From WOOD@stab.sr.seTue Apr 18 16:57:48 1995 Date: Tue, 18 Apr 1995 15:27:52 +0200 From: George Wood To: wood@stab.sr.se Subject: MediaScan/Sweden Calling DXers 2222 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: MediaScan :: :: SWEDEN CALLING DXERS :: :: from Radio Sweden :: :: Number 2222--April 18, 1995 :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Satellite, shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio Sweden. This week's bulletin was written by George Wood. Packet Radio BID SCDX2222 All times UTC unless otherwise noted. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to all the new people on the mailing list. We hope you enjoy MediaScan. Remember, if you want to remove yourself from the list, send a message to: wood@stab.sr.se with the words "unsubscribe mediascan" in the SUBJECT field. Many apologies for the inclusion of the entire mailing list in the preamble last time. Having consulted the help files attached to Swedish Radio's e-mail program, I'm pretty sure I've managed to eliminate that material this time. I hope so, or the list would be longer than the rest of the file! If not, more apologies, and rest assured we'll keep working on it. NORDIC MEDIA NEWS: SWEDEN--Swedish Radio's World Wide Web site is still somewhere in the near future. But that's just one of the changes that will be remaking the face of broadcasting here. The Swedish government has now approved ambitious plans to begin regular broadcasts of Digital Audio Broadcasting, and the company is starting to buy computer sound editing systems. The digital revolution is slowly working its way through the building. To help prepare Swedish Radio's employees for the major changes coming, starting next month, everyone will be going through a two day seminar. Called the Radio 2000 Project, it's led by Anne-Katherine Mattson, who we interviewed in this week's program. She talks about some of the features of DAB, such as the need to design graphics and text to fill the receiver screens, and how radio, TV, and newspapers are converging in a multimedia mix on the World Wide Web. If you missed today's program, it's available as a sound file at Internet Multicasting mirror sites, as well as at ftp.funet.fi. For details see the end of this file. DAB--The government has proposed legislation that would allow Swedish Radio to go ahead with regular DAB broadcasts, by the end of this year. The first broadcasts would be this Fall in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmoe, as well as in the far north for the indigenous Sami or Lapp population. The proposal also gives private radio stations the opportunity to participate in the first DAB broadcasts. "(Radiotidningen") RADIO SWEDEN--Canada's CBC Radio is introducing an Overnight programming service, beginning May 1, 1995, which will consist of CBC Radio Newscasts at the top of each hour from 01:00-06:00 EDT. Following those 5 minute bulletins, the rest of each hour will carry programming from international broadcasters from the World Radio Network. Among these is Radio Sweden which is to be carried between 03:05 and 03:30 hrs local time in each of Canada's time zones. Initially, the service will be carried in: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Toronto, Ottawa, Yellowknife, and Whitehourse. The CBC also expects stations in Winnepeg, Halifax, Fredricton, and St. John's to take the service. (CBC Radio) TV-SAT--The new Norwegian entertainment channel TV Plus began broadcasts on the relocated TV-SAT at 1 degree West on March 27. Broadcasting in uncoded D2-MAC, it can be found at 11.823 GHz. The new Danish version of Z-TV can be found on the same satellite, also in uncoded D2-MAC. According to reports, originally the Norwegian Z-TV was supposed to be on this satellite, while Danish Z-TV was supposed to be part of a new MPEG package on Tele-X. Apparently, the currenthigh price of MPEG decoders is responsible for the change in plans. (Bertil Sundberg in "Paa TV") EUROPEAN MEDIA NEWS: NETHERLANDS--Radio Netherlands, which already broadcasts on satellite in English via the World Radio Network, is putting its entire output on Astra, on the RTL-5 transponder 64, sound 7.74 MHz. (Robin Clark in alt.satellite.tv.europe) ASIAN MEDIA NEWS: IRAN--A ban on satellite dishes takes place today in Iran. Owners have 4 days to remove them or special police units will enter their homes and remove them forcibly, says Interior Minister Ali Mohammed Besharati. Some estimates have put the total number of satellite receivers in Tehran alone at 250,000, or about one for every ten inhabitants. Some reports indicate that the chances the authorities will succeed in removing all these dishes are slim. (NPR, AP and Reuters) INDIA--On April 7, India's Doordarshan launched a new TV service called "Movie Club", featuring 24 hours of movies broadcast free of charge. The new service is broadcast on Insat 2B, and is available to cable networks nationwide. In July, it is to be followed by a second channel, featuring programs from independent producers. The channels are seen as the first strong attack by Doordarshan against foreign broadcasters like Rupert Murdoch's Star-TV, and coming channels from Ted Turner and HBO. (Reuters and "Tele-Satellit") India's biggest owner of Hindi film rights says he will sue a TV affiliate of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch over cable distribution rights. Dhirubhai Shah and the satellite network Asian Television Network say they intend