Spare Bandwidth for Rent?

[cyberham]

I've not noticed this topic anywhere. With all the apparent spare bandwidth available on satellites now (when I blind scan, most sats seem relatively empty to me), is it possible that a small organization could afford to buy time, say 2 or 3 hours, on a one-time basis for a private event? I'm thinking of a community organization who want to broadcast a reunion, for example, to widely located former members who can't physically make it to the actual reunion. Can somebody give me an idea of how much 3 hours on an FTA satellite would cost in 2012? Or is satellite presence still the realm of large corporations, governments with huge budgets, and evil criminals vowing to take over the world?

 

[raoul5788]

I've not noticed this topic anywhere. With all the apparent spare bandwidth available on satellites now (when I blind scan, most sats seem relatively empty to me), is it possible that a small organization could afford to buy time, say 2 or 3 hours, on a one-time basis for a private event? I'm thinking of a community organization who want to broadcast a reunion, for example, to widely located former members who can't physically make it to the actual reunion. Can somebody give me an idea of how much 3 hours on an FTA satellite would cost in 2012? Or is satellite presence still the realm of large corporations, governments with huge budgets, and evil criminals vowing to take over the world?

Ah, so you know about my plans, eh?

 

[cyberham]

I suspect you need to get in line. Evil is a growth industry, and you're way down the line. I think you first need a cat so you can pet it as you deliver your ultimatums.

 

[FaT Air]

Think I read somewhere (SNG service document?) that the satellite time was 8 - 12 bucks a minute. Doubt that included the truck.
Call one of the satellite up-link services and inquire. No harm in that.

 

[Mr Tony]

I know Brian can give more info but it depends on time of day, satellite, how much bandwidth etc

 

[SatelliteAV]

Hourly rates on a low traffic satellite could be booked for several hundred dollars and more popular platforms might have a minimum booking cost of a thousand dollars or more.

The satellite the time is probably one of the lower of the expenses incurred in producing an event. The video and audio equipment and production crew will likely be the highest cost. It is the "first mile" of delivery of the final product to the satellite that could cost more than the actual satellite time.

Example.... You might book a local news uplink truck including a single camera during off peak hours for only one or two thousand dollars for a half day. A less expensive and lower production value route would be to run your camera and audio into a Slingbox and deliver via IP to a local TV station or regional uplink facility for them to place on a satellite.

 

[cyberham]

The latter idea is what I was thinking of. This might be affordable for a hobby or community group looking more for economy than quality. Could use an HD camera and HD slingbox with good broadband circuit. And for those involved with a good cause, maybe time might even be covered by charitable sponsorship.

 

[SatelliteAV]

The latter idea is what I was thinking of. This might be affordable for a hobby or community group looking more for economy than quality. Could use an HD camera and HD slingbox with good broadband circuit. And for those involved with a good cause, maybe time might even be covered by charitable sponsorship.

Then it only comes down to marketing, so you have an audience to pay the bills. "Build it and they will come" only happens in movies.....

 

[rv1pop]

Ok, Brian. I am trying to make a pitch.... So, they have DVD ready HD signal.... what kind of link would be needed from a convention center to an uplink facility? Would a public internet connection work, or would a higher quality line be needed. Where would an uplink be available, HI, DFW, Maryland/DC? And what would a 6 day 8AM to 11PM "rerserved time" cost and is the cost based on "on-air" or reserved time? They presently do some streaming from these venues.

Thinking 97 or 101 -- River might be a possible but not too probable channel.

 

[SatelliteAV]

Satellite choice will be the major cost factor for air time expense for this type of multi-day production. If you can arrange for an existing service to carry the event, the cost is completely negotiable (I.E. River Broadcasting?). When booking transponder time directly for your own channel, multi-day hour blocks or 24/7 cost will be about the same. A week of simply turning a signal from IP source to satellite will vary depending on satellite and bandwidth. SD on a non-popular bird might be only $3-5k, full transponder on a popular bird might be $20-30k.

If lighting up a transponder just for the event, consider what the downlink sites may already be aimed at. You may spend more money (or the downlink locations may buy into the event) to install reception satellite equipment for the event. Consider that many church venues have dishes and equipment in place for the old CCN or Fresh Air Media events. We have facilitated thousands of facility installs and equipment through the years for live event reception. Usually the equipment remains after the event. If you are planning HD delivery, the sites most likely will require a new HD STB.

