congrats

Sirius TV Test Broadcast
19 March 2021

Before you read further, do note that I am well aware that Sirius TV broadcasts is still on testing period, so some technical hiccups here and there is expected. Hence, don't expect everything to be perfect just yet.

Here are some technical parameters, if you are interested to know:
Frequency: 12595MHz | Polarity: Horizontal | Symbol rate: 45000
Modulation: DVB-S2 QPSK | FEC: 4/5
Satellite: SES-12 | Orbital Position: 95°E


To be honest, when I was aligning the satellite dish, I kept wonder how come it seems difficult to get good signal readings... Turns out actually, the satellite signal apparently, isn't as strong as I would expect...
C/N (signal-to-noise ratio) of 10.40dB is the very maximum signal strength I can get from my Astro 65cm dish... Signal strength seems "average"? And btw, I'm located in Selangor, Malaysia.
And because of that, I have to be more patient and slow while aligning the dish (If you compare, Astro satellite signals are so much easier to get high signal readings )
It could be due to the satellite coverage footprint itself, so can't really comment much... Perhaps that's the reason they uses QPSK 4/5, to make signal reception more robust to compensate the lower signal strength reception.


TV channels
I perform channel scan earlier, and there's only 3 channels available free-to-air (FTA) now:

GEM (SD)

Outdoor Channel (HD)

TechStorm (HD)

I also noticed that as of the point of writing (19 Mar 2021 morning):
- GEM is not in HD And right now there are no subtitle, and no subtitle tracks at all And the "SIRIUS TV | TEST TRANSMISSION | SIARAN CUBAAN " indicator looks awful
- The date and time info from satellite is inaccurate (Most satellite TV receivers out there tend to sync the date/time info provided from satellite.)
- The actual source of all these 3 channels, are from the same Measat 3 satellite (C band) 🤣 And yeah, there is no EPG data on the channels there.
- The channel names appears the same as what the providers obtain from Measat 3 C band. (Example; "GEM (ENG)") They haven't rename it? Never mind, it gives me the feel of "originality"
- Whatever subtitle language tracks that Outdoor Channel itself has from Measat 3 C band, Sirius TV has it all too:

Good also la... Can get to see some foreign subtitle languages

Picture quality
Here are some screenshots on how the original resolution of the actual TV channel look like. Whether it looks good to you or not, I'll let you be the judge:







Bitrate Check

Video Codec and Bitrate details
*click/tap spoiler to revealAudio Codec and Bitrates
Tech Storm & Outdoor Channel: MP2 192kbps Stereo
GEM: MP2 96kbps Stereo

Conclusion
Like I said earlier, Sirius TV is in testing phase now, and yeah I do notice that the reception would suddenly blackout for about 1 second or a little pixelation appears occasionally, so I believe they haven't finish testing yet. That is why it is called test transmission 🤣🤣
As you guys know, the Sirius TV launch date was "postponed/delayed" several times since years ago due to many reasons (I believe many stuff happened behind the scene) and some technical hiccups, but still, I believe now we get to see their test broadcasts is indeed a milestone for not just Sirius TV itself, but also the hope for the upcoming second Malaysian satellite pay TV service, which many of us been wanting to see for many years.

Technical Suggestions/Opinions
Video
It is pretty obvious to me that Tech Storm has better HD picture quality compared to others, as it uses constant bitrate of 5Mbps.
The video compression artifacts for Outdoor Channel and especially GEM, is more apparent...
Sirius TV shall consider standardise the bitrate for HD channels too, at least 5Mbps (H.264 video codec) on all HD channels?
I hope the broadcast tech team in Sirius TV would explore further ways to improve picture quality while maintain same 5Mbps HD bitrate, by making some technical adjustments on the video encoder settings, such as larger GOP size (Group of Picture).
These 3 channels (Tech Storm, GEM, Outdoor Channel) are considered to be "premium channels" to some extent/people, hence I believe that Sirius TV should have just make all 3 in HD quality instead... 😅
Or better still, use HEVC video codec

Also, I notice that Sirius TV offers Outdoor Channel in original video frame of 29.97fps (NTSC) instead of converting it to 25fps (PAL).
Maintain original video frame rate. Nice

Audio
On the first impression, the TV channel's audio quality seems okay to me, not until I tune to GEM channel, where I start to notice the bad audio quality artifacts only on GEM.
And I check, hmm, it uses MP2 audio codec, and the bitrate choice of 192kbps seems okay to me, but why is it only 96kbps for GEM channel?
The audio quality of 96kbps for a MP2 audio codec, are very bad actually. Unless if Sirius TV proceed with HE-AAC audio codec (patent-required) of 96kbps, then it is a different story.
But if it's MP2, nah...
I would suggest that if Sirius TV will be using the royalty-free MP2 audio codec in the long run, consider standardise the audio track bitrate on all channels as 192kbps Stereo...

