DIPOL Weekly Review - TV and SAT TV, CCTV, WLAN

HbbTV - Europe is back in the game.

HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) is an European standard that was launched in 2009. Many experts think that the new technology is a more important breakthrough in distributing multimedia content than three dimensional television (3D TV).

HbbTV, a combination of digital television and the Internet, will enable the reception of satellite, terrestrial and cable TV channels, as well as access to new services such as video on demand (VoD), interactive games, electronic newspapers, YouTube videos, photo albums.
The television programs and new services will be selected via thematic portals (as the websites on the Internet today), with much greater choice than the current programming of TV channels.

Hybrid TV is based on existing standards and web technologies, including OIPF (Open IPTV Forum), CEA, DVB and W3C. It defines the minimum requirements that have to be met by TV sets, but allows for proprietary extensions made by individual manufacturers of television equipment. This way, consumers can choose among slightly different implementations complying with the standard.

HbbTV is currently available in Germany and France. In Germany, the number of devices supporting the HbbTV standard which were sold in 2010 reached 2 million (mostly TVs from Philips). It is expected that the number will double in 2011.

HbbTV, a combination of digital television and the Internet, will enable the reception of satellite, terrestrial and cable TV channels, as well as access to new services such as video on demand (VoD), interactive games, electronic newspapers, YouTube videos, photo albums.

The television programs and new services will be selected via thematic portals (as the websites on the Internet today), offering much greater choice than the current programming of TV channels.

HbbTV integrates digital television, the Internet, and (novelty) - portals dedicated exclusively to hybrid TV.

For many years the development of European television was hampered by the erroneous concept based on the introduction of digital TV in standard definition. When America and Asia were enjoying boom in HDTV, some of the major manufactures avoided European trade fairs because it was difficult for them to present the latest HDTV sets in the region where this type of broadcasting was virtually non-existent.
HbbTV standard is a modern solution and its future seems to be bright. First market successes and commitment of the largest manufacturers of consumer electronics (Philips, Sony, LG, Humax, and probably Samsung) and content providers/distributors (Canal+, France Television, SES Astra, Eutelsat, Cisco) suggest that 2011 and subsequent years will be the era of hybrid TV, in particular the years of triumph of the HbbTV standard.

Europe is back in the game.

Antennas on Chopok.

Chopok (2024 m above sea level) is a mount in the Low Tatras in central Slovakia. On the slopes of Chopok there are the largest ski resorts in Slovakia - Jasna. There are over twenty four lifts on both sides of the Chopok Mountain, including six chair lifts and a cable car, with total capacity of over 20,000 passengers per hour.

Satlook Micro HD - measurements in multiswitch systems.

Satlook Micro HD R10740 meter has been designed and manufactured by engineers of Emitor company in Sweden.
The main purpose of the R10740 meter is to help the installer find a chosen satellite (with Easy Find), and then to allow for precise alignment of the dish and LNB(s) by measuring a set of parameters of digital signals from selected transponders. The device can measure satellite signals in DVB-S standard (QPSK modulation) and in DVB-S2 standard (QPSK and 8PSK modulations - the latter is used by transponders broadcasting HD channels).
Two LNB inputs allow to simultaneously measure parameters of signals coming from two LNBs, which is very useful during installation of dishes with two LNBs that are to be aligned with two satellites. The built-in loudspeaker makes it easy to provisionally find the proper position of the dish "by ear" (beep tone corresponds with the satellite signal strength). The device can store in its memory up to 100 satellite-transponder combinations.

Digital Satellite Meter Satlook Micro HD (DVB-S/S2) R10740

Available measurements:

Analysis of the signal spectrum using Satlook Micro HD R10740

Use of EasyFind mode is a simple way to point the dish at the desired satellite. The device allows the user to define custom profiles (up to five profiles, each containing up to six satellites or transponders). This feature is also very useful for installers building multiswitches systems - they can define separate profiles for each polarization-band pair.

DIPOL's Technical Department has prepared list of Hot Bird 13.0^oE transponders ready to upload to the meter. Thanks to this list, the installation of quatro LNB and diagnostics the SMATV system will go much faster and easier. The list contains 30 popular transponders which will be automatically selected in EasyFind mode. Using this list, the installer can quickly diagnose any problems with the LNB and multiswitch(es), e.g. inadequate isolation between multiswitch inputs, causing loss of reception within a band or polarization.

The list, updating program and list editor can be found at this address.

Choice of antenna location and determination of satellite positions.

