AUSTAR DROPS METRO INTERNET

Austar United Communications has finalised an agreement with Virtual Communities Limited for the sale of its non-core, metropolitan internet business. The sale is consistent with Austar's strategy of providing integrated communication services in regional and rural Australia. Austar's core, regional internet business, AustarNet, is not included in the sale.
Under the agreement, Virtual Communities will purchase AustarMetro, Austar's metropolitan ISP business which was acquired in 2000 and currently has a subscriber base in excess of 21,000 customers.
John Porter, Austar's Chief Executive Officer, said "The sale of AustarMetro to Virtual Communities is a logical and strategic step for Austar. Since we acquired AustarMetro, we have successfully improved its management and the quality of service provided to customers and, in doing so, have converted it into a profitable operating unit. However, Austar's strategy is to focus on offering services to rural and regional Australia, and AustarMetro falls outside of this focus.
AustarMetro staff will be offered continuity of their positions with Virtual Communities Limited's wholly owned subsidiary company, GlobalCenter Pty Ltd. There will be no interruption to the ISP service to customers as a result of the transfer of ownership. Austar's prepaid internet product which is distributed by third parties, as well as Urban Internet are also included in the purchase.

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TVNZ MONITORS WITH JVC

Television New Zealand (TVNZ) has ordered a large number of JVC
portable, general purpose and reference colour monitors to form part of a digital upgrade as well as a fly-away events package for the Auckland television centre facilities. The project was won and co-ordinated by Television Systems Limited (TSL) primarily for use in the coverage of local and international events including the America¹s Cup, later this year.
The colour picture monitors will be used throughout the New Zealand TV network centre. Once installed into Suite 4 and the master control room, the monitors will be linked to systems integrated with switchers routers and multiviewers enabling direct links to studios set up at sites around the world.
The adaptability of the portable monitors means they will also be
fitted into flight cases and form part of a fly-away "events package" so as to respond quickly to TVNZ's needs, as and when they arise.

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GLOBECAST DELAYS TIME WITH OMNEON

Quinto Communications, Australian Distributor of Omneon servers, has announced the sale of a 4 Channel Omneon Server with 80 Hrs of storage and Time Delay Application to GlobeCast Australia. The initial system will be used to ingest 4 channels of material from incoming satellite feeds and then with Omneon's Time Delay Software application, the content will be scheduled for delayed 2 CH playout across two time zones on GlobeCast's Direct to Business/Home Satellite Services.
The system is equipped with ample storage (80hrs @ 10 Mbit/s) to cater for the proposed future expansion to eight channels.
GlobeCast Australia is a leading Australian & New Zealand Service Provider for Local and International News Coverage, International Satellite Connections from overseas news bureau's to Australian broadcasters and Domestic free to air and subscription satellite video services to commercial and domestic customers. This will be the second major Omneon installation in Australia , the first being at Prime Television in Canberra. Other major customers include the BBC and BSkyB in the UK.

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NEW ROLE FOR AUSTAR

Austar United Communications has reached agreements with FOXTEL and Optus, subject to board approvals and any necessary regulatory consents, which will see Austar become a customer of FOXTEL’s satellite platform and Austar and FOXTEL will cooperate in content creation. It will also ensure that Austar customers will obtain access to any new services FOXTEL develops, including near video on demand (NVOD), interactive TV services and new channels.
The agreements will ensure that regional and rural consumers have access to the subscription television services equal to or superior to that offered in the major capital cities.
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HD QUOTA DELAYED

The Australian Minister for Communications, Senator Richard Alston, has announced that the commencement of the high definition television (HDTV) quota requirements applying to free-to-air broadcasters will be delayed until 1 July 2003. The Coalition committed in its 2001 Federal Election Broadcasting Policy to provide the broadcasters with additional flexibility in meeting the already legislated 20-hour per week HDTV obligation. This Policy commits the Coalition to annualizing the HDTV quota (i.e. 1040 hours per year) and to including advertisements in the quota as occurs with the Australian Content Standard. It is also publicly known that the Government is considering the possibility of changes to the digital television and datacasting regime to encourage consumer take-up of digital equipment. Because it is now highly unlikely that any legislative amendments to provide the flexibility committed to by the Coalition can be put in place before the HDTV quota obligation comes into effect for some broadcasters, a short delay to its commencement is necessary. The Government will seek to amend the HDTV quota obligations so that they commence from 1 July 2003 or two years after the commencement of digital transmissions in a licence area. This change will affect broadcasters in mainland capital cities, which would otherwise be required to commence HDTV broadcasts from 1 January 2003 (i.e. two years after they commenced digital transmissions).

