German pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland wants to optimise the usage of its transponder capacities on the Astra satellite system at 19.2° East to create more space for new channels.
In the night from November 17 to 18, 2015 all Sky transponders will be switched from DVB-S to the more efficient DVB-S2 modulation and all SD channels will be signalised in MPEG-4 for this purpose. At the same time, some channels will be transferred to other transponders.
Cable operators directly receiving the Sky channels on their head-ends from Astra will benefit from the move as it enables them to distribute more HD channels on their networks in QAM 256 modulation.
Network operators have to adapt their head-ends to the new configuration on the transition day. Sky currently informs the companies about the changeover.
