This new addition to ARG’s portfolio will bring a new level of reliability and performance to signal distribution, including satellite back-haul and DTT applications, for all broadcasters and content distributors. The ARG Media Combiner is already used by many of the world’s leading transmission companies to distribute multi-program transport streams to satellite uplink facilities, TV transmitter networks, and cable television head-ends. The Media Combiner 1900E melds advanced, proven technology with ease of use. The new IP network interface has been designed for fast, highly dependable and efficient transmission. The Media Combiner 1900E also features an E1 access card making it particularly suitable for DAB distribution, enabling operators to achieve completely seamless, jitter-free transmission of multiple DAB E1 multiplex feeds over IP networks. A range of other network interfaces is also supported, including E3, DS3 and STM-1. Existing users will be able to change their current network interface to Fast Ethernet or GigE. In this way, ARG is providing a unique and cost-effective approach to the transition from SDH/ PDH to the new IP and MPLS network technologies.
Due to strong government support for the nationwide digital conversion, the Chinese domestic set-top box (STB) market has not been negatively influenced by the current worldwide financial crisis, although exports of Chinese STBs have been somewhat negatively influenced due to diminishing overseas demand. A recent IMS Research report titled The Chinese Market for Digital Set-Top Boxes – 2009 Edition provides detailed analysis of the Chinese digital STB market, with forecasts to 2014. It forecasts that, except for the cable STB and grey satellite (DTH) STB markets, all other Chinese STBs such as legal DTH, IP and terrestrial are forecast to grow quickly for the next few years, with respective CAGR of 15.9 percent, 22.3 percent and 23.5 percent. Digital cable STB shipments are forecast to decrease after reaching a peak in 2009. This is due to the fact that the digital cable platform has been rapidly growing for the past few years and that quick development of legal digital DTH will very likely generate churn from cable. The decreasing shipments of grey DTH STBs is also due to the introduction of legal DTH equipment, which is strongly supported by the Chinese government. The shipment of legal DTH STBs in 2008 was 3.66 million units, and is forecast to grow very quickly to 8.5 million units from 2009. This IMS Research report also notes that more mid-range and advanced STBs are forecast to enter the Chinese domestic digital market, especially the advanced STBs, with a CAGR of 60.1 percent during the forecast period. This will be principally driven by the ease with which operators earn profits from providing diversified two-way services such as e-business and by broadcasting HD programming, the developing of technologies to support HDTV, and the overall quality of the customer experience.
