*rapidtvnews.com/index.php/200808141900/measat-bashed-at-launch-site.htmlEarlier this week we reported on the launch delay to Malaysia’s Measat 3A, originally scheduled for Aug 21, and citing “technical issues”. It has now been confirmed that the precious satellite, built by Orbital Sciences Corp, was damaged by a crane at the Baikonur, Kazakhstan launch facility. One report says the damaged craft will be flown back to the manufacturers for a thorough inspection, and remedial repairs.
Even if the satellite stays at Kazakhstan, the delay to Measat 3A’s launch will be several weeks, if not months. The launch provider is Intelsat-backed Land Launch, the ground-based spin-off from Sea Launch, which works with Russian-Ukranian rocket-builder Zenit. This is the second Land Launch event, having successfully lofted an Israeli satellite, Amos 3, back in April.
The impact on Measat was more than just physical. Trading in Measat Global was suspended for a few hours on Aug 11, as was trading in Astro All-Asia, its major DTH client and sister company.
The launch delay might have a serious impact on another client, India’s Reliance telecoms outfit which is planning to launch an MPEG4-based ‘Big TV’ DTH service, commencing Aug 15
Another might be NEWSX .No details on HD channels but 1 channel of it will be Nat Geo HD for sure.
Big TV to launch backup infrastructure in Bangalore | Televisionpoint.com NewsReliance Big TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) service of Reliance Communications, is set to commercially launch its backup infrastructure site in Bangalore along with its Mumbai site early next week, sources close to the development said to Televisionpoint.con.
Set up at a cost of Rs 100 crore, the backup infrastructure network is a first for an Indian DTH operator. The Whitefield site in Bangalore has been developed to automatically provide a buffer against service problems that could affect customers during times of bad weather, poor signal or power failure.
Bangalore was chosen due to its suitable geographical location and the qualified technical expertise, a source said. Unwilling to comment on commercial tariffs for the DTH service, the source added that the service would be operational across 5,000 cities at similar price points.
Big TV service will use the Malaysian MEASAT satellite and an advanced transmission compression technology, MPEG-4 to offer about 250 channels, fully digital audio and video quality and interactivity.
Although several blogs and online forums are abuzz with speculation on Reliance's pricing strategy, the company sources said it "would be frozen in the next few days" and is likely to be "a better value offering at current price points."
In the first phase of the launch, Big TV will roll out standard set-top boxes. Subsequently, boxes with High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) will be on the anvil.