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Thread ID: 70303	2006-06-28 12:26:00	Whats going on at Sky TV	Hitech (9024)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
466970	2006-06-28 12:26:00	Ive just got my skywatch edition for the month of july and at the bottom of the page on the day Monday 24th, guess whats going to be done AGAIN no more pics due to yip you guessed it more maintenance from 2am in the morning for about an hour or so, why is this becoming a regular occurrence suddenly we just had a maintenance outage this month and now another one. I detect something fishy or very faulty happening at sky i must find out does anybody no whats going on. :(	Hitech (9024)
466971	2006-06-28 13:15:00	I think you will find they will be getting ready for the new satellite, Plus I think you will find they don’t want to take any changes like what happened when they had those satellite problems a month or so back	stu161204 (123)
466972	2006-06-28 13:22:00	Also I think this: . stuff . co . nz/stuff/0,2106,3711092a28,00 . html" target="_blank">www . stuff . co . nz maybe another reason for these maintenance periods Just in case that link does not work or expires here the sorry: Sky satellite enters fuel-saving orbit 26 June 2006 By TOM PULLAR-STRECKER Sky Television says the aging Optus B1 satellite it uses to broadcast pay-TV to New Zealand viewers will enter an inclined orbit mid-next month to conserve its dwindling fuel supply . A replacement satellite, which will also be used by TVNZ, TV3 and C4-owner CanWest to broadcast digital TV, is due to come to Sky's rescue in September . When in an inclined orbit, the normally geo-stationary B1 satellite will drift north and south, though spokeswoman Elaine Koller says the movements will be too small to affect TV reception for at least a year, by which time the satellite should be redundant . Geo-stationary satellites usually move in a tight figure-of-eight pattern, with boosters fired periodically to restrict movements within a small "box" . But as they reach the end of their life and run low on fuel, they start to move further off-centre . If Optus B1 drifted too far north or south, Sky TV viewers would experience repeated temporary signal losses lasting minutes, then hours, till it drifted back toward its centre alignment . Sky's set-top boxes would attribute the signal loss to "atmospheric conditions" . Ms Koller says Optus B1 has enough fuel to operate in an inclined orbit for 12-15 months before this happens . Optus plans to replace B1 with a new satellite, D1, which will also be used by the Freeview consortium to transmit free-to-air digital TV transmissions . D1 was originally due to be launched late last year but has experienced a series of delays . Ms Koller says D1 is now due to be delivered by United States manufacturer Orbital this week, ahead of its scheduled launch in September . Optus expects it should be in service by October . The September launch date has been confirmed by French firm Arianespace, which has the contract to launch the satellite, according to a report in The Australian . Ms Koller says Optus has "a comprehensive restoration plan for Sky services" in the event of the premature loss of B1, though Sky won't provide details .	stu161204 (123)
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