to bring the action against Zee Cinema in India and Hong Kong on the grounds of violation of copyright of more than 1000 Hindi movies. Zee Cinema is a Hindi pay movie channel launched April 9th, a joint channel between Murdoch's Star- TV and Zee Television, in which Murdoch's News Corp has a 49 percent stake. According to Shah and ATN, Zee Cinema will be encroaching on their cable TV rights of more than 1000 popular films. (Reuters) An American satellite expert is suing Zee TV and others, alleging that they used his ideas for a major mobile-phone system in India without his permission. Lawyers for Michael Johnson, who describes himself as the co- founder of the Hong Kong-based satellite company Asiasat and Rupert Murdoch's Star-TV, announced on April 7 that he is suing for unspecified damages over the satellite phone project. In January this year Hughes Aircraft signed a contract to establish the USD 700 million wireless satellite telecommunications system for India, with Afro-Asian satellite Communications. Johnson wants the project halted, and is suing the founder of Zee TV, who is also controller of Afro-Asian, for compensation. (Reuters) DEUTSCHE WELLE--Deutsche Welle TV has announced it will begin broadcasts via the upcoming Asiasat 2 satellite, due to be launched later this year. The channel will broadcast free of charge, like the current DW-TV services, but unlike many of the other TV services that are planning to launch in the region. Deutsche Welle is targetinghotels and TV stations primarily. Rebroadcast deals are close to signing in several Asian markets, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Hong King. ("Tele-Satellit") NORTH AMERICAN MEDIA NEWS: SATELLITE PHONES--A satellite designed to provide cellular phone service through-out the United States was launched on April 7. The American Mobile Satellite Corp. satellite is dedicated to mobile telephone, radio, facsimile, paging, and data communications for users on land, at sea, and in the air. (AP) GLOBAL RADIO: WORLDSPACE--At its second annual Users' Conference held in Washington in early April, WorldSpace Corporation reached consensus with its business partners and system users for the implementation of a new technical standard which will enable WorldSpace satellites to offer up to 300 channels of digital broadcasting to four-fifths of the world's population on low-cost postable satellite receivers called "StarMan", built by Motorola especially for WorldSpace. Known as "Layer 3," the new standard for satellite-to-portable digital broadcasting was developed by the renowned Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, of Erlangen, Germany. Layer 3 will allow "StarMan" radios to receive a broad range of audio signals with up to CD-quality, and will also allow access to advanced multimedia services. Washington, D.C.-based WorldSpace has developed, and licensed, the world's first global portable satellite digital radio broadcasting service and plans to begin service in the first quarter of 1998 when the first of three audio broadcasting satellites -- Caribstar, Afristar and Asiastar -- built by a consortium lead by Alcatel Espace, will be launched. The Second Annual Users' Conference also witnessed important announcements from WorldSpace's major industrial and financial partners. Alcatel Espace announced that work had begun in February 1995 on the construction of the WorldSpace Satellite System. Alcatel Espace Senior Vice President Pierre de Bayser said, "Alcatel is fully-committed to the success of WorldSpace." He said that, starting the first quarter of 1998, the three WorldSpace satellites will be launched at six-month intervals. Motorola presented its chipset development schedule for "StarMan" that includes AM/FM reception capability as well as advanced multimedia capabilities. A demonstration of the StarMan radio's fidelity was provided continuously over the two-day conference, proving that the system's digital technology and audio. The Conference concluded with presentations from regulatory experts and broadcasters concerning the future of world radio. Former International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Secretary General Richard Butler, now chairman of the WorldSpace AsiaSpace Group, noted that the regulatory framework was now in place, and system coordination was underway in accordance with international provisions. ITU Head of External Affairs Terrefe Ras-Work said, "WorldSpace will make a significant contribution to enrich the values of the peoples of the world." World Health Organization Director of Informatics Dr. Salah Mandil said, "WorldSpace will revolutionize telemedicine and distance-learning in developing countries." WorldSpace Corporation is the only organization licensed by the FCC to provide portable satellite broadcasting service for Africa and the Middle East. WorldSpace is also licensed by the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for broadcast to the Caribbean and Latin America. When launched in 1998, WorldSpace will be the world's first direct satellite-to-portable radio digital broadcasting system. To date, WorldSpace has signed preliminary contracts with Voice of America, Radio Netherlands, and several African and Asian broadcasters. ("Tele-Satellit") CYBERSPACE: REAL AUDIO--Progressive Networks has developed an system to download sound from the Internet in realtime, rather than wait through 25 minutes of downloading to hear a 5 minute newscast. The RealAudio system