We also have run the telephone call center for signal test days, site reception verification and tech support hotlines during the event. Nothing like going into an event knowing that the remote site locations are ready for the event and have a team of technicians ready to help. Who wants to handle trouble calls in the control room during a live event?

If you need to time shift for the various time zones, either book multiple channels on the satellite or provide the Western time zone locations with PVR enabled units to time shift for audience convenience.

G19 KU is the most expensive platform, but has the most existing sites preinstalled and the highest viewership in North America. If not G19, choose a satellite that has good elevation and footprints for your target viewers. Example: Don't choose 72w for the great rates of some of your downlinks are on the West Coast or Hawaii or Alaska.

The are several great IP based backhaul services available that could easily accommodate commercial level reliability at high bandwidth signals through public Internet if the facility can support a fixed and dedicated broadband uplink speed exceeding the encoded bandwidth by 25%. The cost of the dedicated encoder/decoder and one month bandwidth for node rebuild level delivery would only be a few thousand dollars. Then the equipment is yours and it would only be a thousand per month contract the next time you need the service.

The local connection for broadband at this level of service is usually available at a few hundred dollars for a one month commercial account through a local provider. Make sure to activate and test the service a few weeks in advance to avoid last minute jams. Also, make sure that the bandwidth is not shared with any other service. I have personally witnessed IP. backhauls being taken out by attendees on their laptops!

The uplinker can be anywhere and does not need to be regional for this type of IP backhaul. This backhaul delivery is used by ESPN, NBC and many other major networks for HD delivery. It is very reliable and inexpensive!

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Then it only comes down to marketing, so you have an audience to pay the bills. "Build it and they will come" only happens in movies.....

It also happened at SatelliteGuys.

 

[rv1pop]

Thanks, Brian. I will use this information and try to get some coverage I can watch. My internet is still too slow.

 

[Conky]

what about something like ustream instead?

 

[joshrr]

Was just going to recommend that too (ustream) its free and good quality.

 

[goaliebob99]

Hourly rates on a low traffic satellite could be booked for several hundred dollars and more popular platforms might have a minimum booking cost of a thousand dollars or more.

The satellite the time is probably one of the lower of the expenses incurred in producing an event. The video and audio equipment and production crew will likely be the highest cost. It is the "first mile" of delivery of the final product to the satellite that could cost more than the actual satellite time.

Example.... You might book a local news uplink truck including a single camera during off peak hours for only one or two thousand dollars for a half day. A less expensive and lower production value route would be to run your camera and audio into a Slingbox and deliver via IP to a local TV station or regional uplink facility for them to place on a satellite.

Or if you want real HD over IP use TVIPS!

 

[goaliebob99]

what about something like ustream instead?

Sure but quality is not guaranteed, and you can have internet skips. The best route would be to get a dedicated fiber line or internet circuit. You would be surprised at how many of your "network sport" stations throw video around the internet. Where I work at we have a dedicated 10 Gig connection for all sorts of video, and that's not including our normal fiber paths to national and regional uplinks through L3. Slingbox is ok to use if you have a zero dollar budget, but if your seriously looking to do a qood quality video stream over the internet you need atleast a 30-80 meg connection and use a product like TVIPS. The cost is much cheaper in the long run, but if your doing a one time event you might be better off renting the equipment from a place like Bexel. You can probably do something through the internet / ustream / utube and do a screen capture at the other end. Really it all falls down to what you are doing, budget, and equipment. The smaller the budget, the more limited your options are.

 

[ACRadio]

One point I haven't seen made (which has basically nothing to do with the thread but is worth mentioning none the less ) is that Cyberham commented in his opening post about apparent spare bandwidth available and when he blind scanned that most satellites seemed relatively empty. Something that we should keep in mind is that just because our blind scan receivers don't detect any video, it doesn't mean that the satellite isn't being used. If you look at a spectrum graph of a satellite you will see that they are quite busy with many other types of signals, including loads of data signals of every kind under the sun. For instance, AMC 8 doesn't have a stitch of video (at least for the majority of North America - West coast is the exception) but the satellite is alive and lively with audio and data/IP. These signals have to be signal edge and cross pol/adjacent satellite protected just like the video signals. There probably isn't quite as much spare bandwidth up there as one might think.