Interview with Germán Agúndez, Director of Ikusi’s Multimedia Unit. >page 2

MULTIMEDIA MAGAZINEFEBRUARY 2012Nº 21

The Mac Home modulator incorporates a new video playback feature

Ikusi, I have a question

Ikusi support: Pre-sales, After-sales and Training

Ikusi, gearing up for LTE

CSTB (Moscow) and CABSAT (Dubai)

Fixed signalling, changing a hotel channel grid without having to retune the television sets in every room

MTI, digital transmodulation

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“We are pushing forth an out-and-out transformation, with actions that are going to seem even more clear to our customers over the coming months”

www.ikusi.tv/en

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With a new business year just begun, we met with Germán Agúndez, Head of Ikusi’s Multi-media Division, and held a conversation that revealed a new and enthusiastic approach, resulting from the significant process of trans-formation that the Division is undergoing and that is already bearing fruit, based on the far-reaching assumption that the client must be at the centre of the Division’s work.

How would you assure our readers that the client is truly at the centre of your bu-siness and that this is not just an empty statement?

If I may paraphrase a colloquial but illustra-tive expression, I’d say that we are “putting the horse back before the cart”, in the sense that the equipment we bring on to the mar-ket is no longer solely the result of our R&D Department’s developments and proposals, based on the latest trends or on the impres-sions our salespersons gather from their in-teractions with the market, as used to be the case. That time is now over.

Our emphasis is now on our new marketing strategy, which puts the client at the very cen-tre of all our processes: instead of simply con-sulting with our clients to find out what they need, we are now actually bringing them in to actively help develop our own products, in what we might call a process of co-creation. But because our relationship with clients does not only encompass the sale and develop-ment of products, we have taken this a step further and clients are now actively involved in revising our key processes, which allows us to offer the best customer service possible.

So this is a significant change…

I would say it is more than that: we are embar-king on a comprehensive transformation and we are doing so with the track-record and rea-lities that our clients already know us for and appreciate, but with developments which will become more and more evident to them in the coming months. We’ve always known that im-provement is an ongoing process, that a com-pany always has to move forward. But now we know exactly how to move forward and in which direction, thanks to the guidelines set by our clients, which we are already following.

We are determined to pursue this path because we no longer want our clients to see us as mere suppliers, but as technological partners.

How does Ikusi intend to implement this strategy, given the number of clients and the diversity of their profiles?

We have invested a lot of time and effort in getting to know our clients very well, establis-hing segments for them and then preparing and defining a specific offer and specific type of relationship that will work for each specific segment. We know that what may work for one won’t work for all. This is why we have been very demanding and ambitious in designing the different types of offer that will fit each different type of client segment.

At the same time, having clients with very diver-se profiles has been a boon for us, as well as

for the clients themselves. Let me explain: for years, Ikusi has been working closely with the leading operators in Europe and maintaining these relationships has required the develop-ment of high-tech products, with the associa-ted investments in R&D. Consequently, we have been able to remain at the cutting-edge of tech-nological development and create pioneering products, such as the MAC modulator or MTI transmodulator ranges to name just two exam-ples, and offer them to others in the market.

Apart from technological leadership and stra-tegic client relationships, what other charac-teristics define what Ikusi has to offer?

Before answering that question, I’d like to stress that I think the market already apprecia-tes Ikusi’s technological leadership as a natural thing and that it will soon see our strategy, in which we put the client at the core of our busi-ness, in the same light: this will be the defining feature of our offer.

But to answer the question, the technological expertise and vast experience of our professio-nals permit us to design advanced technologi-cal solutions for the market, which are easy to install, easily maintained and reliable and these are just some of the characteristics that define what Ikusi can offer. What we offer is geared toward developments in our clients’ actual bu-sinesses, and this is a direct consequence of Ikusi’s in-depth knowledge of its clients, tech-nological leadership and proven track record in innovation.

“We have put the customer at the core of our key processes, in a bid to offer the best service.”

“Our goal is to become the technological partners of our customers.”

“We are embarking on a comprehensive process of transformation, with new developments that will become more and more evident to our clients in the coming months”

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Create your own channel using only your Mac Home

Creating a channel with the Mac Home is as easy as copying a video to a USB drive and

connecting it to the unit.

in hotels in restaurants in museums in retail establishments,etc.

“We have put the customer at the core of our key processes, in a bid to offer the best service.”

