Fast rising as an alternative medium to receive your favorite TV shows and movies is satellite television or Satellite TV. Availing this service requires the installation of a satellite dish at the customer’s premises that receives broadcasts from a satellite hovering hundreds of miles in the atmosphere which, in turn, picks up signals to broadcast from a static earth station.
More and more subscribers are switching to satellite TV from the erstwhile entertainment choice of Cable TV, which utilizes cables to deliver content to the household. If we compare satellite TV against Cable TV, the reasons become clear:
* Satellite TV delivers better picture clarity Because of the digital technology that is used for satellite TV, the picture quality it delivers is clearer than the largely analog format that characterizes the quality of Cable TV shows. And also because it is digital, satellite TV can (and does) deliver the picture quality that maximize the capability of High Definition Television (HDTV) receivers. * Satellite TV has a wider coverage Because the delivery system of satellite TV does not require the installation fixed wire or cable connections, practically any place that the satellite can "see" can be served. This is in comparison with Cable TV, whose coverage is limited by the reach of its cable facilities that is far smaller. * Satellite TV is more practical Admittedly, one disadvantage that satellite TV has is the fact that it requires a satellite dish and satellite TV set-top box, both of which are charged to a potential subscriber’s account and are quite expensive. This disadvantage, however, is offset by the fact that its lower maintenance cost per subscriber translates to lower subscription fees vs. cable TV. Packages are currently offered by satellite TV companies that are priced lower than their cable TV counterparts.
There are, of course, disadvantages when you compare satellite TV to Cable TV. The biggest disadvantage is that the picture is either there or it is not. This disadvantage is brought about by the fact that the technology it uses is digital. A problem at either the earth station, the satellite itself, or the satellite dish will translate to you, the subscriber, not having any picture to see. Also, if on a worst-case scenario, the satellite ceases to function permanently, subscribers of this service are better off switching to another provider rather than waiting for the satellite to be brought back into service. In the overall assessment, however, the advantages of satellite TV far outweigh its disadvantages
Compare Satellite TV vs. Cable TV
Mobile commerce company cells fashion, image to gadget-loving Japanese women
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Screams erupted from 22,000 young women in flowery frills, boots, really short shorts and glittery jewelry whenever a model _ dressed similarly _ waltzed down the runway in a Tokyo stadium. "Kawaii," cooed the women in Japanese. "Cute, adorable." As they gushed over the models and their outfits, many also pulled out their cell phones and placed orders for the clothes on the models marching past. Japanese do on cell phones almost anything that Americans do on computers: read e-mail and news, search for restaurants, blog and shop. Enough new mobile phones were sold in Japan last year _ a total of 52.3 million _ for nearly half the population. The biannual Tokyo Girls Collection show, the brainchild of Tokyo startup Xavel Inc., targets both the popularity of mobile devices and the fashion frenzy of this nation's trendy youngsters. Xavel runs girlswalker.com and fashionwalker.com, sites designed to be accessed from mobile phones as well as personal computers. And it welcomes retailers to sell their wares through the sites. Since its 1999 founding, Xavel has grown into such a big name that Toyota Motor Corp., Walt Disney Co.'s Japan mobile unit, Tiffany & Co. and other big retailers are signing on to participate in the shows. And about 200 companies, mostly smaller local brands, sell through fashionwalker.com. Some 7 million people regularly read the girlswalker.com magazine site, while 3 million shop at fashionwalker.com each month, according to Xavel, which also runs a job-referral site that advertises positions in boutiques and other jobs likely to interest trendy women. Xavel won't disclose its sales commissions or the fee for taking part in the Tokyo Girls Collection show. But its 2007 revenue was 13 billion yen (US$130 million; €83 million), mostly from advertising and direct sales. Sales at this month's one-day show in Tokyo totaled about 35 million yen (US$350,000; €223,000), Xavel officials said. "The clothes are so cute. The models are so cute," said one enthusiast at the show, Emi Nogawa, 25, who planned to spend about 20,000 yen (US$200; €128) there. Xavel's success grows from marketing what it has dubbed "real clothes" _ functional, everyday apparel _ through cell phone communication and the fashion show, in contrast to the more arty design statements that make up the conventional fashion world's shows, said Ayako Nagaya, chief producer of Tokyo Girls Collection. Chanel, Christian Dior and other couture houses display their clothes months in advance so people look at winter clothes in the summer _ and vice versa _ at exclusive shows meant mainly for reporters and celebrities and their guests. Xavel peddles off-the-rack women's wear for the season in progress, carefully selecting affordable brands like Japan's new Titty & Co. and Spiral Girl. Most items cost 5,000 yen ($50; €32) to 10,000 yen (US$100; €64), though some are pricier. Mizuko Ito, a cultural anthropologist and author of "Personal, Portable, Pedestrian: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life," says cell phones and women's street fashions have been the major force driving cultural innovation since the 1990s. Women are behind the popularity of text-messaging, novels read on cell phones and "purikura," which are booths for taking snapshots and adding decorative computer graphics, said Ito, professor at Keio University