Eutelsat’s NewsSpotter puts a new face on newsgathering

Eutelsat Communications has officially launched its NewsSpotter newsgathering service. The service expands the range of professional services provided through Eutelsat’s high-performance KA-SAT satellite and is provided by its Skylogic affiliate. Using a new generation of lightweight equipment, NewsSpotter broadens opportunities for newsgathering by offering broadcasters and service providers the ability to transmit high definition and/or standard definition live video from the field in a fast and highly cost efficient manner. The service is also ideal for fast transmission of film rushes and proxy file transfer from the field. Compact enough to be carried in a backpack for Fly-Away use and small enough to be fitted onto a small car for rooftop mounting, NewsSpotter can instantly connect mobile news crews to studios for transmission of live recordings, images and data. Providing native IP connectivity, NewsSpotter is integrated for the workflows of modern newsgathering operations and is available across KA-SAT’s footprint that covers Europe, North Africa and large parts of the Middle East. Offering a fast link from scene to screen, the NewsSpotter satellite dish and terminal can be set up in two minutes, including deployment, auto pointing, and connection. News crews, using a self-booking application or having pre-booked for planned use and guaranteed reservations, can reserve bandwidth online. Users simply logon to the Skylogic OSS portal, enter their user terminal number, location, time slots and bit rate required on return and forward links. NewsSpotter uses professional-grade KA-SAT terminals for video contribution from crews in the field to a broadcaster’s master control room. Using standard IP routing, the service is capable of transmitting at speeds of up to 20Mbps via KA-SAT and its dedicated ground network fibre infrastructure. NewsSpotter user terminals have been developed by multiple manufacturers in three versions: Fly-Away, Vehicular Compact and Vehicular Rugged. Fly-Away terminals require manual pointing and come in the form of backpack or flight case configuration, weighing in the range of 5 to 10 kg, with dish sizes in the range of 60 to 75cm. The Vehicle Compact terminal has motorised and autopoint capability and is available with dish sizes from 75 to 90cm. Rugged Vehicle mounted terminals are available with dish sizes from 75 to 120 cm. Cristiano Benzi, director of Pre-Sales and Customer Care at Eutelsat, said: “Satellites are an unbeatable platform for covering breaking news and transmitting live sports and cultural events back to studios. NewsSpotter complements these daily operations with a fast, light and cost-effective service for broadcasters and news crews. Broadcasters that set the highest standards of quality, including the BBC, RTL, Rai and Sky, have already tested the system and performed live transmissions in Europe, illustrating NewsSpotter’s immediate interest to the news industry.” NewsSpotter is delivered by Eutelsat’s KA-SAT High Throughput Satellite, which entered commercial service in May 2011. The satellite forms the cornerstone of a new satellite infrastructure, which includes eight main satellite gateways across Europe connected to the Internet by a fibre backbone ring. www.eutelsat.com