Saorsat
Encyclopedia
Saorsat is the proposed name for the free-to-air
satellite service in the Republic of Ireland
. The service is expected to launch in late 2011. It is a fill in service for Saorview
.
(RTÉNL) analogue terrestrial television
(ATT) network has never been capable of providing 100% population coverage in Ireland. Currently ATT population coverage amounts to 98% for RTÉ One
and RTÉ Two
, 95% for TG4
and 85% for TV3. Saorview
DTT
faces a similar difficulty.
The Board of RTÉ
approved a unique satellite based approach developed by RTÉNL from early 2010, that will for the first time enable the Irish PSB channels to be made available free-to-air and unencrypted as a means of covering the last 2% of the population who will be unable to receive the Saorview terrestrial service. Broadcasting the channels unencrypted from the Astra 2
satellites at 28° East was not considered an option due to its large footprint covering the UK, France, Holland and many other countries and programming is purchased that allows Irish channels to broadcast to 4.5 million people and not to approx 100 million people within the Astra footprint.
RTÉ submitted a revised DTT plan including the FTA satellite option to the Department of Communications in mid June 2010 for approval. RTÉ publicly announced at an Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications discussion in mid July 2010 that a free-to-air satellite service, called Saorsat, would be offered to complement the terrestrial DTT service.
The satellite option is a narrow-band satellite operating in the Ka band
as opposed to the normal DTH Ku band
(which Sky and Freesat use), with a spot beam
being dedicated exclusively to Ireland which will also provide coverage throughout Northern Ireland. The spot beam with frequency reuse means reception in Britain and continental Europe is not possible. RTÉ states that the chosen satellite option will cost approximately €1.5 million per year.
RTÉ said the combined offering was designed to be the most cost-effective solution for viewers and broadcasters; to offer for the first time 100% coverage of free-to-air public service television services in the Republic of Ireland; and to provide full national back-up coverage on satellite in the event of an emergency or catastrophic failure of the DTT system.
Approval for the revised National DTT plan and the new Saorsat satellite service was announced by the Minister for Communications at the end of July 2010.
RTÉ has not confirmed that Saorsat will broadcast from KA-SAT
. There is no other current Satellite solution with a spot covering only Ireland. Strictly speaking the spot covers a large part of Wales and a little of England and Cornwall too, but the frequency and polarisation reuse scheme means that no matter how big a dish is used, interference from a similar spot on North French Channel coast would prevent reception much beyond terrestrial overspill into Wales. Reception over all of Northern Ireland may be possible. Dish size will not be confirmed until testing has commenced.
At least a Ka band LNB, dish and DVB-S2 receiver will be required to receive Saorsat. Reception of Sky or Freesat from the Astra 2 satellites at 28° East will require a separate feed and a Diseqc or Multiswitch with a Diseqc compatible receiver.
Saorview is really the RTÉ NL name for the public service broadcaster multiplexes. According to the RTÉ submission to Oireachtas committee the proposed RTÉ NL operated Saorsat is expected to be a copy of Saorview. The current test loop (28 May 2011) uses the same total bitrate as the terrestrial DTT mux. A dual feed dish (with Ku and Ka LNBFs) or a separate second boxed Cassegrain "dish" is required with a Diseqc switch and HD DVB-S2 tuner to have Freesat and Saorsat on the same set-box or IDTV receiver.
RTÉ has made it clear that Saorview/Saorsat will not carry television services from outside the Republic of Ireland and that people in Ireland should avail of other digital services to avail additional channels. In contrast, the Irish government has already signed an agreement to permit retransmission of BBC channels.
Testing started in May 2011 on KA-SAT 9E, 20.185GHz DVB-S2 SR25000 FEC 1/2 with pre-recorded material.
KA-SAT @ 9E
20.185GHz, Left Circular Polarisation,
DVB-S2 QPSK,
SR 25000 with 1/2 FEC (allows about 25Mbps data, about the same as the Terrestrial Mux),
Irish Spot (there are 82 spots on KA-SAT)
It's likely a second carrier will be used to carry material on the second Terrestrial PSB mux. The second DTT mux is running with no services on many sites and there is a second DVB-S2 carrier in the same part of the Ku band for Internet Services using SR 50000 with adaptive modulation and FEC.
Any DVB-S2 HD satellite receiver can in theory be used to receive Saorsat as the Ka band LNBF converts to a regular IF in the 950MHz to 2100MHz band. If the receiver does not have a setting for the Ka band LNBF Lo, then a "fake" frequency such as 11.699 rather than the real 20.185 may be entered. The actual frequency depends on model of LNBF.
To receive Freesat/Sky or other services on the same set-box as Saorsat, a Dual or Multi-feed type dish or two dishes are needed with either one or more Diseqc
switches or a Multi-switch.
There are a range of channels for Saorview which are either offered from RTÉNL, or the BAI
.
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
satellite service in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The service is expected to launch in late 2011. It is a fill in service for Saorview
Saorview
Saorview is the national free-to-air digital terrestrial television service in Republic of Ireland.The service began operation on 29 October 2010 on a trial basis with full launch on 26 May 2011. By legislation it was required to be available to approximately 90% of the population by end of...
.
Overview
The RTÉ Network LimitedRTÉ Network Limited
RTÉ Transmission Network Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann which runs Ireland's principal terrestrial television and radio broadcast signal transmission networks. They operate 10 main sites, and over 100 smaller relays and transposers, which carry either television,...
(RTÉNL) analogue terrestrial television
Analog television
Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...
(ATT) network has never been capable of providing 100% population coverage in Ireland. Currently ATT population coverage amounts to 98% for RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
and RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...
