c/p from another site

Well guys the word is bev might be down for a couple more days. The coders are waiting to see what DN has in store this week before they bother fixing bev. They are also taking this time to try and make us a bit more stable fix. What bev did over the weekend is on Saturday they changed from using mecm40 to mecm60(these have to do with the processing of the video) they are code. A few weeks ago they added a Timer Function, if this wasn’t properly coded in our bins would result in no picture. The timer is a math function, the last few “hits” they have done to us they have also changed the timing on that function. You can think of the timer as a math equation. If you don’t have the right answer in a math equation you get it wrong, well the same theory goes for this. Now yesterday what bev did was they changed back to using mecm40 and once again changed the timing on this math equation.

So just sit tight and as soon as files are ready they will be here. DN will most likely do there change on Wednesday. So please don’t ask when files will be released as soon as they are done they will be here..

RESEARCH — Nearly 16 percent of American households who use the internet watch television broadcasts online, a new study suggests. According to The Conference Board and TNS, the number of consumers viewing entire episodes on the ‘net has doubled from one year ago. The research firms said personal convenience and avoiding commercials were the top two reasons why consumers are flocking to the internet for video. The study also said four of five online viewers say watching internet video has not changed their TV viewing habits.

TECHNOLOGY — Integral Systems subsidiary RT Logic unveiled its new Telemetrix 500RX high-rate digital/analog recorder system. Combining RT’s high-speed field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based hardware and firmware with commercial off-the-shelf PC server technology, the T500RX offers customers aggregate recording and playback rates in excess of 1 Gbps and is available in 1U, 2U, and 5U rack-mount versions, the company said.

INTERNATIONAL — Russian satellite operator Gascom inked a capacity deal with Network Teleport Italia. The Italian company will lease capacity on the Yamal-202 satellite to provide data, internet, television, radio and IP content distribution. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

MISCELLANY — The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) welcomed three firms to the organization as new installation members. The SBCA said it will now be working with Impact Satellite of Harrisburg, PA; Computer Cabling Products International of Denver, CO; and Atlas Marketing of Provo, UT to support their education and licensing efforts.

DIRECTV and EchoStar were hoping that when the House Judiciary Committee approved a tax moratorium extension bill last week that it would prohibit states from imposing DBS-specific taxes. Now both companies are looking for answers after learning the bill does not include the language they wanted.

One solution could come in the form of a bill House Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers introduced in September. The DBS companies are lobbying for the state tax streamlining bill, but sources said it is unclear whether the House will pass what would be non-discriminatory legislation this year.

According to reports, Conyers is set on having Congress address the issue which could have significant implications on states’ ability to enact taxes on satellite TV that are different from those established for cable services. As it stands, six states currently have what the DBS companies consider “discriminatory” tax structures on satellite TV.

PROGRAMMING — EchoStar launched Spanish-language TeleFormula on DISH Network’s Dish LATINO package, the company said Thursday. TeleFormula is one of the highest-rated satellite channels in Mexico and Dish LATINO is the largest distributed Spanish-language package in the States. To promote the launch, TeleFormula started a $500K awareness campaign across it 45-plus U.S. radio affiliates. The network serves more than 3 million viewers in Mexico, the company said.

RESEARCH — The Space Foundation has released The Space Report 2007 containing global space industry budgets and revenue data. The organization said the updated report reveals dramatic growth in the space economy that is outpacing other markets and indices. The Space Report 2007 is available for free download at www.TheSpaceReport.org.

INTERNATIONAL — Mobile satellite service provider Globalstar subsidiary Globalstar Europe is launching Static IP address and virtual private network capability for its satellite data customers throughout western Europe — Malaysian satellite operator Measat signed new distribution agreements helping the company enter the South Asian markets. Unveiled this week, Measat inked deals with Pacific Century Matrix to use Measat-3 to distribute two Asian movie channels — SES Astra acquired a stake in Dubai-based system integrator Glocom for digital broadcasting solutions. Terms of the deal were not given — Broadcast automation and content management solutions company OmniBus Systems unveiled plans to expand its operations in the Asia-Pacific region following increased installations at broadcasters including Ascent, Astro, Discovery, NDTV and TV3.

It’s called Broadband Across America, and it’s a program that has the potential to bring satellite-delivered broadband to a lot more customers. Hughes Network Systems took the wraps off a plan to offer consumers across North America its HughesNet satellite broadband internet service from Wal-Mart, the country’s largest retailer. The joint effort is designed to give more customers in rural areas the opportunity to experience high-speed internet access.

According to the companies, the HughesNet service will be sold in 2,800 Wal-Mart stores across the U.S., including locations throughout most of rural America where terrestrial broadband services are often not available. And with millions of Americans shopping at Wal-Mart each week, being able to purchase HughesNet at the stores makes broadband more accessible in many more areas across the country than ever before.

Hughes said every Wal-Mart customer who purchases a HughesNet system will receive an “ExpressPay” card for $100 to buy anything at the retail behemoth. Hughes said HughesNet’s download speeds should range from 700Kbps to 2Mbps with pricing starting at $60 per month.

In many of the Wal-Mart stores, HughesNet will be available in the electronics department, through a “Digital Connection Kiosk” or customers can contact the Wal-Mart call center to be connected with a Hughes installer.

For several quarters the satellite-backed navigation industry has skyrocketed, unquestionably led by GPS manufacturer Garmin. Now the company may be planning on using its recent success to find its way into the cell phone business as well.