This new feature has made the Mac Home the only digital modulator on the market capable of playing video files. To make it easy for them to create videos to play on the Mac Home, Ikusi is offering its customers an application for PC that can generate videos simply by mixing files with different image, audio and video formats. Crea-ting a channel with the Mac Home is as easy as copying a video to a USB drive and connecting it to the device.

The new feature can also be incorporated into Mac Homes that are already up and running. Both the new firmware version, which will allow for Mac Home updating, and the application it-self, which can be used for easy video genera-tion, will be available shortly on the www.ikusi.tv website for Ikusi customers.

The Mac Home modulator incorporates a new video playback feature

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All Mac Homes already on the market can be updated with the new feature.

I am having problems with the audio of the output channel service of the MAC HOME, but only with certain televi-sions.

Some old television sets do not support the default audio BI-TRATE configured in our modulator, so the problem would be solved in most cases by lowering the audio BITRATE to one supported by the TV.

Is it possible to manage my head end composed of trans-modulating modules (MTI) via the Internet instead of ha-ving to go out to the installation?

In these cases, we generally recommend placing a HMS-120 Control Unit connected to a router with Internet connection configured by your operator in the head end.

Is it normal for the surface of a unit from the ONE or MAC series to heat up, or could there be a problem?

A hot surface on a device does not indicate a malfunction, qui-te the contrary, since what is happening is that the heat inside is being driven out correctly.

Why is it advisable to install a charge of 75 ohms at unused inputs-outputs in an installation?

It is very important to install these charges at points we are not using to ensure that the impedance of the whole installation adapts to 75 ohms, and in addition, to prevent these inputs-outputs from acting as antennas of the impulse noise in the atmosphere.

It allows any business to generate its own promotional and information channel simply and inexpensively using only the Mac Home.

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“The support offered by Ikusi can be split into three main lines: Pre-sales, After-sales and Training”

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How can we achieve a comprehensive su-pport service? This is the key question. And Ikusi has answered it with a masterful com-bination of two service levels: local, from the subsidiary itself, and global, from the head offices.

The subsidiaries have a degree of autonomy that allows them to adjust the company’s stra-tegy, adapting it to local needs. Support is reflected in a better local service that is more independent and personalised.

In certain situations, such as when particular projects require new solutions, technologies or services, the subsidiaries can turn to the head offices for help or mentoring by their specialists. This mentoring helps to expand the knowledge and independence of the pro-fessionals at the subsidiaries.

The support offered by Ikusi can be split into three main lines: Pre-sales, After-sales and Training.

In Pre-sales, the support service deals with technology issues and works closely with the customer to come up with the best solution

for the specific needs of each case.

Ikusi, however, has opted to become the te-chnology partner of its customers, so it must keep up the service even after the sale is made. The after-sales service is what gives continuity to its customer relations. Hence, Ikusi accompanies the customer throughout the commissioning of new products or sys-tems and provides the necessary support in the event of setbacks.

It is often the case that Ikusi’s own techno-logy is used to streamline and improve the after-sales service. This is true of the HMS head-end control units, for example, where installers can remotely check the status of a Class A head end of a hotel or other facility from their own offices.

Constant communication with professio-nals is another of the essential tools for the Support Department. Hence, whenever new features are incorporated into Ikusi products,

the Department sends out the necessary in-formation and explanations on how to apply them. To illustrate this, in the hotel industry for example, we could mention the information on the new features of the MTI transmodulator, which changes the channel line-up of a hotel without the need to retune the television sets in every room.

Training is another of Ikusi’s lines of support and a key area in a company that is constantly incorporating new technologies and new products. Here, training is understood in its broadest meaning, since it is aimed at sales representatives and Ikusi technicians, both from the subsidiaries and head offices, and at the customers themselves. In this sense, su-pport is yet another way to give value-added to the customer and to reinforce this vocation of forging an alliance between Ikusi and the customer in order to build a technology part-ner relationship.

Josu Aristizabal,Ikusi´s Support Department

“The support provides value-added to the client and strengthens the relationship of technology partner”

“Integral support: local, from the subsidiary, and global from the headquarter”

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Gearing up for LTE

Ikusi presents its offer at CSTB (Moscow) and CABSAT (Dubai)

Ikusi has designed and patented technologi-cal solutions capable of rejecting any LTE sig-nal interference on TV channels, even in areas close to the main transmitters (exclusion zone) and regardless of the equipment in use.

These solutions have been developed to act on three areas: the antenna, the head-end filter and protection of the head-end equipment, as described below.

Once again, Ikusi has visited the Russian mar-ket to present its proposals for the products that best suit their needs and it has done so by revisiting the CSTB expo, held this year from 29 to 31 January in Moscow.

