Bell ExpressVu
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Bellexpressvu.gif Bell ExpressVu is the division of Bell Canada that sells digital television services in Canada. Launched on September 10, 1997, ExpressVu has traditionally offered satellite TV services, and as of summer 2004 began offering digital TV via VDSL to select condos and MDUs (multiple-dwelling units) in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. Bell ExpressVu provides over 300 digital video and audio channels to over 1.5 million subscribers. Its major competitors include satellite service StarChoice, as well as various cable and communications companies across Canada.
ExpressVu was conceived in 1994, at the time of American DSS systems launch, as a consortium of Ontario-based Tee-Com Electronics, Telesat, and a minority ownership of Bell Canada, with a projected startup date of late 1995. High technology development costs and delays placed Tee-Com in a severe financial position, prompting the remaining partners to pull out in 1996. Instead, U.S. satellite-TV provider Echostar Dish Network was chosen to provide the receivers and uplink equipment. The Hughes DirecTV system had already been optioned to Power Broadcasting, in Canada; since withdrawn. Tee-Com on its own managed to launch the first DBS service in Canada, Alphastar, in early 1997 however in a manner of weeks the company went bankrupt and the service was discontinued, leaving thousands of consumers with useless receivers. ExpressVu launched service in September 1997, as "ExpressVu Dish Network", using the Echostar logo. In 2000 Bell took over full ownership of ExpressVu.
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Satellites
ExpressVu broadcasts from three geosynchronous satellites: Nimiq 1, 2, and 3. All follow an equatorial path, giving coverage to most of North America. Nimiq is an Inuktitut word for "that which unifies" and was chosen from a nationwide naming contest in 1998. The three satellites are owned and operated by Telesat Canada (a BCE corporation) and are based on Lockheed Martin's A2100 model. ExpressVu's uplink site is located at 115 Scarsdale Road in the North York part of Toronto, Ontario.
Nimiq 1 was launched on May 20, 1999 and contains 32 Ku-band transponders at 91° W. Nimiq 2, launched in December 29, 2002, also includes 2 K-band transponders. Nimiq 2 provides additional bandwidth for HDTV and interactive television applications. It occupies the 82° W slot.
Nimiq 3 went online on August 23, 2004. Originally called DirecTV3, it is an old DirecTV satellite moved to a new orbital slot near Nimiq 1 to offload some of the transmitting work from the original satellite.
From the time of service launch in 1997 to the switch to Nimiq in 1999, ExpressVu used the already crowded Anik E2.
Dish equipment
The standard ExpressVu dish is a circular 20 inches (51 cm) in diameter and supports two LNBs. The 20 inch dish is skew-adjustable and identical to the Dish Network 500. The size was increased from the original 18 inch (46 cm) in late 2002 to provide better reception to HDTV channels.
ExpressVu also provide a variety of satellite receiver sets, including models with dual-tuner, HDTV and PVR capabilities. The receivers are built by EchoStar Communications Corporation.
Canadians living in the Arctic region have the option to purchase larger 60 cm and 120 cm dishes to compensate for the weaker satellite signal.
VDSL equipment
VDSL service is delivered to the customer using broadband equipment provided by the "NextLevel Communications" division of Motorola. As of November 2005 ExpressVu supported 18,000 active VDSL subscribers.
Stations shown on Bell ExpressVu
- Local feeds of English Canadian networks, including CBC, CTV, Global, CH, Citytv, and A-Channel
- CJON-TV, better known as NTV, Newfoundland and Labrador's only private TV station
- Local feeds of French Canadian networks, including Radio-Canada, TVA and TQS
- Local feeds of American networks, including NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, and PBS; they all come from Boston and Seattle
- WSBK, UPN station from Boston (soon to be an independent station)
- WPIX, WGN, and KTLA, WB Television Network stations from New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, respectively (soon to be affiliates of The CW Television Network)
- Various specialty channels
- The Movie Network (eastern Canada only) and Movie Central (western Canada only)
- 60 pay-per-view channels
- 12 24-hour pay-per-view adult channels named Venus
- 45 commercial-free and DJ-free digital music channels provided by Galaxie
Bell TV Magazine
Bell TV is a monthly publication mailed to Bell ExpressVu subscribers. Similar the United Kingdom's Sky TV magazine, it mixes feature articles on celebrities, television shows, movies and sports with daily listings that highlight programming from the satellite channels.
Etymology
Bell Canada constructed the name ExpressVu for its universal recognition by both English and French speakers. Anglophones often pronounce the name as "express view", while francophones understand "vu" as from the French verb meaning "to look" or "to watch".