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OKTOBOR ADDS SECOND INFERNO

New Zealand post-production company Oktobor has reinforced its position as one of the most Discreet-friendly facilities in the region with the addition of a second inferno system. The Onyx platform purchased with the inferno software features full film resolution capability. Oktobor also purchased a further flame system and upgraded its six combustion licences to version 2. Oktobor's choice to add a second inferno system was based on the number of current and future film projects at the company.
"The inferno is definitely the most loaded machine for film work on this side of the world," says Dean Lyon, Head of Oktobor. "We've had a lot of interest in film work and a lot has to do with our involvement with Lord of the Rings. At the moment we have 10 film resolution projects in house at various stages."
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TELSTRA RESULTS STREAMED

For those interested, the Telstra 2001/2002 Full Year Results media briefing webcast with Telstra CEO, Dr Ziggy Switkowski, and the CFO, Mr David Moffatt has been archived for viewing via the Internet.
The webcast is streamed using Windows Media Player. You can find the archive page at http://www.telstra.com.au/newsroom/webcast.cfm

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QUANTEL ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Anthony Fassilis has been named the Australian/NZ regional winner of the Quantel Artist of the Year Award for his Toyota Landcruiser piece - "Battle the elements". Quantel's Henry was used to composite explosions, smoke, fire and water to create a remarkably believable 60-second cinematic epic.
The winner of the International Quantel Artist of the Year Award is Société Radio-Canada (SRC) graphic designer Alain Provost for a complete programme graphics package he produced for SRC's coverage of the 2001 Edmonton World Athletics Championships. The work was produced entirely on a Quantel HAL system.
Now in its third year, the Quantel Artist of the Year Award celebrates the talent and creativity of editors and artists working on Quantel equipment around the world. The Australian/New Zealand entry deadline for this year's awards is 21 September 2002. Any work that has been produced on Quantel equipment within the last year is eligible for the Quantel Artist of the Year Award - commercial or personal work. Entry is free and participants can lodge up to five entries. To enter the award you can either register at www.quantel.com or email artist@quantel.com with your full contact details.

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MORE FUNDING FOR SBS ROLLOUT

The Australian Minister for Communications, Senator Richard Alston, has announced official rollout areas for the extension of SBS television to transmission areas with populations of 5000 to 10,000 people.
Residents in six of the 21 regional transmission areas selected - Charters Towers (QLD), Goondiwindi (QLD), Jindabyne (NSW), Katanning (WA), Moranbah (QLD) and Northam (WA) - will be able to access SBS television for the first time. The other 15 transmission areas that will receive an extension under this program - Carnarvon (WA), Cobar (NSW), Gisborne (VIC), Katherine (NT), Kununurra (WA), Mandurah (WA), Manjimup (WA), Moranbah Town (QLD), Mudgee (NSW), Narrogin (WA), Newman (WA), Roma (QLD), St George (QLD), Tumut (NSW) and Young (NSW) - presently have access to SBS television services funded by a local Council or community group.

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COEMAR DE SISTI LIGHTS UP HSV7

Coemar De Sisti Australia has recently completed the conversion of HSV7's dimmers in Studio 7 to operate on DMX512 control protocol. The dimmers where installed in the studios many years ago and operate off 0-10v control only. Channel 7 wanted to have the dimmers upgraded so that today's standard lighting control protocol (DMX512) could be used together with the existing 0-10v control system which is from a Galaxy console. The other advantage of adding DMX was the fact that it provided Channel 7 with a means of having easy backup for the galaxy console if required. Coemar De Sisti Australia manufactured a special PCB to carry out the works and also installed the systems into the existing dimmers. The pcb was built into a custom metal box which made the installation and any future work on the dimmers extremely easy. In addition we fitted standard XLR connectors in the metal box which means that a technician or operator can connect any standard dmx tester or console directly to the electronics for testing or fault finding of the dimming system. In addition to the conversion of the dimmers Coemar De Sisti Australia also built and installed a simple DMX patch system for the studio.

