Virtual Dish FarmsThe basic premise of the design is to afford each tenant transparent access to the satellite feeds and TV signals and completely remove the clutter so prevalent in today’s digital era.
The cleverness of the system resides in its simplicity. The system is designed to distribute the raw feeds as received from the satellites. By not selecting a limited number of channels for general viewing there is flexibility in the system. Furthermore, it falls to each tenant to procure the decoders and licenses needed to view the signals they require.
The benefits to the landlord are many. In brief, the most apparent of which being the ability to control the number of dishes on their premises coupled with the chance to earn revenue from this system.
Technically, this system will give the landlord a clearly defined demarcation point where the tenant can access the feeds. The landlord no longer needs to pre-wire all the floors, maintain a fixed network of channels or second guess the specific requirements of their clients.
Above all, as part of a managed service the tenant is afforded the flexibility to choose what they want to watch without having to worry about getting permission for dishes. They just have to arrange for access to the demarcation point, cable to the desired end points and get the appropriate decoders and licenses.
In designing a VDF system the landlord has to understand the nature of his tenants. He/she has to carry out some basic research understanding the categories of requests that he/she may receive.
The client’s requirements usually fall into 4 categories
- Analog Satellite TV and Radio signals.
- Digital Satellite TV and Radio signals.
- Satellite delivered Data streams.
- Terrestrial TV and Radio signals.
If the landlord has existing requests for certain feeds he/she can gauge what satellites these can be found on and start to design the system around this. In the case of a new build the nature of the building will help to dictate the types of feeds required.
Domestic tenants’ requirements vary markedly from those in business. Once the requirements have been discussed with the satellite company the next step is to carry out the dish testing to ascertain if these requirements can be met. The range of terrestrial and satellite signals to be captured should be matched against the projected or existing demands.
A complete VDF system may comprise the following
* Main satellite, terrestrial TV and radio receiving equipment to be located on the roof of the building. Equipment is to be capable of receiving all specified channels.
* Distribution equipment in order to distribute the signals Site Wide.
What will the VDF system offer the landlord?
* Landlords retain control over the roof space.
* Affords the landlord a potential revenue generating service.
* A managed service. Valuable in winning new clients.
* The system is future proof. Landlords no longer need to decide what bouquet of channels to support.
* A clear demarcation point for the landlord. Easily maintained and controlled by means of a centrally controlled head-end connection mechanism.
What will the VDF system offer the tenants?
Connection to the VDF system will afford the tenant access to the television and radio signals as well as the raw satellite feeds. In the case of the terrestrial TV and radio signals the tenant would connect directly from the outlet connection box to their TV set or radio set. In the case of satellite television it will rest on the tenant to acquire the BSkyB decoder directly thus removing this element of the management process from the landlord. This is standard procedure whether the client is a residential or business subscriber. The individual or business needs to be contractually bound to BSkyB on their own accord giving them the freedom to choose their own channels. |
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