IMPORTANT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS REGARDING TBN'S TRANSITION FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL ON GALAXY 14 Facts at a Glance: TBN change from Analog to Digital Current TBN analog signal: Galaxy 14 Transponder 3 New TBN Digital signal: Galaxy 14 Transponder 1 Period of dual illumination: January 7, 2008 to March 7, 2008 Date that TBN Analog ceases: March 7, 2008 Satellite receiver format: Encryption: MPEG II DVB None Digital Signal: 4:2:0 Technical questions: 714-665-2129 Web site: GENERAL QUESTIONS www.tbnnetworks.com 1. When will TBN transition from analog to digital on Galaxy 14? Our plan is to start digital transmission January 7, 2008. TBN plans to discontinue its analog signal on Galaxy 14 transponder 3 and transition to a digital signal on Galaxy 14 transponder 1 beginning January 7, 2008. There will be a 60 day dual feed (simulcast) period between January 7 and March 7, 2008 with TBN s digital networks on Galaxy 14 transponder 1 and TBN s analog signal on transponder 3. 2. Will this change affect cable systems that carry TBN from a broadcast station or from another digital satellite service such as the Comcast HITS digital signal. Cable systems will not have to make any changes if they already carry a TBN broadcast signal or a TBN digital signal from another satellite service such as Comcast HITS or Olympusat. 3. Will Galaxy 14 include TBN s digital channels such as TBN Enlace, JCTV, Smile of a Child and Church Channel? TBN will use the additional transponder space on Galaxy 14 transponder 1 to offer its other digital networks including JCTV, Church Channel, Smile of a Child and TBN Enlace. The transponder will also include TBN HD, a new High Definition network that features 24 hours of HD programming from TBN. These digital channels and the HD feed are all license free. Cable systems that add TBN s digital networks may be eligible to receive launch incentive revenue. 4. When will the TBN HD service start? Our intent is to launch the TBN HD service on January 7, 2008 at the same time as the new digital transmission on Galaxy 14 transponder 1.
2 5. In what way will the new TBN HD feed differ in content from the TBN SD feed? TBN HD will differ from the standpoint that it will offer only HD content, and some ministries will not yet be offering it so they will not be in the schedule until they do. Also, TBN's film library continues to grow, and, as you know, 35mm film is inherently high definition. So there will be more films offered than on TBN SD. 6. Will this be a flash cut or will there be a period of overlap when the satellite feed we are taking now will continue after the new feeds begin? The plan is to offer a 30 day simulcast period with digital on transponder 1 and analog continuing on transponder 3. When we reach the end of the 30 day period, we will cease transmission on transponder 3 and remain permanently digital on transponder 1, which will be our new home. 7. Will the footprints for both signals of the simulcast feeds cover my area at the same level of strength? Coverage from a signal footprint should be identical to what we have now. The only difference will be that receivers will likely yield a cleaner picture due to it being digital and noise free. 8. Will there be a West Coast feed and an East Coast feed of TBN? There was a plan to offer a West Coast East Coast feed but it has been postponed. Should we once again plan to do this, everyone will be notified prior to making the change. FINANCIAL QUESTIONS 1. Will TBN Purchase the Digital IRD Receivers? It depends whether your system is already being paid cash incentives from TBN. Some cable systems are eligible to receive equipment funding and others are not. Due to the fact that TBN pays ongoing carriage fees to the majority of its cable affiliates TBN will not purchase the equipment for each headend. TBN pays several million dollars per year to its cable affiliates and therefore the equipment needed for the analog to digital transition can be obtained from the funds that are already being paid. 2. Which systems are eligible to receive funding for free Digital IRD Receivers? Cable headends that are not receiving ongoing carriage incentive payments from TBN may be eligible for equipment assistance and or total funding. 3. Which systems are not eligible to receive the free Digital IRD Receivers? Cable systems that are receiving adequate ongoing carriage incentives from TBN will not be eligible to receive free equipment funding for each headend. TBN pays several million dollars per year to its cable affiliates and therefore the equipment needed for the analog to digital transition should be obtained from the funds that TBN is already paying each affiliate.