in Tokyo. "These are all important cultural trends that were created bottom-up from Japanese girls' culture," she said. "Japanese girls are not just consumers but makers of new technology uses and cultural trends." Xavel says the success of Tokyo Girls Collection goes beyond sales and gives participating companies exposure to young women worth 2.4 billion yen (US$24 million; €15 million) in annual advertising spending. Between fashion segments at the latest show, Toyota showed a red car on the catwalk with cheerleaders dancing with red pompoms. "We set up the show so fashion brands, Toyota and other companies become part of an exciting event," Nagaya, the show's producer, told The Associated Press. The stereotype that Japanese covet expensive imported brands has been shattered, Nagaya said. Women these days want carefree, hip clothes that have their street-style aesthetic in mind. "Women are dressing up to please themselves, no longer to appeal to men," she said, adding that they also are becoming more creative. "There are so many different needs in fashion. Gone are the days that everyone wore the same thing." Westerners and some older Japanese may brush off recent Xavel offerings like "Beautiful Skin People," a novel for reading on mobile phones that stars women with doe eyes and curly hair and is illustrated in "manga" comic-book style. But the facial mask one character used _ also available on fashionwalker.com _ sold 24,000 sheets a day. The mask was such a hit it began to be sold in drugstores as well. In 2006, Tokyo Girls Collection was shown in Paris, and it's going to China this year. Talks have begun to bring it to the U.S. As the show goes mainstream, however, fans say it is no longer what it used to be. "Sure, the scale of the show is so much bigger now. But there are just too many people," said Shino Suzuki, 17. |
Movie theaters decide not to show war shrine documentary by Chinese director
Several movie theaters canceled plans to show a documentary about a war shrine criticized for glorifying Japan's militaristic past after at least one theater received threatening calls, reports and a cinema official said Monday.
Manabu Matsumoto, a spokesman for movie theater operator Humax Cinema, said his company decided not to show the documentary at one of its theaters after callers threatened the company. Matsumoto refused to give details about what kind of threats were made.
"I personally think the decision is regrettable. I don't think the movie is anti-Japanese," Matsumoto said.
His company has to ensure that viewers can see a movie comfortably, he said.
Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine honors Japan's 2.5 million war dead, including executed wartime leaders convicted as Class-A war criminals, and is vilified by critics at home and abroad.
Li Ying's documentary has been shown at prestigious film festivals such as Sundance and Berlin International. It depicts Japanese worshippers as well as people from South Korea and Taiwan _ both colonized by Japan in the early 1900s _ who say family members are enshrined at Yasukuni against their wishes.
Five theaters decided to scrap screenings of the documentary, which were to start April 12, Kyodo News agency reported, citing unnamed officials.
Officials at Argo Pictures, the distributor of the film, were not immediately available for comment late Monday.
Some theaters in northern, central and southwestern Japan are still scheduled to screen the film, Kyodo said.
Afghan lawmakers pass resolution aimed at censoring un-Islamic images on TV
Afghanistan's lower house of Parliament passed a resolution Monday seeking to bar television programs from showing dancing and other practices deemed un-Islamic.
The decision came just days after the private Tolo TV channel aired a dance number featuring men and women together on an Afghan film awards program.
The Information and Culture Ministry condemned the scene, saying "dancing by men and women together was completely against the culture of the Afghan, Muslim society."
The parliamentary resolution, drafted by a commission for cultural and religious affairs, said dancers should not be shown on television, and un-Islamic scenes should be cut from Indian TV series broadcast in Afghanistan, said Din Mohammad Azimi, a lawmaker and member of the commission.
Azimi said the resolution also includes an article saying Afghan banks should not offer interest-bearing accounts because Islamic law forbids interest.
The resolution, which is not now legally binding and cannot be enforced, will go before the upper house of Parliament for consideration, Azimi said. It would also have to be approved by the president before becoming law.
Afghan media have bloomed following the fall of the hard-line Taliban regime in 2001, and Tolo TV has become one of the country's most popular channels with its steady stream of programing, including music videos and Indian soap operas.
But government officials and powerful factional leaders frequently pressure broadcasters because of programs deemed too racy or overly critical.
Last year gunmen entered the home of Zakia Zaki, the female owner of a radio station, and shot her to death in front of her 8-year-old son. Zaki had apparently criticized local warlords who warned her to change her station's programming.
Shaima Rezayee, a popular host for an MTV-style music show, was shot dead in 2005 after clerics criticized her show as "anti-Islamic."
Tolo TV's owner Saad Mohseni said the dancing on the awards show Friday was "very tame by any standard" and the women were dressed modestly.
Tolo TV often blurs any images deemed insulting to Islam, such as statues of Hindu gods on Indian programs and even the uncovered necks and shoulders of Indian actresses.
"It's the re-Talibanization of Afghan society," Mohseni said. "Every single week they come up with something new."
He called on the Afghan government and the international community to take a stand against the religious conservatives, saying they "cannot allow a very small minority within Afghan society to call the shots."
