flight which ended with a successful spacecraft seperation.

[Bizzibee]

And she's up and away ...

Yes she certainly was. I was going to post this but have just been too busy at work. The launch was delayed by 24 hours from 4th Oct to 6th Oct. But it's all over now



Launch Timeline

Time Event
L= 0:00:00 Liftoff
L+ 029 Stage 1 Separation
L+ 018 Payload Fairing Jettison
L+ 031 Stage 2 Separation
L+ 041 Block DM 1st Burn Ignition
L+ 039 End of Block DM 1st Burn
L+ 1:20:10 Block DM 2nd Burn Ignition
L+ 1:25:27 End of Block DM 2nd Burn
L+ 621 Block DM 3rd Burn Ignition
L+ 644 End of Block DM 3nd Burn
L+ 644 Spacecraft Separation

Intelsat 18 Satellite Successfully Launched by Sea Launch

BERN, Switzerland, October 6, 2011 – Sea Launch AG has successfully completed its 5th Land Launch mission with the successful launch of the Intelsat 18 communications satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch complex in Kazakhstan. Lift-off of the rocket occurred at 03:00 ALMT (21:00 UTC/GMT on October 5th), with spacecraft separation at 09:34 ALMT (03:34 UTC/GMT).

Following closely the successful mission performed for Eutelsat S.A just twelve days previously from the Odyssey Launch Platform, this launch marks Sea Launch's second mission since returning to launch operations following re-organization in late 2010.

"We are most pleased to extend our congratulations and thanks to Intelsat and Orbital for this stellar achievement," said Aiaz Bakasov, CEO of Sea Launch AG. "Sea Launch is privileged to share this success with Intelsat and looks forward to extending our long-standing relationship with many more successful launches in close cooperation with RSC Energia."

President of Sea Launch AG Kjell Karlsen continues: "Our entire team thanks you for your continuing trust and confidence in our system and the services we provide. Finally, I wish to congratulate the Sea Launch and Energia Logistics teams, RSC Energia, and all of our suppliers and contractors who support us and contribute to our mutual success."

Built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, Intelsat 18 will have a useful life of nearly 17 years. The satellite carries Ku- and C-band payloads, and will be located in an orbital slot at 180° East. Specially shaped Ku-band beams will provide DTH services to Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia and dozens of other islands in the region, while also supporting maritime services in the South Pacific. The satellite's C-band antennas will blanket the western United States, eastern Asia and the Pacific Ocean with high-speed data connectivity.

"Intelsat 18 will provide capacity specifically designed for our customers to offer enhanced media content delivery and broadband services across the Pacific Ocean region," said Intelsat SVP and CTO Thierry Guillemin. "We thank Sea Launch for successfully launching our spacecraft, and are glad to count them again as one of our trusted providers of access to space."

About Intelsat
Intelsat is the leading provider of satellite services worldwide. For over 45 years, Intelsat has been delivering information and entertainment for many of the world's leading media and network companies, multinational corporations, Internet Service Providers and governmental agencies. Intelsat's satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video, data and voice services. From the globalization of content and the proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and broadband access, with Intelsat, advanced communications anywhere in the world are closer, by far.

About Sea Launch AG
Sea Launch AG, headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, provides corporate sales, marketing, contracting and management for launch services based on the highly-proven and reliable Zenit-3SL and 3SLB launch systems which have flown 36 missions, providing diversity of supply, affordability, flexibility and assured access to space for the industry's satellite operators.

# # #
Contact:
Peter Stier, VP of Sales & Marketing
Phone: +41 31 380 00 08
peter.stier@sea-launch.ch

Intelsat have updated their blog site with the news as well.

06 October 2011
Intelsat 18 Launch Successful; to Offer Capacity to Pacific Ocean Region
Luxembourg, 5 October 2011
Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of satellite services, announced today that a Sea Launch AG-provided Land Launch Zenit-3SLB vehicle successfully launched the Intelsat 18 satellite from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan. Liftoff occurred at 5 p.m. EDT (21:00 GMT), followed by spacecraft separation at 11:34 p.m. EDT (03:34 GMT).

Built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, the satellite will provide capacity to enable enhanced DTH coverage and network services capabilities via Ku-band and C-band platforms. Once operational in November, it will replace Intelsat 701 at 180ºE and is expected to have a useful life of nearly 17 years.

