Gamma channel parameters on the satellite. Gamma television. Mediasat: Are there any plans to encode the TV channel? After all, at the initial stage the channel had to be encoded in BISS. And why does he broadcast openly?
The National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting yesterday issued a license for satellite broadcasting to the first (and so far the only) terrestrial digital TV channel of the DVB-T standard in Ukraine "Gamma", writes "Economic News".
In the near future, the TV channel will appear not only in the Kyiv region, but also in the regions. It's just a matter of drawing up contracts with cable network operators.The Gamma TV channel received a broadcasting license back in April 2006. It began broadcasting in test mode at the end of December 2006 as part of an experiment to introduce terrestrial digital television of the DVB-T standard, and in September 2007 the channel went on air from own on-air control room. According to Alexander Dovgan, deputy executive director of Gamma, investments in the TV channel to date have already amounted to about $5 million and there is no talk of reaching self-sufficiency within the next four to five years.There are no similar TV channels in our country that broadcast exclusively on digital air (without analogue broadcasting). This is due to the fact that at the beginning of the experiment on the introduction of DVB-T (in 2006), Gamma was the only TV channel that received the corresponding license. The remaining licensees (Ukrainian Digital Television Network, Eter, Era Production and Express-Inform) are providers that rebroadcast on one frequency from four to 10 TV channels, depending on the signal compression standard.“Until today, the license was only for digital DVB-T broadcasting in Kyiv, so only capital cable operators could enter into a retransmission agreement with us,” notes Alexander Dovgan. Now the potential audience that has the opportunity to receive Gamma’s digital terrestrial signal in Kyiv, according to the company’s estimates, is about 150 thousand households. About 250 thousand more subscribers can watch the TV channel in packages of cable operators and IPTV networks. According to Mr. Dovgan, over the past two months IPTV operators and cable operators from the region have begun to actively take an interest in the TV channel. And after receiving a satellite license, the license fee for which amounted to 69 thousand UAH, the TV channel plans to expand into cable networks in all regions of Ukraine.
The TV channel positions itself as the main mouthpiece of the Communist Party of Ukraine on the Ukrainian television space.
Owners
The general director is the son of the leader of the Ukrainian communists, Andrei Symonenko (b. 1974, married to the daughter of Ekaterina Vashchuk). The owners of the channel are the family of Ukrainian communist leader Petro Symonenko. , his son Andrey is listed as general director.
Story
The TV channel received a license for broadcasting the HP series No. 0152, which was issued by the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting on April 20, 2006. Test broadcasting began on December 26, 2006 as part of an experiment to introduce terrestrial digital television of the DVB-T standard, and on September 10, 2007 the channel went on air with its own on-air control room. The TV channel broadcasts on TVK 64 (frequency 818 MHz) in the DVB-T digital format in Kyiv and surrounding areas, as well as on cable networks in Ukraine. At the same time, the declared satellite broadcasting was not detected during monitoring by the National Council.
In 2009, the Gamma TV channel began satellite broadcasting and received a license to broadcast the HP series No. 0942, which was issued by the National Council of Ukraine for Television and Radio Broadcasting on July 1, 2009.
In May 2016, the National Council ordered an unscheduled inspection of the TV channel due to broadcasts of addresses by Pyotr Symonenko, in which the National Council saw signs of denial or justification of the criminal nature of the communist totalitarian regime. The National Council also received a letter from the Security Service of Ukraine, which recorded signs of violation of the law in the politician’s speeches and asked to study the broadcast. On June 7, 2016, the Independent Media Council, to which the National Council applied with a request to study the broadcasts, in its conclusion established a violation of part two of Article 9 and part 2 of Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Television and Radio Broadcasting” by the Gamma TV channel, since the programs contained justification for the persecution of participants in the struggle for the independence of Ukraine in the 20th century, as well as deliberate calls to incite hatred
About the Kiev TV channel "Gamma", which was the first in the country to begin full-fledged DVB-T broadcasting and was available to viewers only in digital quality. This year, the Gamma channel began satellite broadcasting, turning from a regional to an all-Ukrainian television channel.
Read what the channel team managed to achieve during the year in an interview with technical director Vladimir Nekrasov and executive director for television broadcasting Alexander Dovgan.
Mediasat: Vladimir Vladimirovich, in the spring the Gamma channel began satellite broadcasting, our readers are interested in why the HellasSat-2 satellite was chosen?
