Qns to ponder:
01. How did Infront Sports & Media AG, the company in Munich, knows that RTM is being broadcasted to Singapore? Did RTM has to declare it or did some company (ahem) "bao toh" them.
02. Why did Starhub have to use Satellite x-mission to receive RTM signals when the cheaper alternative is just across the causeway? Which should be the way we received RTM signals before Starhub's cable points.
03. What is the TOR for RTM's satellite transmission? Is it only for in-country transmission (i.e for east and west Msia). If it is, then why is Starhub allowed to "tap" the Signals? If it is for world wide transmission, then what right has Infront to get RTM to scramble their digital signals, effectively disrupting other shows on the channel.
04. Why is the "analogue signal" that SCV receive so bad when my $13 home antenna can receive indonesia's SCTV clearly? Did they receive the Signal with an $8 antenna bought from Sim Lim? :p
Ref Article - LOST IN TRANSMISSION - The New Paper: 10 June 2006
TUNE in to RTM1 (StarHub Ch 39) today and you will see a shaky, grainy picture with a crawler apologising for the distortion (see below).
The crawler is by Singapore cable-TV provider StarHub. The shaky pictures are from Radio Television Malaysia 1 (RTM 1).
This started happening just three days before the start of the World Cup last night.
Click to see larger image
When StarHub sends the signal to its subscribers over Ch39, the unscrambled code makes the image flicker. The quality of picture is poor and grainy.--Pictures:Kelvin Chng
Coincidence? No.
Singapore viewers cried foul, complaining on Internet forums of 'kelong'. They felt they were being robbed of watching World Cup matches for free.
RTM1 is broadcasting 25 live and delayed matches on its channel, which is received free-to-air here.
The more suspicious viewers thought the signals were deliberately being scrambled by StarHub so that people would have no choice but to pay for its special World Cup coverage over five channels.
StarHub bought the rights to telecast all 64 matches live over five channels reportedly for about $15 million. (See report on page 4.)
But it is charging a $16 to $26 premium, depending on whether the viewer already subscribes to its sports channels. The RTM1 telecasts would have let viewers watch some of the matches for free.
MediaCorp's Channel 5 is showing only four matches live: The opening match, the two semi-finals and the final.
Now the mystery has been solved: StarHub is innocent.
The instruction to scramble signals to Singapore came from Munich, home of Infront Sports & Media AG, media rights distributor for the 2006 Fifa World Cup.
It is not known how much RTM1 paid Infront Sports & Media AG for the telecast rights.
PUZZLED
When The New Paper first asked StarHub to explain the mystery on Thursday, it said it was also puzzled.
StarHub first realised on Wednesday that the digital satellite signal feed for RTM1 had gone awry.
It resorted to using images from a conventional analog antenna and is continuing to fine-tune the images received by the antenna.
Pressed further by The New Paper yesterday, StarHub finally discovered that the scrambling is being done by RTM1.
Ms Jeannie Ong, head of corporate communications and investor relations at StarHub, said: 'The deterioration in the signal quality of RTM1 since 7 Jun was caused when Radio Television Malaysia began scrambling the satellite signal source that StarHub has been relying upon.
'We have just confirmed that RTM has received instructions from Infront Sports & Media AG, the sports and media rights distributor for the 2006 Fifa World Cup, to encrypt its satellite source so that only viewers in Malaysia are able to receive access to the World Cup matches on RTM1.'
In a faxed letter that StarHub's senior vice-president Sandie Lee received yesterday, RTM's senior sports producer Albert Khoo wrote: 'It is with regret that RTM has been encrypting its signal since the past two days.'
Mr Khoo added that the signal scramble had to do with 'rights infringement' and 'RTM's obligation on World Cup is to contain within its territory'.
Then came a twist.
Yesterday, RTM's director of programming Norliza Ali told The New Paper over the phone that all RTM signals were as per normal, and that 'nothing has been changed'.
But Mr Khoo said in his letter that the signal would be back to normal only after the World Cup.
Ms Ong clarified that StarHub does not change the quality of signals it receives.
'StarHub had to revert to an antenna signal, which is the next best signal feed available to us.
'Although we have been carrying the channel free-of-charge via our cable network to households in Singapore, we do not control the quality of the RTM1 signals received.'
We contacted Mr Jeorg Polzer, director of communications at Infront Sports & Media AG, in Munich. He confirmed that his company had told RTM to encrypt its signal so that only Malaysian viewers could watch the channel.
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if starhub is really guilty do you tink they will admit it? duhz.....
RTM signal is opp of SG TV type
Theirs there is high freq for volume, but image qty very poor
SG is rather the opp
Thats' why JB there, some places cannot receive RTM