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REMOTE CONTROL GAMES FOR TVNZ

From its temporary studio at this year's Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Television New Zealand (TVNZ) had a direct data link to its headquarters in Auckland. Using MOS protocol, a BDL-Autoscript prompter was updated and controlled from the other side of the world. In Manchester, TVNZ built a small chromakey studio with a single digital camera, fitted with a +WinPlus+ prompter rented from BDL-Autoscript. Also on site was a small iNews installation, which also communicated with its parent system in Auckland, via a dedicated 256kbps data circuit. The prompter received its scripts from the master system. TVNZ news and sports presenters prepared their own scripts in Manchester, which were then sent to the Auckland newsroom for control and archiving.
According to Keith Catchpole, TVNZ Operations Manager for the Commonwealth Games, "I needed a system to interface directly with the iNews systems in Auckland and Manchester, and BDL-Autoscript was the perfect solution. Our staff are already familiar with BDL, and the backup they offer is a great reassurance. There are too many areas of potential stress covering an event like the Commonwealth Games, so the simplicity and compatibility of the BDL solution is very helpful."

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DIGITAL PLANS FOR TASSIE

The Australian Broadcasting Authority has finalized the digital channel assignments for a third commercial television service in Tasmania. The licence for the third service, a digital-only service, will be allocated to TasTV Pty Ltd, a joint venture company owned by the two existing commercial television licensees in Tasmania (Southern Cross Television (TNT9) Pty Ltd and WIN Television TAS Pty Ltd). The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 allows for the allocation, on application, of an additional commercial television licence to a joint-venture company that is jointly owned by the existing licensees in a two-station market, such as the Tasmanian television market. The licence area for the third service is the same as the two existing analog services, TVT and TNT. The ABA will now proceed to allocate a licence to TasTV Pty Ltd to provide a digital television service. Once the licence is allocated, the licensee is to commence the service within one year or within such a longer period as is notified by the ABA.

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ABA RECOMMENDS ON REGIONAL NEWS

The Australian Broadcasting Authority has released its report on Regional Television Local News. The ABA has recommend that the Australian Government incorporate the condition that regional broadcasters provide viewers with at least six local news bulletins per week into new media ownership legislation. The Government's media ownership legislation requires regionally-based cross media holders that have free to air television holdings to deliver at least five local news and weather services per week that cover issues of local significance. Regional broadcasters claim local news does not rate sufficiently highly to warrant, for example, 30-minute daily local news bulletins. Some regional broadcasters are also concerned about recent increases in their affiliation fees as well as the need to partially fund the transition to digital transmissions.

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OMNITEK WITH QUINTO

Test and measurement manufacturer, OmniTek, has signed Quinto Communications to distribute its product line in Australia and New Zealand. The OmniTek range includes OmniGen, a test signal generator that enables line, frame and sequence based patterns for all SD and HD standards, and supports resolution independence for working in the data domain. Also available is the OmniView digital monitor that provides industry standard waveform monitoring (video and audio) functions for all SD and HD formats. Visit www.quinto.com.au

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DATES FOR DIGITAL - REGIONAL SA & NSW

The Australian Broadcasting Authority has proposed digital television start-up dates for the regional areas of Broken Hill, Griffith and regional South Australia. The Australian Broadcasting Authority has proposed a commencement date of 31 December 2003 for commercial digital television services in the New South Wales licence areas of Broken Hill and Griffith/Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and the South Australian licence areas of Mount Gambier, Riverland and Spencer Gulf. In regional licence areas, digital transmissions must start before 1 January 2004 on a date determined by the ABA. However, regional broadcasters may apply to the ABA to start on an earlier date.

