90 Degrees North, a provider of TV production, film, rental, and system integration services, has recently designed and installed Dielectric antenna systems for TV5, PCMC (Philippine Collective Media Corporation) BEAM (Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media), AMBS (Advanced Media Broadcasting System) and Aliw Broadcast Corporation in the Philippines.
The nation of 7,641 islands is amidst a digital television (DTV) transition that today brings ISDB-Tb digital TV services to approximately 50% of the Filipino population. While most DTV channels are UHF assignments, most analogue services are broadcast in the VHF band — and more specifically in the low-band, which few antenna vendors support today.
90 Degrees North is currently installing a mix of Dielectric low-band VHF and UHF antennas at 11 TV5 tower sites with more possible sites to come, as well as Manila-based sites for AMBS and Aliw.
Cory Edwards, Southeast Asia Sales & OEM Manager, Dielectric, said, “An abundance of Channel 2-6 low-band VHF antennas in service today are approaching end of life, and many of these broadcasters are preparing to refresh their analogue infrastructure given the uncertainty of DTV transition timelines outside the Mega Manila region.
“The team at 90 Degrees North has a sterling reputation with broadcasters throughout the Philippines, and a proven track record of designing analogue and digital TV systems with Dielectric antennas that optimise coverage over challenging coverage areas.”
90 Degrees North has been installing TFU-WB UHF antennas for multi-channel DTV customers that need a broadband solution, while choosing Powerlite low-power antenna models for single-channel broadcasters.
Powerlite deployments includes a single-frequency network (SFN) for BEAM in Manila, with low-power Dielectric DLP and TLP UHF antennas working together to fill in specific targeted regions.
BEAM operates TV systems in the three major Philippines metropolises of Manila, Cebu and Davao, as well as four additional cities in three provinces. Network planning software from Dielectric partner PROGIRA is used to optimise SFN coverage for BEAM and other clients.