“Intelsat 18 will provide the infrastructure for customers to deliver media content directly to homes throughout the Pacific Ocean region, as well as broadband services to government and commercial users,” said Intelsat CEO David McGlade. “Intelsat’s strategy aligns our fleet investments to support our customers’ growth needs. The Intelsat 18 payload includes a Ku-band beam designed to meet the requirements of Office des Postes et Telecommunications (OPT) of French Polynesia. The customer will use this beam to provide new broadband, expand its domestic DTH service and improve its infrastructure across French Polynesia, with the ability to serve the South Pacific.”

OPT currently provides services to the Pacific Ocean region on Intelsat 701.

It will be interesting to see if we see any additional service appear.



Cheers!

Mark

[poiuytrewq]

Anyone know when we might begin to some signs of them testing this bird?

[Bizzibee]

Hello Everyone!

I thought about posting this question in the new Intelsat 18 thread, but since Intelsat 701 is still fully operational I guess this would be the correct place to ask this question.

I have a question for those of you who have purchased a Aston Simba decoder with the included Viaccess Smart Card from from Antelec in Noumea. I think I remember that michell and mandc both have. Do the French Public Broadcasters such as France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5 etc. provide French Language Closed Captioning and/or Subtitles on any or some of the programs they broadcast? I don't mean the French programs that have Subtitles hard coding in the picture and which you can't remove. I mean where you have to press the "Subtitle Button" on the remote to bring up the subtitles.

This French wikipedia article say they do, but I don't know if it applies to satellite transmissions:



English version:

...But only with the Act of 1 August 2000 that the captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing ("SM") became a requirement for terrestrial channels. The law of February 11, 2005, for its part, provides that "within a maximum period of five years, the chains whose average annual audience exceeds 2.5% of the total audience of television services will be held all of their programs accessible to deaf and hearing impaired with the exception of advertising. " In 2006, the proportion of subtitled programs were: 23.4% for TF1, France 2 to 31.3%, 25.1% for France 3, France 5 21.9% to 8.8% for M6 . Finally, in February 2010, the objectives defined by the Act are achieved by TF1, France 2, France 3, France 5, Arte, Canal + and M6, which caption all of their programs. Channels of continuous information i-TELE, BFMTV three newspapers and LCI broadcast with subtitles and sign language newspaper daily .

Note that in 2011 the quality of all the subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing is unfortunate: gross misspellings, errors in transcribing words that sometimes have no meaning, letters replaced by symbols. There remain serious progress to be made for these captions are acceptable...

France Television also state they do Closed Captioning and/or Subtitles.

..France Television has adopted, as all the DTT channels, a broadcast standard subtitling in digital format. To achieve this function:

- Press the "Subtitle" / "Subtitle" on your remote control

- Or select the "Subtitle" in your menu

Taken from:



English:



The reason I ask is I can read French better than I can understand spoken French. The only channel in the package I have from LBF that provides French Language Closed Captioning and/or Subtitles is TF1 (about 80%). None of the others channels provide French Language Closed Captioning and/or Subtitles on their programs which I find a bit strange. Yes there are programs on these other channels including TF1 where subtitles are hard coded into the picture and which you can't turn off. I guess because the French Dialect spoken might be unusual or difficult to understand in some areas where the programs are shown. Anyway I did phone LBF and ask then if TF1 was the only channel to provide Closed Captioning and/or Subtitles on their programs and they said it was. I also checked the TF1 web site. See:





English version here:



and



Anyway any information would be greatly appreciated. I am going to purchase a Aston Simba decoder with the included Viaccess Smart Card from from Antelec in Noumea went the finances allow it. If the French Public Broadcasters do Closed Captioning and/or Subtitles on their Satellite feeds, it would be an added bonus.

Thanks!

Kind Regards

Mark

[mandc]

Hopefully michell will be able to help as I gave away my aston decoder to the inlaws in Brisbane so don't have access to it.

[LeroyPatrol]

You guys have UltraPlus receivers. The close captions still appear even if the signal is scrambled with Austar so this maybe the case with the i701 service as well.

Leroy

[Bizzibee]

You guys have UltraPlus receivers. The close captions still appear even if the signal is scrambled with Austar so this maybe the case with the i701 service as well.
Leroy

Hi Leroy, Not sure if that was directed toward me or a general comment to anyone with a UltraPlus. I don't have an UltraPlus Receiver anymore so I can't try it. I'm just using the Pace supplied decoder supplied by LBF. However when I had the UltraPlus 900, I couldn't get the subtitles to work on TF1. Perhaps I was doing something wrong. But it should have just been a case of pressing the Subtitles Button which I tried a number of times. I even went into the menu and tried changing the default language for subtitles to French. But still didn't work. Perhaps it might have been a bug with the early UltraPlus 900 firmware. But if what you say is true, anyone with a UltraPlus decoder and a Dish pointed at IS-701 could see it that works. It certainly doesn't work on the Pace decoder.