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GOVERNMENT BLACK SPOT FUNDING

Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston has announced Television Services Funding to establish 53 new services in fourteen 'black spot' areas under Rounds 1 and 2 of the Commonwealth Government's $35 million Television Black Spots Program.
Black Spots funding to the amount of $1,250,106.08 will see 14 communities enjoy new and improved television services.
The communities are: NSW - Adelong; Darbys Falls and Maclean and Ashby.
NT - Elliott and Timber Creek. QLD - Daintree Village; Greenvale and Mossman. SA - Quorn. TAS - Ledgerwood and Ringarooma. VIC - Boolarra and Underbool. WA - Boddington and Peaceful Bay.
The funding will go towards equipment, installation and site establishment costs, licence fees and technical survey costs. These new services will provide access to television services for more than 3,824 households in the affected 'black spot' areas.

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ACT CRACKDOWN ON PAY TV PIRATES

The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston, has welcomed news that police have taken action against an alleged network of illegal subscription television pirates based in the ACT. Following an extensive police investigation, up to ten Canberra residents will face the ACT Magistrates Court on charges under the ACT Crimes Act 1900. This crackdown serves as a timely warning to people that illegal reception of Pay TV channels is a crime with serious consequences. The manufacture, distribution or use of a pirate smart card to receive subscription television services that you have not paid for is a criminal offence. People caught stealing pay television services in this way face criminal convictions, financial penalties of up to $65,000 and imprisonment for up to five years.

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DISCREET OPENS AUSTRALIAN HQ

Discreet has announced the establishment of an Australian Sales Division with offices in Melbourne and Sydney. The new Discreet sales division will be headed up by former Discreet reseller, distributor and founder of Future Reality, David Edgar.
"Having been part of the Discreet family for close to ten years, this is the logical step in further expanding the company's role in the local post production and broadcast communities," said Edgar. "I am delighted to be working directly with Discreet and look forward to continuing to promote their innovative visual effects, editing and finishing systems including inferno, flame, flint, smoke and fire."
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AAV BUYS GMD

AAV Australia Chief Executive, Ted Gregory has announced the conclusion of successful negotiations with SMS Management & Technology Ltd for the purchase of Sydney based visual effects and animation group, GMD (formerly Garner McLennan Design).
"We are delighted to announce the successful acquisition of GMD, one of Australasia's premier design groups," said Gregory. "GMD is recognised as a local and international design force and the company has a number of exciting projects to its credit. The breadth of experience that is assembled within the GMD group is unparalleled and we look forward to welcoming the talented people at GMD to the AAV team."
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WORK BEGINS ON NEW SBS MELBOURNE HEADQUARTERS

The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) has commenced fit-out of its new Melbourne headquarters in the Federally-funded Federation Square development. The Commonwealth Government provided AUD$50 million from its Federation Fund towards the construction of the building to house SBS as one if its tenants.
SBS will have a new home for its radio and television services, translation and interactive multimedia activities. With its strong track record as an innovator in the use of digital technologies, SBS at Federation Square will create cutting edge radio, television and multimedia studios.
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NETWORK TEN AUTOMATES WITH ENCODA

Network Ten has selected Encoda's DAL Channel Manager A7500 automation system and DAL Ingest Automation Manager A8800 to help meet the challenge of digital broadcasting. The network's new playout system will handle multiple outputs carrying feeds tailored for each of TEN's metropolitan centres including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.
"After a thorough assessment and testing program, we chose Encoda Systems to provide the transmission automation system to control the network's complex digital broadcast facility," said Darren Farnham, Broadcast Centre Manager at Network Ten. "Key factors were high reliability, a powerful operator interface, and a flexible architecture capable of managing the future needs of Network Ten as we evolve."
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NZ'S FILM UNIT CHALKS UP 100 FOR EUPHONIX

New Zealand's The Film Unit, the audio post house responsible for sound on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, has placed an order for the 99th and 100th Euphonix System 5 all-digital, 96K, 24-bit consoles. The two consoles were sold by AVW, the Euphonix distributor in New Zealand.
Located in Wellington, The Film Unit already owns a System 5-F film console that was used to dub the soundtrack for the first movie in the Tolkien trilogy: "Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring." The movie was nominated for "Best Sound" at the 2002 Academy Awards. The two new System 5-F consoles will also be used for film mixing.
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ATLAB COMMITS 'DIRTY DEEDS'