Vladimir Nekrasov, technical directorV.N.: Mainly for economic reasons. Broadcasting through this satellite is much cheaper than through more popular ones, such as Amos or Sirius. At the same time, this satellite has a completely acceptable coverage area on the territory of Ukraine; it broadcasts a lot Ukrainian channels, so all cable operators have receiving systems targeting this satellite. The compression quality provided by Ukrkosmos encoding equipment is quite sufficient for distribution in analog cable networks, of which we still have the majority.
Mediasat: How does a TV channel from the control room get to the up-link of the UkrCosmos company?
V.N.: The program signal arrives via a digital fiber-optic line from the on-air equipment room of the channel to the equipment room of the Central Control Commission of the Republic of Tatarstan at the “zero” mark of the television tower, which is located on Dorogozhitskaya Street, where the formation of a package broadcast on the 64th TVK in the digital multiplex is carried out. The same signal, through a distributor, enters the transmitter of a digital fiber-optic communication line, through which it is delivered to the equipment room of Ukrkosmos.
Mediasat: Are you going to switch to a more “convenient” satellite for the average owner of a satellite dish in the future?
V.N.: We do not consider the satellite as a means of delivering a signal to the end user. Now it is more important to deliver the signal to cable operators, and this scheme is fully justified.
Mediasat: Are there any plans to encode the TV channel? After all, at the initial stage the channel had to be encoded in BISS. And why does he broadcast openly?
V.N.: When issuing a license for satellite broadcasting, the National Council is probably afraid that the channels may violate copyright on the broadcast content, the responsibility for which, according to international practice, lies not with the company that committed such a violation, but with the country that carries out broadcasting. The channel gave appropriate guarantees of full compliance with current copyright legislation, after which the license clause on the need for encoding was changed and the channel received the right to broadcast in the clear.
Mediasat: Alexander Nikolaevich, after the start of broadcasting via satellite, in which cities and cable networks is the channel now available to viewers?
Alexander Dovgan, Executive Director
on television broadcasting
A.D.: The license for satellite broadcasting was received by the Gamma TV channel relatively recently - on July 1, 2009. Accordingly, work on entering the cable networks of Ukraine began approximately three months ago. Before this, our channel was present only on cable networks in the capital, according to the license for digital broadcasting in Kyiv. Since the procedure for obtaining a satellite license coincided with our company’s participation in the TV and Radio Fair 2009, we already there began to negotiate with cable operators about signal distribution. On this moment we cover 10% of cable networks in Ukraine and work in this direction continues.
Mediasat: What is the channel's target audience?
A.D.: In September, we ordered a media study from the GFK company, according to which at the moment the “portrait” of our viewer is as follows: “Gamma” is watched by people with average and high level income, working and university students with higher education or students, as well as specialists and company managers. Our channel is often called “niche”, but it is not. The broadcast is filled with products on a variety of topics, it was created “for the whole family,” that is, every viewer will be able to find on the air of our channel something that will interest them.
Mediasat: Vladimir Vladimirovich, how do you build relationships with cable operators?
V.N.: We distribute our signal free of charge, that is, cable operators pay us the minimum required by law for providing our content. Relationships with operators develop in different ways. Most often, we help cable companies by giving them temporary use of the equipment necessary for rebroadcasting our TV channel.
Mediasat: How does the Gamma signal get to Kyiv cable TV operators?
V.N.: The method of supplying a signal to cable operators in Kyiv is determined individually in each case. For example, the Volya company receives the original signal directly from our encoding equipment in the RT control room via cable, because Our equipment racks are located side by side in the same room. Thus, the quality of the signal in the Volya-Cable network is the same as in the Kiev airwaves. Other cable operators in Kyiv and the region receive our signal from the air and distribute it to their subscribers in analog or digital format.
Mediasat: Are you planning to cooperate with DTH platforms?
V.N.: So far we have not received any offers from DTH operators.
Mediasat: Alexander Nikolaevich, in which IPTV networks is the Gamma channel available?
A.D.: In Kyiv - “Kosmonova (Kolo TB)”, “MIIT”. In the Kyiv region - “Maximum No”, Boyarka, Vishnevoe. In Vinnitsa - "Vinteleport". In the Donetsk region, in Mariupol - “Azovstroykomplekt”. In Odessa - "Tenet", in Kharkov - "ITL". At the moment, negotiations are underway with a number of companies providing IPTV services.