Anyway thanks for you reply.

Kind Regards

Mark

[Bizzibee]

Hopefully michell will be able to help as I gave away my aston decoder to the inlaws in Brisbane so don't have access to it.

Thank for the reply Mate!

Kind Regards

Mark

[michell]

Hi All,

I will get back to you with some infos about captation on the Ultraplus 980 and the Aston Simba when a get back home next Monday.

Cheers
M

[Bizzibee]

Hi All,

I will get back to you with some infos about captation on the Ultraplus 980 and the Aston Simba when a get back home next Monday.

Cheers
M

Hi Michell,

O.K. look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks!

Kind Regards

Mark

[mandc]

OK, As Leroy suggested, I tuned the ultraplus 980 onto 701 and the results were:

Contribution N Caledonie (free) No subs
Cont. Pacifique (free) No subs
Caledonie 1ere (scrambled) Subs comes up on info but none showed (possibly due to the scrambling) This was the same for all the following channels
Wallis 1ere (scr) subs
France 2 (scr) subs
France 3 (scr) subs
France 4 (scr) subs
France O (scr) subs
Arte (scr) subs
France 24 (free) no subs

edit: The subs for Wallis 1ere and Caledonie 1ere come up as fra.(french) but all others come up as eng (english).....not sure of the significance of this

[Bizzibee]

OK, As Leroy suggested, I tuned the ultraplus 980 onto 701 and the results were:

Contribution N Caledonie (free) No subs
Cont. Pacifique (free) No subs
Caledonie 1ere (scrambled) Subs comes up on info but none showed (possibly due to the scrambling) This was the same for all the following channels
Wallis 1ere (scr) subs
France 2 (scr) subs
France 3 (scr) subs
France 4 (scr) subs
France O (scr) subs
Arte (scr) subs
France 24 (free) no subs

edit: The subs for Wallis 1ere and Caledonie 1ere come up as fra.(french) but all others come up as eng (english).....not sure of the significance of this

Hi mandc,

Thank you so much for taking the time to try what Leroy suggested. This begs the question what did I do different or wrong when I couldn't get Closed Captioning and/or Subtitles to appear on the UltraPlus 900 when viewing TF1. Yes I know what you are all thinking.

Anyway the important thing is it proves that the French public broadcaster's Satellite feeds on IS-701 are carrying the Closed Captioning and/or Subtitles data. I couldn't test this on the Pace DSR6231/19 that I currently have from LBF. This was the point I needed clarification on. Reading those links I provided above, it appeared that it was a requirement for the major & public broadcasters to do this (depending on their market penetration), and yes it could be argued that if the Terrestrial Digital Steams carried the Closed Captioning and/or Subtitles data, then so should the Satellite Digital Streams. But there was certainly no guarantee of this.

It has been my experience that some of the other channels on my LBF subscription will display the Closed Captioning symbol on some programs. But when I try to activate Closed Captioning on the remote by selecting "sous-titrage" (subtitles), "aucun" (none) appears in the available language/s. Very strange!

.. The subs for Wallis 1ere and Caledonie 1ere come up as fra.(french) but all others come up as eng (english).....not sure of the significance of this

Now that is very very interesting. Didn't even know English was available. When I had the UltraPlus 900 I didn't even try those any of the scrambled channels for subtitles because I didn't think that would work. Now I know different. Thank you again Leroy!

I sold the Ultraplus 900 I had because I have plans to buy a UltraPlus X-9200HD (from Leroy in the future) for a number of reasons. Such as support for more than one tuner, two smart card readers, internal hard drive etc. But thios will have to wait until after I buy a Samba Satellite Decoder with Viaccess Smart Card from Antelec in Noumea. Money only goes so far. I will use the Simba decoder for a while to access the French public broadcasters.

I wonder if/when Michell does his tests with the Simba decoder if the English subtitle option appears. Not that that really matters as I have to get use the French spoken language anyway. The subtitles are just a helping hand that this stage.

Anyway thanks again to Leroy, Mandc & Michell for taking the time to reply with your thoughts, comments, suggestion and testing results. It truly is very much appreciated!

Kind Regards

Mark