debuts with material from National Public Radio, ABC, former MTV vj Adam Curry's On Ramp, and RadioNet, a nationally syndicated radio show about the Internet and cyberspace. During the test phase, which lasts through the Fall, copies of ReadAudio Player software can be downloaded for free from: http://www.RealAudio.com ("USA Today" via Michael Murray) WWW SITES--We're still waiting for the final technical and legal problems to be ironed out before the Swedish Radio and Radio Sweden pages on the World Wide Web on the Internet go online. Now that CompuServe has opened the doors for its two million plus users to access the Web, there are some radio- related Web pages that might be of interest... The amateur radio satellite corporation, Amsat, has its own Web site. The recent loss of a Russian rocket and with it an Israeli satellite, also took with it amateur radio satellites for Israel and Mexico. You can find news about them on the Amsat Web page: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/AmsatHome.html There's also a Web site devoted to amateur radio in general: http://www.acs.ncsu.edu/HamRadio Mike Richards of Britain's "Shortwave Magazine" has reported on a site called "World Utility News" for hobbyists who like to hunt utilities, that is, stations that are neither broadcasters, nor radio amateurs: http://sun-gabriel.aero.org:8800 PUBLICATIONS: CD-ROM--In the latest issue of "Shortwave Magazine" Mike Richards also reviews the new Windows CD-ROM version of J”rgen Klingenfuss' "Super Frequency List". This has some 14,000 frequencies from the "1995 Guide to Utility Radio Stations". Mike's only complaint is that he would like to see a way to link the disk with popular receivers to upload frequency and mode data directly into the receiver. I was a bit disappointed in the program, because it's essentially one big list. You can break it down by country, but you can't access a list by mode, for example radioteletype stations or weather FAX outlets. And there's definately no fancy multimedia here, images or sound, or even hypertext links, which would be easy and useful. Otherwise, it's a very useful tool. The Super Frequency List costs DEM 50, plus DEM 5 for overseas airmail, from: Klingenfuss Publications Hagenloher Str. 14 D-72070 Tuebingen Germany Fax: +49 7071 600 849 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sweden Calling DXers/MediaScan is the world's oldest radio program about international broadcasting. Radio Sweden has presented this round-up of radio news, features, and interviews on Tuesdays since 1948. It's currently broadcast on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Radio Sweden broadcasts in English: To Europe: 16:15 hrs UTC on 1179 and 6065 kHz 17:30 on 1179, 6065, 13690, and 15600 kHz (also Africa and the Middle East) 20:30 and 21:30 on 1179, 6065, and 9665 kHz (also heard in Africa) 21:30 on 1179 kHz and 6065 kHz 22:30 hrs on 1179 kHz Asia and the Pacific: 11:30 hrs on 13740, 15120, and 15240 kHz 01:30 hrs on 9695 kHz North America: 12:30 and 13:30 hrs on 11650 and 15240 kHz 02:30 and 03:30 hrs on 7120 and 9850 kHz Latin America: OO:30 hrs on 6065 and 9810 kHz The broadcasts at 16:15 and 17:30 hrs are also relayed to Europe by satellite: Astra 1B on Sky Movies Gold's transponder 26 at 11.597 GHz, audio subcarrier at 7.74 MHz Tele-X via TV5 Nordic/Femman's transponder at 12.475 GHz, audio subcarrier 7.38 MHz Radio Sweden is also relayed to Europe via the World Radio Network on VH-1's transponder 22 on Astra, audio 7.38 MHz, daily at 22:00 hrs CET. Radio Sweden can also be heard on WRN's North American service on Galaxy-5, on WTBS's transponder 6, audio 6.8 MHz, daily at 16:00 and 20:30 hrs Eastern time. Sound files of Mediascan are archived at: ftp.funet.fi:pub/sounds/RadioSweden/Mediascan. If you access to the WorldWide Web, you can also find the programs among the offerings of Internet Talk Radio at various sites, including: ftp://town.hall.org/radio/Mirrors/RadioSweden/MediaScan The World Radio Network is also available live via the Internet MBONE. Check: http://town.hall.org/radio/wrn.html Contributions can be sent to DX Editor George Wood by fax to +468-667-6283, via the Internet to wood@stab.sr.se, from MCI Mail or CompuServe to the CompuServe mailbox 70247,3516, or to SM0IIN at the packet radio BBS SM0ETV. Reports can also be sent to: Radio Sweden S-105 10 Stockholm Sweden Contributions should be NEWS about electronic media--from shortwave to satellites--and not loggings of information already available from sources such as the "World Radio TV Handbook". Clubs and DX publications may reprint material as long as MediaScan/Sweden Calling DXers and the original contributor are acknowledged, with the exception of items from BBC Monitoring, which are copyright. We welcome comments and suggestions about the electronic edition, Sweden Calling DXers, and our programs in general. The mailing list for the Electronic Edition is now open to general subscription. If you can send e-mail over the Internet, send a message to: wood@stab.sr.se In the subject field write "subscribe mediascan" You ought to get a confirmation message in reply. To unsubscribe from the list, send another message to the same address, with the words "unsubscribe mediascan" in the subject field. To get a copy of Radio Sweden's English program schedule, include the words "English schedule" in the subject field. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to this week's contributors Good Listening!