Satellite dish location is very important for the functioning of the receiving system. Obstacles such as trees, buildings, chimneys, towers etc. reduce satellite signal level and can block reception even when the signal seems to be sufficient at the moment of installation. Before you start to drill holes in the wall for mounting the bracket, you must make sure that the path between the satellite and the dish does not have any obstacles.
For this purpose you can use a smartphone with appropriate software.
There are several applications available on mobile phones, but the most popular of them is DishPointer Pro. Although it is not free, it has increasing number of users. The following video shows how you can use the DishPointer Pro application on Samsung Galaxy S with Android system:

The way of finding the satellite when installing a satellite dish,
using Samsung Galaxy S and DishPointer Pro application

No more problems with ActiveX controls.

Working with many different digital video recorders and configuring, testing, servicing video surveillance systems, the computers of installers and administrators of larger systems are filled with huge amounts of cookies, temporary files, remains of applications. The accumulation of such files means that the computers may dramatically lose their performance or even experience unexpected shutdowns. In addition, too many applications that support the same services do not allow to determine the cause of malfunctioning of the computers or make it extremely difficult.

The help for installers, administrators and users of Ultimax and Ultimax-Hikvision DVRs is provided by a simple application designed for Windows operating systems. It automatically cleans the operating system from current ActiveX controls installed in the computer system by Hikvision equipment, as well as from the remains of older versions. The program is a self-contained executable file, which does not require prior installation. The operation takes only a few seconds. After using this program and running Internet Explorer, the user has to reinstall ActiveX controls.

ActiveX controls are indispensable to support certain graphical elements of the website generated by the DVRs and are required to decode H.264 compressed video streams.

The Uninstall ActiveX application is available here.

An alternative to using IE is the client application iVMS4000 which allows to monitor images from multiple devices without having to install additional components.

Remote monitoring over the Internet provides a remarkable freedom in the use of video surveillance systems in business and private applications. The implemented solutions and extended software suite allow to successfully employ the Ultimax-Hikvision DVRs in any modern CCTV systems.

Day/night cameras.

Digital signal processing in day/night cameras implements special programs to eliminate the effects of IR radiation during day time and improve B&W imaging at night.
Color cameras with built-in infrared filters (on a permanent basis) are not recommended for night work. In daylight, the IR cut filter eliminates the influence of the infrared spectrum on the camera image, so the colors can be accurately rendered. However, the filter does not allow to use the camera at night in systems with IR illumination.
The ideal solution for cameras working day and night is automatic IR cut filter, mechanically switched off at night. It enables the cameras to work with IR illuminators. This solution ensures perfect rendition of colors during day and high sensitivity at night. These cameras are more expensive, but provide optimum image quality both day and night. To fully exploit their performance, they have to cooperate with lenses with IR correction (necessary for proper focusing).

We offer a wide range of cameras with mechanically switching IR cut filter:

Remote monitoring of homes with TP-Link TL-SC3130G cameras.

Cheap IP CCTV systems affordable for home owners can be built using the cameras TP-Link TL-SC3130G K1150. Such systems allow for access via mobile phones and Internet browsers. The K1150 cameras also allow two-way audio transmission.

SSLv3/HTTPS encryption ensures safe logging to the cameras. Motion detection function implemented in the cameras can notify specified user/s about any detected movement.

Remote monitoring of homes with TP-Link TL-SC3130G cameras

The simple system employs two K1150 cameras. They are connected wirelessly to the access point TP-Link TL-WR941ND 802.11n N3251. The wireless transmission is protected by encryption using one of the protocols: WPA-/WPA2-PSK, WPA-/WPA2-AES, WEP.
The images from the cameras can be monitored via any web browser or mobile phones supporting 3GPP file format.

Home Wi-Fi network based on the 802.11n standard.

Home computer network can be used not only for Internet connectivity but also for the transmission of multimedia files (music, movies, pictures) between computers and televisions supporting DLNA standard (The Digital Living Network Alliance). DLNA is a standard for communication, used by manufacturers of consumer electronics for sharing multimedia content within home networks. Older wireless standards (802.11 g) did not provide adequate bandwidth. Currently, the 802.11n standard solves this problem. The central device of a home network is a wireless router.

A home multimedia network based on N3252 wireless N router

TL-WR740N consists of wireless access point (802.11n/b/g), broadband router (for xDSL or cable modem), and 4-port FastEthernet switch. It allows to establish wired and wireless network connections and share Internet access.

TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND as a DLNA server

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