3 4. What about systems that do not earn enough in cable incentives to cover the cost of the equipment? Small cable systems that receive incentives that are not adequate enough to cover the equipment cost may be eligible to receive the funding for the equipment. TBN will simply advance your system the cable incentives payable over a period of time in order to cover the cost of the equipment. 5. Will TBN pay for the equipment for any of the new TBN digital channels such as JCTV, Church Channel, Smile of a Child and TBN Enlace? Cable systems that launch any or all of TBN's other digital networks (JCTV, Church Channel, Smile of a Child, TBN Enlace and TBN HD) will be eligible to receive launch incentives that can be used to purchase equipment. Get with your TBN representative to learn about these special cash incentive options. Call 972-313-9500 for the TBN Rep in your area. 6. Whom should I call for additional TBN financial questions? Call the TBN s national cable office at 972-313-9500. TECHNICAL QUESTIONS 1. Can you give more technical detail about the digital transmission? The format that has been chosen is MPEG II DVB using a "Free-to-Air" (FTA) signal which will have no encryption. MPEG II DVB allows use of many different makes, models and quality of receivers (IRDs) varying in cost by quality and features. Many have asked for a recommendation and a source of where to obtain new equipment in preparation for the change. Although there are many to choose from, the information provided describes choices of IRDs along the lines of those TBN will be using depending on the level of service. 2. Do you have any recommended vendors or equipment providers that offer reasonably priced equipment that we can consider using for this change? Recommended IRD Equipment All items listed below from TBC and SEG have discounted pricing available for TBN affiliates. Call the vendor and of your choice and ask for the special TBN pricing. Vendor: TBC Integration Coship CDVB5110G Unit includes (1) composite output via BNC connector, (1) composite output with OSD via RCA connector for monitoring, (1) stereo pair balanced analog audio via XLR connector, (1) stereo pair unbalanced analog audio via RCA connector, (1) ASI transport stream output via BNC connector.
4 Scopus IRD-2961 Unit includes (2) composite output via BNC connector, (2) stereo pair balanced analog audio via XLR connector, SNMP management (10/100 Base-T), Web based management (10/100 Base-T), and GPI. Our primary vendor for the above units is: TBC Integration Contact: Sean Busby Tel: (949) 388-9078 Ext 101 Fax: (949) 606-8176 E-mail: Sean@tbcintegration.com Vendor: SEG Satellite Engineering Group, Inc. Scientific-Atlanta s PowerVu Model D9850 The Scientific-Atlanta s PowerVu Model D9850 Program Receiver is designed for content distribution applications requiring 4:2:0 video decoding and offers features such as the capability to receive digitally-encrypted video, audio, utility data, IP data, and VBI. Our primary vendor for the SA PowerVu is: SEG - Satellite Engineering Group, Inc. Contact: Chris Schee 913-324-6006 cschee@sateng.com www.sateng.com 3. What are the equipment options for receiving the TBN HD signal? Regarding the availability of high definition IRDs, these units have not yet gone into mass production; they are still quite expensive. One option is the Scopus CODICO IRD-2450B HD. http://www.scopus.net/products/receivers.asp#ird-2450 A less expensive option is the Sencore MRD 3187A which is a QPSK IRD that is modular based. It can start off having a 2xSDI and 1xComposite video output with Genlock. The base price for this unit is $3,815. When the time comes to convert it to HD, this module can be taken out (in the field) and replaced with a 2xHD-SDI and 1xComposite video output card for a price of $890. If you want the unit to do both SDI and HDSDI output at the same time then the price would be $1,585 instead of $890 and would need to go back to the Sencore factory for upgrade. http://www.sencore.com/products/mrd3187a.htm 4. Is the digital signal a 4:2:2 or a 4:2:0? 4:2:0 5. Can I receive TBN's signal with Motorola or General Instruments "DSR" series IRDs? We are able to confirm the following: DSR-4402 and the DSR-4800 family receivers do support DVB DSR-4410 and the DSR-4500 do not support DVB, but may in the future. In order for the 4410 and 4500 to support DVB, they would require a firmware upgrade. Our suggestion for those headends that have these receivers is to call Motorola directly to receive it.
5 The more calls they receive the greater the probability it will be released. This is the contact information on the Motorola web site - bcssales@motorola.com (888) 944-HELP (4357) Here is the Motorola web site with their different decoders they offer - http://broadband.motorola.com/catalog/group_by_category.asp?categoryid=96. 6. Whom should I call for additional technical questions? Call the TBN Engineering Department at 714-665-2129. 7. What are the TBN Tuning Parameters and IRD Settings? TBN Tuning Parameters RF 36MHz OBW bps LNB Single freq 3720 mhz 36862745 info LO 5150 pol lin-hor IF 70 +/- Diseq off rate 26.666667 ms/s L-up 22khz off dvb-s 35% alpha LO power on qpsk 3/4 FEC C-up 5945 C-down 3720 L-down 1430 Services SID Name PMT PCR VID AUD 1 TBN HD 100 101 101 102 musicam 2 Future Use 200 201 201 202 musicam 3 TBN Main 300 301 301 302 musicam 4 TCC 400 401 401 402 musicam 5 JCTV 500 501 501 502 musicam 6 SOAC 600 601 601 602 musicam 7 Enlace 700 701 701 702 musicam 11 TBN HD 110 101 101 104 AC3 12 Future Use 210 201 201 204 AC3 13 TBN Main 310 301 301 304 AC3 14 TCC 410 401 401 404 AC3 15 JCTV 510 501 501 504 AC3 16 SOAC 610 601 601 604 AC3 17 Enlace 710 701 701 704 AC3
6 IRD SETTINGS