RF Shorts – July 8, 2011

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JetBlue's LiveTV via Satellite Goes Global
FlightGlobal.com writer Mary Kirby writes LiveTV to spread its wings with global in-flight television. Kirby reports that JetBlue Airways subsidiary LiveTV is preparing for a global deployment of its dedicated Ku-band supported live television service for overseas flights. Subscribers to the overseas service will initially be able to access three to five channels of live TV content wirelessly via their on handheld devices or through legacy in-flight entertainment systems. Global LiveTV installations are intended to start "late next year", initially over the Atlantic. The article also covers LiveTV's plans to add Ka-band distribution in the U.S. and Europe.

Uncertain Future for Nagoya TV Tower
Japan Times reports Nagoya TV tower losing role, future iffy. The tower is being used for analog only TV transmission. That will end on July 24 when Japan shuts off analog broadcasting. The remaining digital signals are transmitted from a different tower. Writer Chunichi Shimbun said Nagoya TV Tower company hoped to remove the analog transmitters, renovate the space, and put in restaurants and shops, at a cost estimated at ¥3.5 billion. The company asked the city and prefecture to put up ¥1.5 billion in public funds to earthquake-proof the tower. At the present, the Nagoya has not given Nagoya TV Tower a firm response and the company's board members have decided to delay the renovation program. Notice the nice park surrounding the tower in the photo in the article – I haven't seen anything like that in the U.S.!

Doug Lung
Doug Lung
Contributor

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack. A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.