Mediasat: How do you build relationships with IPTV providers?
A.D.: We conclude a retransmission agreement and work.
Mediasat: Vladimir Vladimirovich, how does Gamma’s signal get to Kyiv IPTV providers?
V.N.: The same as for cable operators - mainly from the air.
Mediasat: Does the signal require additional processing for rebroadcasting on the IPTV network?
V.N.: The beauty of a digital signal is that, with minimal additional processing, it can propagate in various technological environments: airwaves, cable, IP networks, moving from one to another without loss of quality indicators. The essence of relaying is IPTV networks is that MPEG transport stream packets are simply repackaged into a different “wrapper” without changing the contents. The equipment used to carry out this process is not very complex and not very expensive. Moreover, many modern professional DVB-T/S receivers have a built-in streamer that generates a UDP stream, ready for rebroadcasting on the IPTV network.
Mediasat: Regarding broadcasting in the DVB-T standard. How did the transition to vertical polarization go? Why should channels broadcast in vertical polarization and not horizontal? What is the reason for this?
V.N.: The transition went well. Antennas with characteristics meeting the requirements of permitting documentation, manufactured by the well-known Czech company TESLA, were designed, purchased and installed. One antenna, an eight-panel, two-story antenna, is installed on Dorogozhichi. By the way, this is the first and so far the only television transmitting antenna with vertical polarization on the Kyiv TV tower. A separate high-quality feeder was also laid, which made it possible to obtain reflected power of no more than 2 W with a transmitter output power of 1.5 kW. This is a very good indicator, practically unattainable when working with a power addition bridge.
The second antenna, monoblock, is located on the support of the Bald Mountain transmitting center. The parameters of both antennas are optimized for the 64th broadcast channel.
Regarding vertical polarization. In urban multi-storey buildings, it has certain advantages in terms of its ability to cover shady areas, and also improves the quality mobile reception, because the car antennas mostly have vertical polarization. And in conditions of chronic traffic jams in Kyiv, it is simply unacceptable to neglect such an audience.
In our case, the transition to vertical polarization was due not only to the desire to realize its advantages in the complex buildings and terrain of Kyiv, but also turned out to be the only real opportunity to increase the transmitter power and coverage area. With horizontal polarization, we would not be able to obtain permission to increase the power from the original 200 to the current 1500 W, since in this case we would interfere with radio equipment not only in Ukraine, but also in Russia and Belarus. Of course, their radio frequency services would not agree on this frequency assignment through the international coordination process.
The transition to vertical polarization made it possible to painlessly solve this problem, which is confirmed by the results of relevant field tests carried out in December 2008 and permission to operate this transmitter, received at the very beginning of this year. By the way, it should be noted that in countries where digital television began to be introduced earlier, its broadcasting is carried out in most cases in vertical polarization. We can hope that this experience will be successfully used in our country.
Mediasat: What did the increase in transmitter power give to the average viewer?
V.N.: First of all, expanding the area of reliable reception and improving the stability of reception in “difficult” places. In addition, the use of a new transmitter from the world's leading manufacturer, Rohde & Schwarz, has significantly improved the quality of the signal, which, without false modesty, can be considered the best in Kyiv in terms of technical characteristics.
Mediasat: What potential audience can receive the channel in Kyiv and the region?
V.N.: The radius of the zone of reliable stationary reception on an external directional antenna is now about 50 km, of course, with a favorable route topography. Unfortunately, you can’t fool nature, so no increase in power will completely cover the shadow areas. This problem can only be solved by installing additional synchronous transmitters.
Mediasat: How are things going with repeaters in Kyiv? They work?
V.N.: The term “repeater” in the context of using the synchronous broadcasting mode is not entirely correct. In a synchronous network, all transmitters are equal and are responsible for covering their portion of the synchronous zone. Therefore, it makes sense to talk only about the construction or expansion of a network of transmitters.
On October 11, we began test broadcasting from a transmitter on Lysaya Gora, operating in synchronous mode with the transmitter on the TV tower on the street. Dorogozhitskaya. Work is currently underway to synchronize the network, after which we will conduct repeated studies of the coverage area, taking into account the operation of the new transmitter. Based on the results of the coverage area study, the need to install additional transmitters to cover the remaining shadow areas will be considered.