Post-production house Atlab recently completed in excess of 50 digital optical effects shots on the latest David Caesar-directed feature 'Dirty Deeds'.
The story of an American businessman, played by John Goodman, with ties to the Chicago mob wined, dined and taken bush in the late 60s by several leading figures in the Sydney underworld also stars Australia's Bryan Brown and Toni Collete.
The Atlab team working on the project was headed up by senior colorist Olivier Fontenay, who together with Digital Supervisor, Robert Sandeman, recently completed work on Philip Noyce's 'Rabbit Proof Fence' and 'Quiet American'.
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TVNZ TALKS BACK WITH TRILOGY

Television New Zealand (TVNZ) has purchased Triolgy Broadcast's Commander digital intercom equipment as a replacement for the original Auckland Centre studio talkback and inter-area communication system.
The 180 port Commander matrix, with in-built expansion capable of providing up to 280 ports, will be housed in the main Central Apparatus Room, with the 72 custom and standard control panels utilized in all operational areas of the building. The installation includes desktop panels specifically for the news rooms and edit suites.
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DISCOVERY BRINGS BACK TASMANIAN TIGER

It may not quite be Jurassic Park, but a new documentary produced by Discovery Networks Asia, Becker Entertainment and Photon VFX is using animation and animatronics to bring the extinct Australian Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger back to life.
Entitled End of Extinction: Cloning the Tasmanian Tiger, the documentary traces the efforts of scientists at Sydney's Australian Museum to clone the extinct Tasmanian Tiger (a distant relative of the kangaroo and wombat, also known as the Thylacine) using DNA samples taken from a 136 year-old fetus.
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Perth's STW-9 Goes Live With Libra

The installation of an AMS Neve Libra Live Series II digital broadcast console has enabled Perth's STW Channel 9 to integrate three studio floors into one audio suite. The Libra Live has replaced three analogue consoles which were previously housed in two studios and an OB van.
According to Director of Engineering and Operations Gus Slater, "The reality in this market is that there is only ever one production audio suite which is able to reconfigure for each show. So we've dedicated one floor to permanent sets. We chose the Libra Live with this in mind."
Slater says past experience with AMS Neve kit as well as the Libra Live's feature set contributed to the decision.
"There were many reasons for choosing the Libra Live. We've been using AMS Neve in our Audio Post Production Suite for several years and have been more than satisfied with its features and efficiencies. We did a close analysis of available features, such as IFBs, re-insertion etc - all the things you can't usually spread over one console. We were also looking for an upgrade path for surround sound which is an opportunity presented by Australia's High Definition television system."

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Omnilab Becomes 'the LaB'

Sydney-based post production company Omnilab Post (a division of the Omnilab Group) recently announced its official name change. The company will be known simply as the LaB sydney.
General Manager of the Omnilab Group, Ian Johnson, says of the name change, "It really just makes things simpler for our clients. For years the company has been fondly known as 'the LaB' and all we are doing is formalising that." The Omnilab Group incorporates the following three divisions: the LaB sydney (Artarmon); mesh22 (Crows Nest, Sydney); Cornerpost (Crows Nest).

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TAG On The Move

TAG (Technical Audio Group) is moving to the old Starkeys Ginger Beer factory at Bridge Road in the suburb of Stanmore around ten minutes from the Sydney CBD. The sprawling 100-year-old factory buildings have experienced a number of incarnations before taking shape as a design, media and technical centre.
TAG will occupy a purpose built section representing around a third of the complete development. The new details are: 43-53 Bridge Road, Stanmore, NSW, 2048. Tel: (02) 9519 0900. Fax: (02) 9519 0600. Email: info@tag.com.au. Internet: www.tag.com.au

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ABC ASIA-PACIFIC ON-AIR WITH FLORICAL