Conclusion
Anyway, it is still testing phase, and some things may change from time to time... I wish all the best for Sirius TV
And yes, I will continue to monitor from time to time 😁

This post has been edited by joshhd: Mar 19 2021, 01:10 PM

A big T H A N K Y O U to Joshhd. All of us at Sirius TV is digesting Joshhd's review and will take heed in some of his suggestions and observations.

Well said Joshhd...

Yes better use HEVC for HD Channels. At least the quality are slightly better than the MYTV broadcast are acceptable.

Wow~~ As an appreciation, @Joshhd will complementary enjoy free channels in the rest of the life..

Hahaha.. Just joking.. XD

It's my pleasure...
Btw why is it only 3-4 channels on air right now? I thought there would be up to 15 channels to be included in the test broadcast begins on 15 March?
Perhaps could you share on what are the technical challenges faced right now to uplink/provide the temporary FTA broadcasts to the viewers?
Because I do encounter occasional picture freeze, pixelation and blackouts on all channels as well, yet I see my satellite signal readings remain pretty constant... So it seems that some issue coming from your side?

Oh yes, I'd love to... HAHAHAHA

At the moment , we are using existing Measat 3 satellite receiving channels which covers the 3 channels everyone is receiving now. We are waiting for the Zixi Servers to be installed which had just arrived today. The Zixi Server is use for receiving channels on IP delivery modes. Hopefully by early next week we will be receiving the balance of the channels.on our TV

We would like to send @Joshhd a set of our Decoder and antenna if @Joshhd can tell us where to send or alternatively he can come over in Cyberjaya to pick up the set himself...

Wow lucky you @Joshhd 😭😭

what's the meaning of those numbers ?

There are other technologies that can be deployed rather than satellite which is not even owned by you.

As a new provider, it would be better for all channels (regardless of HD/SD channels) to be carried only in HEVC mode. It would require only around half of the bitrate (~2.5-4 Mbps for HD) for similar video/visual quality when compared to H.264/MPEG-4 (~5-8 Mbps for HD), which will then allowed more channels, if available, to be carried across the platform. Furthermore, the decoder used to receive such channels should likely to be HEVC compatible. If feasible, you may use VBR, which furthermore increases the picture quality.

As suggested by Josh, audio in at least 192kbps (MP2 Stereo) is considered okay for general use. However, if possible, 128kbps (LC-AAC Stereo) would be the best, if you wish to move to the AAC audio format (which Josh said requires patent). Definitely don't use 96kbps MP2 Stereo, as it provides horrible audio.

Obviously, Sirius TV is still on testing mode as on now, so wish the team all the best.

And in addition, is there any plans for connected TV (OTT) services (such as catch up/mobile app) or TV recording service (via external HDD) to be provided on the platform? As for both services I would prefer the latter more, but the former is ok (for convenience).

This post has been edited by shaun_kok: Mar 21 2021, 07:15 PM

As I guess, the signal strength of the service footprint. (The larger the number, usually the service will be more stable. The smaller the number, the larger the satellite dish is needed for signal reliability)

compared to thrash iptv services which are illegal and unreliable, Sirius tv shld be applauded for its genuine commitment and boldness to rent a satelite and be player No:2

sarawak users: welp

Speaking of signal strength and satellite dishes, do we still need a license for satellite dish installation other than the Astro family of providers? (for C and Ku band)

PS: Congrats of Sirius TV getting the first signals on the air

This post has been edited by surrodox2001: Mar 21 2021, 10:00 PM

Also, would like to ask:

Does the final official box is limited to just Sirius TV reception like Astro or just a normal receiver with encryption decoder to decode Sirius?