The proposals that Ikusi took to the fair, now in its fifteenth year, included the MTI transmodu-lator, which changes the channel line-up of hotels without having to re-tune the TV sets in every room.

Another of the products that Ikusi showed to the Russian market was the One Sat central programmable amplifier, designed to selec-tively filter analogue and digital channels. This device is ideal for both houses and blocks of flats.

Ikusi also showed its Mac 401 and Mac Home digital modulators at CSTB. While the Mac 401 is a stand-alone AV-COFDM modulator with four video and stereo audio inputs, the Mac Home is a stand-alone residential AV-COFDM modulator with a single input that comes with a video playback feature.

The range shown by Ikusi at CSTB was round-ed off by the SZB single-channel amplifier, which covers all the processing functions of a high quality SMATV head end, and the multi-switches, both the stand-alone and cascad-able ranges. In both cases, the modules are active, which means that the signal level at the module input is guaranteed to be the same as that of the output for users on any floor of the building. This reduces the number of ref-erences and, hence, stock requirements of customers and makes the design of complex installations far easier. Another of the top rated features of these ranges is that they both have an external power supply.

CABSAT FAIR (DUBAI)

Another important event for Ikusi is the fair to be held at the Dubai World Trade Center (Hall 4, Stand number C4-22) from 12 to 14 March.

As in Russia, Ikusi will present its new develop-ments (MTI, Mac Home) showing once again its advanced technological solutions for the hospitality sector.

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FLASHD LTE antenna

Amplifier Headend

FLTE FilterAmplifier Headend

Collective installationApplication example

Flashd LTE: Ref. 1808 y 1810LTE reject filter: Ref. 1435Single channel Headend SZB: Ref. 2293, 2294, 3152, 3160 y 2246Broadband Amplifier NBS-800: Ref. 3531, 3532, 3533 y 3534Programmable Amplification Headend ONE SAT: Ref. 2844

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Javier Larzabal,Ikusi Marketing Department

Fixed signalling, changing a hotel channel grid without having to retune the television sets in every roomHotels are big consumers of digital content in COFDM format, which they receive via sa-tellite or terrestrial broadcasts. It is also very common for hotels to want to change their channel grid to meet the demands of their guests.

Television sets that memorise which channel they are receiving can use different parame-ters (usually a combination of several, rather than all): transmission frequency, ONID, NID, TS_ID, SID and LCN (if used).

If we change any of these parameters when we change the channel grid, it is likely that some TV set or other (it depends on the mo-del/brand) will be unable to tune the new channels automatically. This means that we will have to go into the room concerned and retune the TV manually. For hotels, this is ob-viously problematic.

Aware of this situation and as part of its goal to develop solutions that meet the needs of hotels, Ikusi has developed a solution that allows the installer to change the channel grid of a hotel without having to retune the TV sets in every room by setting the parameters above in the head end.

Let’s imagine that a hotel wants to recei-ve BBC World. To do so, it installs an Ikusi satellite-COFDM transmodulator (MTI-800) distributing the signal in C21. The installer knows that this hotel changes its channel grid from time to time so he decides to set the signal values like so: ONID: 101, NID:101, TS_ID: 201, SID: 301.

A few months later, the hotel decides to re-place the BBC channel with Al Jazeera. The installer would then have to retune the MTI to receive the new channel and force the other parameters so that they are exactly equal to the ones used in the original installation (output frequency: C21, ONID: 101, NID: 101, TS_ID: 201, SID: 301). If LCN is used, this va-lue needs to be maintained too.

Thus, the televisions in all of the rooms would be able to show the new channel without ha-ving to be manually retuned, with the conse-quent time savings and lack of inconvenien-ce to guests.

This feature can also be applied to other uses, such as avoiding having to retune TVs when there are frequency changes in terrestrial broadcasts or showing the hotel’s own content at certain hours of the day, replacing the exis-ting channels without having to enter rooms.

For this feature, which gives users increased flexibility, Ikusi offers a complete range of products (MTI, TGT, MAC) that incorporate the feature of setting DVB signalling.

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MTI Digital TransmodulatorChange any channel in the hotelwithout retuning TV sets room by room

• Fixed signalling (to edit ONID, NID, SID, TSID)

• The most reliable on the market

• LCN function

• Remote Management (HMS)

IKUSI - Ángel Iglesias S.A. · Tel.: +34 943 44 88 00 · television@ikusi.com · www.ikusi.tv