In mid-October, full-scale electromagnetic compatibility tests with radio equipment of special users, necessary to obtain an operating permit, were also carried out. We hope to put this transmitter into normal mode by the end of October.
Mediasat: What does the average consumer need to receive a signal in vertical polarization?
V.N.: Of course, an antenna designed to receive a signal with vertical polarization. Not far from the transmitting center (within a radius of several kilometers), where the field strength is still quite high, various types of whip antennas can be used. At large distances from the television center, it is advisable to use multi-element directional antennas of the “wave channel” type or log-periodic, but rotated 90 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis.
V.N.: Paradoxically, digital television is more demanding on the quality of the signal at the point of reception than traditional analog television. The analog signal fades smoothly as it moves away from the television center, and the deterioration in reception quality is noticeable as the degree of noise in the picture increases. A digital signal has a so-called “threshold effect”: up to a certain level of the input signal, the picture has a constant quality, but with a further decrease in the signal level (or an increase in the level of noise/interference), it crumbles and disappears completely. Those. There is no such thing as a “bad” digital image: it either exists or it doesn’t. This is what we should proceed from: it is necessary to maintain a signal level at the receiver input not lower than critical, while avoiding the influence of external interference. And this can only be achieved by using a high-quality and correctly tuned antenna. However, the topic of choosing antennas for digital TV is so vast that it deserves a separate article. If Mediasat magazine is ready to provide its pages, then such an article may well be written.
Mediasat: “Yes, of course we will, the topic will be of interest not only to the consumer, but also to installers and specialists.” — from your words the question arises: will there be a transfer of the broadcasting signal of the “Gamma” package on 64 UHF from mpeg-2 to mpeg-4? If so, what will this do for the consumer?
V.N.: The current broadcasting license provides for the broadcast of 4 programs. To fulfill this requirement, the MPEG-2 standard is sufficient. Moreover, many tens of thousands of receivers of this standard have already been purchased and are in operation in Kyiv and its environs. If changes are made to the license to increase the number of broadcast programs, we will be forced to make such a transition. But these are additional expenses that can now be put to better use.
As for consumers. If the transition consists only of replacing one compression standard with another, as provided for by the decisions of our regulatory bodies, then it will not bring viewers anything except additional costs associated with replacing the receiving equipment. If we talk about the MPEG-4 standard in all the variety of its multimedia and interactive functions, then yes, a lot of new opportunities open up for the consumer. Another thing is: is our consumer ready to consume them?
Mediasat: Alexander Nikolaevich, let's talk about content, what new programs of your own production have appeared on the channel? How will you delight the viewer?
A.D.: In the fall, the Gamma TV channel launched three new television projects: the “Money” program is a “magazine” type project, made with the help of computer graphics, which reveals the history of the emergence of financial relations and their impact on world history. Interesting events and their analysis are displayed in vivid graphic form. Also, satirical animated news “Vrahui”, where the events of the week are covered in a comic form. Virtual presenters offer the viewer an alternative view on such serious things as politics, economics and lighten the mood with their jokes and irony. And also the author’s project of Evgeny Mikhailov - “Invasion”, where the viewer will see the world around him from a completely different angle. The analytical project discards stereotypes and is intended for the “thinking” TV viewer.
Mediasat: What events and exhibitions does the TV channel take part in?
A.D.: The Gamma TV channel actively takes part in competitions and festivals. A recent event was the EEBC-2009 exhibition, where the TV channel was represented with a stand. Also, we will definitely take part in the TV festivals “Vidkry Ukraine” and “Golden George”. In 2009, the channel received a first-degree diploma in the category “Children of War” at the fifth International Festival of Television Films and Radio Programs “Won Together” in Sevastopol for the program “Little Avengers” from the “Capital Secrets” series.
In 2008, the Gamma TV channel received a number of awards at the 3rd International Festival “Videkry Ukraine”: 1st place in the main television competition “Our History”, won the competition “Best TV program design”, received a diploma “For professional excellence in lighting socially important topics in television programs”, became the winner of the 2nd television competition “Revealing the secrets of history”, a prize-winner of the competitions “Successful combination of creative skills and special technical means” and “Competition of studio television works created with the help of professional studio lighting, lighting technologies and design.”