Just weeks ago, the world’s largest cell phone maker Nokia caused a stir within the GPS industry with the announcement that it would acquire mapping technology firm Navteq for a mere $8.1 billion. The move not only irked those at Nokia rival Motorola, but it also encroaches on Garmin’s navigation device business.

Now, it seems, Garmin may be firing back.

According to Jeff Evanson, an analyst with Dougherty & Co., Garmin may be coming out with a GPS-enabled mobile phone as early as next year. The company is already adding more wireless capabilities to its auto and portable navigation devices so they can receive real-time traffic, weather and other data services.

“Garmin knows it could build one hell-of-a fantastic wireless handset,” Evanson said. The company “now believes there’s no one in the world that they can’t go head-to-head with in developing consumer electronics.”

Football fans know if they want unheralded access to the National Football League, DIRECTV is the way to go. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the nation’s largest satellite TV provider is improving its NFL Sunday Ticket for the 2007 season and beyond.

First, DIRECTV said it will offer 180 games this season in high-def as part of the Super Fan package. The company charges $269 for the Sunday Ticket package - which gives subs access to all the games - but an additional $99 will deliver the “super” high-def goods. Last year, DIRECTV offered 150 games in HD.

In an interesting twist, DIRECTV subs who sign up for the Sunday Ticket and Super Fan upgrade will be able to watch games on their home PCs via a broadband internet connection. Dubbed the “Supercast” service, customers will be able to watch games online - in high-def - and view several NFL-themed channels with interactive features.

Also included with Supercast, subscribers have for the first time the entire weekly lineup of live NFL Sunday Ticket games available via web-stream to their computers and can receive in-progress highlights from games on demand via their mobile phones with complete scores and clock updates from every game.

DIRECTV secured the rights to broadcast its Sunday Ticket games online when the company signed its carriage agreement with the league in 2004. The satcaster’s deal with the NFL runs through 2010.

The communications satellite sector is thriving across the entire planet, but manufacturers here in the States may not see as much growth. A new study suggests that while satellites are becoming an increasingly efficient means of offering advanced communications services, the share of satellite-related business may be headed overseas.

According to the latest study from Forecast International, the global communications satellite market is expected to generate deliveries of nearly 300 satellites during the next 10 years. However, the firm’s research also suggests that the U.S. share of those orders could possibly be headed for a downturn.

Forecast’s “Commercial Communications Satellites, 2007-2016″ report says while demand for satellite services is growing, an increase in satellite size, power and service life actually has decreased the overall demand for satellites.

The firm said roughly 218 geostationary and medium-Earth orbit satellites will be delivered during the time period valued at nearly $26 billion. The low-Earth orbiting market, Forecast said, should see nearly 70 new spacecrafts produced worth about $927 million - thanks to fleet replacement initiatives from Globalstar and Orbcomm.

The study said the U.S. share of the manufacturing market has declined by almost 30 percent throughout the past three years. Forecast data shows that in 2004, 75 percent of the global commercial communications satellites ordered were awarded to three U.S. companies, while only three orders went to non-U.S. builders. That number dropped to 63 percent in 2005 and 40 percent last year.

Although reaction to DIRECTV’s second quarter results seemed to be somewhat mixed, some industry analysts are saying the company did better than expected. Thanks to subscriber and ARPU gains, it appears DIRECTV’s quarter was more positive than negative.

Wedbush Morgan’s William Kidd seems to agree, saying in light of the current weak retail environment, DIRECTV’s addition of 128,000 new U.S. subscribers and 141,000 Latin American net subs can only be seen as a positive. Also key, in Kidd’s opinion, was that the company reported 50 percent more high-def and DVR customers during the period, boosting ARPU up 6.8 percent.

When DIRECTV CEO Chase Carey unveiled the satcaster’s plans to launch with 70 HD channels by Q3, and have 100 a couple months shortly after, Kidd said the new offering “will give DIRECTV a considerable short-term advantage over cable and likely continue to drive this ARPU trend.”

Coming from the Oppenheimer camp, Thomas Eagan said (again) that although he expects DIRECTV’s positive financial trends to continue, the analyst sees more downside as many of the company’s catalysts have already been achieved.

Eagan concurred that DIRECTV’s ARPU trend is a positive for the company, and that higher SAC ($688 per) reflects increased company spending to drive its HD customer growth. However, the analyst said DIRECTV’s subscriber adds were below most estimates, and net addition weakness reflects that higher-than-expected churn of 1.58 percent. Eagan also said the churn disappointed company management and expected to see an improvement next period.

Pertaining to the company’s Latin America business, Citigroup’s Jason Bazinet said revenues of $409 million and EBITDA of $95 million beat the firm’s estimates on both, and the analyst looked positively upon DIRECTV’s 141,000 Latin net subscriber additions. Bazinet said Citigroup continues to believe DIRECTV shares represent a compelling value, while the potential for mergers and acquisitions after the Liberty/News Corp. asset swap remains in place.

EchoStar detailed its second quarter performance in a filing the company made with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday, including a jump in subscribers that didn’t quite match last year’s 2Q efforts.

The company said its DISH Network service added about 170,000 net new subscribers during the three-month period, taking its total to 13.585 million. That compares to about 195,000 net additions for the same period last year.

EchoStar attributed the lower net subscriber gain to a number of factors, one of them being seasonality. Typically, subscribers churn at a higher rate during the second and third quarters each year than during the first and fourth quarters, the company said.

As for financials, EchoStar said second quarter net income grew to $224.2 million, compared to $168.8 million for the same period last year. Revenues jumped 12 percent to $2.8 million.

More details about EchoStar’s second quarter results should come out today during an investor conference call between executives and analysts.