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30th July, 2009: In cooperation with gfu, the organiser of the leading European trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances – IFA – in Berlin, IFA International TV and ASTRA will for the first time broadcast IFA highlights in HD quality. From 4th to 9th September 2009, more than 40 million satellite households and retailers throughout Europe will be able to keep themselves informed about the latest IFA trends via the ASTRA HD demo-channel.
In addition to the presentation of new products from the entertainment electronics and home appliance sector, IFA International TV will take the viewers on a journey through the fair. The programme will feature interviews of CE and home appliance business leaders attending IFA, booth tours, and highlights of the show. The up-to-the-minute reports will be broadcast every two hours, starting at 10 a.m., on the ASTRA HD demo-channel in English, in the HD 1080i transmission standard. The IFA TV HD reports will be complemented by previews, which will be also broadcast in HD quality beginning on 28th August. After the trade show, a compilation of the most important highlights will be shown until 18th September. The play-out centre of SES ASTRA’s subsidiary APS ASTRA Platform Services in Munich will be responsible for the broadcast.
"High-definition TV is a central topic for the electronics industry. Hence, we are pleased that the exciting new developments from the highly specialized and the world’s most important consumer electronics and home appliances fair will be presented throughout Europe in the best quality available", says Dr. Rainer Hecker, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of gfu.
According to Gerard Lefebvre, Publisher of IFA International, "Our content will bring the latest news about cutting edge consumer electronics technologies to people via the latest cutting edge technologies! For me, HDTV is the next logical step in the TV world, which has largely digitalised these days throughout Europe. With ASTRA, we can make this future a reality today."
"The ASTRA HD demo-channel was initiated in order to make it possible for our trading partners to present the HD fascination on-air because HD content speaks for itself. The cooperation with IFA International TV is happening at the right time for us: Throughout Europe, already 44 percent of all TV households are HD-ready. Our goal is and remains to bring attractive content on TV screens and into the TV households", says Wolfgang Elsässer, Managing Director of ASTRA Deutschland.
HDTV offers resolution which is up to five times higher than conventional SD broadcasting. Thus it is sharper and more detailed with much richer colours. In Europe, demand for high-resolution TV is increasing constantly. According to the GfK, the latest sales figures for digital reception devices confirm that the TV households in Germany and Austria prefer to rely upon satellite as the commonly used infrastructure. In Europe, approx. 74 million households report that they have an HD-ready screen. In Germany, every third home has a suitable flat screen.
IFA International TV is produced by senior editorial staff members of IFA International, who have extensive broadcast background. With a top-level video production crew, all shooting is done entirely in Full HD. IFA International TV is the official video service of IFA Berlin.
Since September 2004, ASTRA has broadcast the HDTV demo-channel "ASTRA HD" on frequency 11,303 GHz via 19.2° East on a freely receivable basis; transponder 7; symbol rate of 22000; FEC 2/3; horizontal. One can see programme genres from sport to technology to HD quality photos of nature or animals. The ASTRA HD demo-channel has already been broadcasting in MPEG-4 format since October 2005.
For more information, please contact:
About SES ASTRA
SES ASTRA is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in Europe. The satellite fleet currently comprises 14 ASTRA and two SIRIUS satellites. The combined satellite system delivers services to more than 122 million DTH and cable households and transmits more than 2,500 analogue and digital television and radio channels. SES ASTRA also provides satellite-based multimedia, internet and telecommunication services to enterprises, governments and their agencies. With nearly 80 High Definition (HD) channels on its main orbital positions, ASTRA and SIRIUS represent the most important HDTV platform for Europe's leading broadcasters. The prime orbital positions for ASTRA and SIRIUS are 19.2° East, 28.2° East, 23.5° East, 5° East and 31.5° East.
SES ASTRA is an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG). SES owns two market-leading satellite operators, SES ASTRA in Europe and SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES which provides global coverage and connectivity. The company owns 90 percent of SES SIRIUS in Europe, as well as strategic participations in Ciel in Canada and QuetzSat in Mexico. SES provides outstanding satellite communications solutions via a fleet of 40 satellites in 26 orbital positions around the globe. Additional information on SES is available at: www.ses.com
About IFA International
IFA International, in its paper and online format, is the official daily news source for international visitors at IFA containing daily news from the show floor, extensive coverage of IFA conferences & keynotes, current market facts and figures from GfK and other top industry analysts, information on innovative new products, green initiatives, and news and interviews from top retailers and channel representatives.
In addition to the print and Online editions of the official daily, IFA International brings you exclusive audio and video content (IFA International TV), covering the major events & conferences at IFA, close-up interviews with the VIPs and exciting exhibitors "booth tours".
For further information on content, distribution and participation opportunities, download our media kit.
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