, 95% for TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
and 85% for TV3. Saorview
Saorview
Saorview is the national free-to-air digital terrestrial television service in Republic of Ireland.The service began operation on 29 October 2010 on a trial basis with full launch on 26 May 2011. By legislation it was required to be available to approximately 90% of the population by end of...
DTT
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
faces a similar difficulty.
The Board of RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
approved a unique satellite based approach developed by RTÉNL from early 2010, that will for the first time enable the Irish PSB channels to be made available free-to-air and unencrypted as a means of covering the last 2% of the population who will be unable to receive the Saorview terrestrial service. Broadcasting the channels unencrypted from the Astra 2
Astra 28.2°E
Astra 28.2°E is the name for the group of Astra communications satellites co-located at the 28.2° East position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg...
satellites at 28° East was not considered an option due to its large footprint covering the UK, France, Holland and many other countries and programming is purchased that allows Irish channels to broadcast to 4.5 million people and not to approx 100 million people within the Astra footprint.
RTÉ submitted a revised DTT plan including the FTA satellite option to the Department of Communications in mid June 2010 for approval. RTÉ publicly announced at an Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications discussion in mid July 2010 that a free-to-air satellite service, called Saorsat, would be offered to complement the terrestrial DTT service.
The satellite option is a narrow-band satellite operating in the Ka band
Ka band
The Ka band covers the frequencies of 26.5–40 GHz. The Ka band is part of the K band of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum. This symbol refers to "K-above" — in other words, the band directly above the K-band...
as opposed to the normal DTH Ku band
Ku band
The Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
(which Sky and Freesat use), with a spot beam
Spot beam
A spot beam, in telecommunications parlance, is a satellite signal that is specially concentrated in power A spot beam, in telecommunications parlance, is a satellite signal that is specially concentrated in power A spot beam, in telecommunications parlance, is a satellite signal that is specially...
being dedicated exclusively to Ireland which will also provide coverage throughout Northern Ireland. The spot beam with frequency reuse means reception in Britain and continental Europe is not possible. RTÉ states that the chosen satellite option will cost approximately €1.5 million per year.
RTÉ said the combined offering was designed to be the most cost-effective solution for viewers and broadcasters; to offer for the first time 100% coverage of free-to-air public service television services in the Republic of Ireland; and to provide full national back-up coverage on satellite in the event of an emergency or catastrophic failure of the DTT system.
Approval for the revised National DTT plan and the new Saorsat satellite service was announced by the Minister for Communications at the end of July 2010.
RTÉ has not confirmed that Saorsat will broadcast from KA-SAT
KA-SAT
KA-SAT is a telecommunications satellite owned by Eutelsat. The satellite will provide broadband Internet access services across Europe and also a small area of the Middle East. It is positioned at 9°E, joining Eurobird 9A Ku band satellite. KA-SAT was manufactured by EADS Astrium, based on the...
. There is no other current Satellite solution with a spot covering only Ireland. Strictly speaking the spot covers a large part of Wales and a little of England and Cornwall too, but the frequency and polarisation reuse scheme means that no matter how big a dish is used, interference from a similar spot on North French Channel coast would prevent reception much beyond terrestrial overspill into Wales. Reception over all of Northern Ireland may be possible. Dish size will not be confirmed until testing has commenced.
At least a Ka band LNB, dish and DVB-S2 receiver will be required to receive Saorsat. Reception of Sky or Freesat from the Astra 2 satellites at 28° East will require a separate feed and a Diseqc or Multiswitch with a Diseqc compatible receiver.
Saorview is really the RTÉ NL name for the public service broadcaster multiplexes. According to the RTÉ submission to Oireachtas committee the proposed RTÉ NL operated Saorsat is expected to be a copy of Saorview. The current test loop (28 May 2011) uses the same total bitrate as the terrestrial DTT mux. A dual feed dish (with Ku and Ka LNBFs) or a separate second boxed Cassegrain "dish" is required with a Diseqc switch and HD DVB-S2 tuner to have Freesat and Saorsat on the same set-box or IDTV receiver.
RTÉ has made it clear that Saorview/Saorsat will not carry television services from outside the Republic of Ireland and that people in Ireland should avail of other digital services to avail additional channels. In contrast, the Irish government has already signed an agreement to permit retransmission of BBC channels.
Testing started in May 2011 on KA-SAT 9E, 20.185GHz DVB-S2 SR25000 FEC 1/2 with pre-recorded material.
Technical
Parameters are:KA-SAT @ 9E
20.185GHz, Left Circular Polarisation,
DVB-S2 QPSK,
SR 25000 with 1/2 FEC (allows about 25Mbps data, about the same as the Terrestrial Mux),
Irish Spot (there are 82 spots on KA-SAT)
It's likely a second carrier will be used to carry material on the second Terrestrial PSB mux. The second DTT mux is running with no services on many sites and there is a second DVB-S2 carrier in the same part of the Ku band for Internet Services using SR 50000 with adaptive modulation and FEC.
Any DVB-S2 HD satellite receiver can in theory be used to receive Saorsat as the Ka band LNBF converts to a regular IF in the 950MHz to 2100MHz band. If the receiver does not have a setting for the Ka band LNBF Lo, then a "fake" frequency such as 11.699 rather than the real 20.185 may be entered. The actual frequency depends on model of LNBF.
To receive Freesat/Sky or other services on the same set-box as Saorsat, a Dual or Multi-feed type dish or two dishes are needed with either one or more Diseqc
DiSEqC
DiSEqC , pronounced "Die-Sec", is a special communication protocol for use between a satellite receiver and a device such as a multi-dish switch or a small dish antenna rotor...
switches or a Multi-switch.
Channels
Main article: List of channels on SaorviewThere are a range of channels for Saorview which are either offered from RTÉNL, or the BAI
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland ....
.