ABC Asia Pacific has gone to air using Florical automation. ABC Asia Pacific is the first automation installation worldwide to include Florical's new AirGuide, an electronic program guide for DTV systems.
The Florical automation system includes a two-channel AirBoss on-air presentation system, a MediaFiler ingest/preparation system and MediaMaster, Florical's automatic multi-channel asset management system.
"Florical was chosen for their ability to provide a complete system from on-air automation control through to server ingest and automated EPG management," said Steve Legge, Group Engineering and Operations Manager for the NBN network which provides the uplink facilities for ABC Asia Pacific.
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BEEPS CLAIMS FIRST WITH QLD DIGITAL THEATRE

Australian post-production company BEEPS, has unveiled a new Digital Film Theatre on Queensland's Gold Coast. Located opposite the Warner Roadshow Studios at Oxenford on the Gold Coast, 'BEEPS Gold' will enable film producers and directors to view and grade their film dailies in a digital cinema environment.
Images will be projected in high definition onto a 5 metre by 3 metre cinema standard screen.
BEEPS CEO and Managing Director Steve Cooper said, "Our Digital Film Theatre is just the first step towards offering a full digital intermediate facility for filmmakers in Australia".
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VIDEO-8 TAKES FIRST AUSTRALIAN
SNELL & WILCOX PLATINUM

Quinto Communications has announced the sale of Australia's first Snell & Wilcox Alchemist "Platinum" Ph.C Motion-compensated Standards Converter to Video-8 Broadcast Services.
The Alchemist Platinum Ph.C standards converter uses phase correlation motion estimation technology. Transparent conversion is achieved using a 3-stage 46 point temporal spatial filter, whilst internal processing is performed at 4:4:4 resolution at a minimum of 12-bit precision.
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NZ's IMAGES POST MOVES TO HD

New Zealand's Images Post has upgraded to a Discreet Flame HD, running on the new Octane2 platform from SGI, the first HD capable Octane.
Images Post has been a stalwart of the New Zealand post scene for more than a decade, and it has built its reputation on a wide range of projects, from idents and TVCs up to longform series and feature work. With such a large range of projects and subsequent demands on hardware, Images Post had to ensure that when it chose a new high-end compositing seat, it had the right combination of flexibility, speed and price.
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New Magic Becomes Two Companies

New Magic has become two companies, Canopus Australia and New Magic Australia.
New Magic will move to a new office in Sydney and continue providing NewTek, Hauppauge, Sonic Foundry, Sonic Solutions and Scala products. The existing New Magic team and office will become Canopus Australia Pty Ltd. Canopus Australia will focus exclusively on the Canopus product range.
Canopus Australia details are: 7 Dene Avenue, Malvern East, VIC, 3145. Tel: (03) 9885 5888. Fax: (03) 9886 9111. Internet: www.canopus-aust.com
New Magic Australia details are: 34 Soldiers Road, Jannali, NSW, 2226. Tel: (02) 9528 4555. Fax: 02) 9589 2311. Internet: www.newmagic.com.au

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Quantel Sponsors Screen Editors Guild

Quantel has announced it is to sponsor the Australian Screen Editors Guild (ASE), which comes at the same time as its sponsorship of the Association of Independent Creative Editors (AICE) in the United States.
Formed in 1995 by Australia's leading editors, the ASE currently has approximately 300 members across the country and acts as the focal point and voice for screen editors throughout Australia.
According Eric Masters Managing Director of Quantel Asia Pacific, "Quantel has always regarded the Australian Screen Editors Guild as a valuable and important industry organization in this country. Our sponsorship now means we can both work together to promote and nurture our creative commercial editors and provide them with the latest information, tools and technology."
"We are extremely excited to have Quantel on board as our principal sponsor," said Andrea Lang, President of the ASE. "We look forward to working together to promote, improve and protect the role of the editor as an essential and significant contributor to all screen productions."
The ASE holds various workshops throughout the year, regular bi-monthly newsletters, email updates for all its members as well as an up to date website which can be found at www.screeneditors.com.

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Switchcraft For New Zealand

Switchcraft, Inc., the American manufacturer of a broad range of products for audio and broadcast professionals has appointed Connection Technologies Limited as its new authorised distributor for New Zealand.
Connection Technologies is run by Lewis Woodward, who has a wealth of experience in the connector and patch panel markets. The company can be contacted by telephone on +64-(0)4-5665 345 or by e-mail at lewis@connectors.co.nz.

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