Tv Daily Onlne - DW Tv Germany's International broadcasting service.

Two new satellites have closed the last remaining gaps in DW's satellite network spanning the globe. The latest communication technology gives Deutsche Welle access to key expanding markets in the Asia-Pacific region and in Africa.
ASIASAT 2 broadcasts to over 50 countries in Asia as well as to Australia and parts of New Zealand. Two thirds of the world's population live in this area - an emerging region with great political and economic potential.
INTELSAT 707 brings DW to viewers through-out Africa.
DW has rented channels on four other satellites :

EUTELSAT II-F1 (Europe, Middle East, North Africa)
ASTRA 1A (Europe), analogue radio only
ASTRA 1B (Europe), digital radio only
(ASTRA DIGITAL RADIO, ADR)
SATCOM C-4 (North and Central America)
INTELSAT-K (North, Central and South America)

Satellite receiving antenna with feed system

Antenna
The antenna, also known as the 'dish', collects the electromagnetic waves coming from the satellite. Its size is determined by the incoming signal level strength (EIRP) at the reception site. The geographical coordinates of the antenna location and the orbital position of the satellite must be known, in order to align the antenna. One of the characteristics of digitally transmitted satellite broadcasts is that signal losses are corrected up to a certain degree by error correction routines, for instance when weather conditions are bad. If the antenna dish is sufficiently large, signal losses can be prevented even when there is heavy rain. Depending on the location, the antenna size recommended for ASIASAT 2 is 2.00 to 2.80 metres, and for INTELSAT 707 from 3.50 to 5.50 metres.

Feed System
Before the signals received by the antenna can be redistributed, they must be converted into electromagnetic waves in the feed system. This feed system consists of the exciter (feedhorn) and the low-noise amplifier (Low Noise Converter, LNC). An LNC for the C-band use by Deutsche Welle should have as low a noise level as possible, i.e. 0.4dB or less.

Digital satellite receiver : integrated receiver decoder (IRD)
The digital satellite receiver is the essential unit for the reception of digital programmes. A menu displayed on the TV screen is called up by remote control. No special DW-satellite receiver (IRD) is required to receive digitally transmitted Deutsche Welle programmes. The price of a consumer IRD is currently in the range of 670 to 1,000 US dollars, and professional units cost around 1,670 US dollars.

The digital satellite receiver needs the following basic features to receive programmes
Use of an IRD with C-band capability (3.6 - 4.2 GHz)	Hi-Fi audio output
DVB compatibility	Manual input facility or automatic recognition of error protection code (FEC)
QPSK demodulator	TV SCART socket with an RGB- and/or a PAL output
Automatic polarity switching	Adjusting facility for aligning to the satellite
Variably adjustable symbol rate level of 5 to 30 Mbd
Incoming frequency range of 950 - 2050 MHz

Terminals (TV set, Hi-Fi equipments, PC)
Convertional TV sets can receive digital TV programmes using an IRD. The same applies to Hi-Fi equipment and pCs which can reproduce the digital radio programme. The data which has been processed and transmitted can be retrieved by every PC eqipped with the necessary software. A Converter or a multistandard unit is required for contries using other standards than PAL.

DW's TV and radio programmes can be received worldwide and rebroadcast locally or regionally in the footprint area of the leased satellites. The receivers are TV and radio broadcasters, cable operators, hotels, institutions and private households. The rebroadcasting of DW programmes, which contain no advertisements, is free of charge. Rebroadcasting partners sign a contract with Deutsche Welle before distributing its programmes. A corresponding agreement is also necessary for cable operators and hotel networks.

DW's programmes distribution cooperates with 2,800 partner stations and 1,600 institutions around the world. DW-tv and DW-radio can be received in more than 80,000 hotel rooms. The international distribution of DW programmes is coordinated from Cologne. A network of regional agents supports the programme distribution abroad.

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