Canal Digitaal
Encyclopedia
CanalDigitaal is a provider of digital television via satellite for the Dutch
market, using the Astra
satellites at 19.2° east
and the Astra 3A
satellite at 23.5° east
.
Initially customers were mainly Dutch citizens who did not have cable access. But in the meantime the company also managed to expand into the cities. This is sometimes complicated in the Netherlands due to local building code
s restricting the placement of satellite dish
es. It is only possible to register as a customer of CanalDigitaal using a Dutch postal address, due to copyright
restrictions.
CanalDigitaal and it's Belgian
cousin TV Vlaanderen Digitaal
are owned by Airbridge Investments and Providence Equity Partners
. The latter has a controlling majority investment.
and British
broadcasters, the Dutch public and commercial broadcasts are not freely available via satellite. To receive the Dutch broadcasts a smartcard is required to decrypt the Mediaguard
signal. CanalDigitaal has recently begun switching from Mediaguard 2 to Mediaguard 3. The public broadcasts are free-to-view
, the commercial broadcasts are not.
A standard DVB-S
or DVB-S2
receiver is used, which can also receive other free-to-air
broadcasts.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
market, using the Astra
SES Astra
Astra is the name for the geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES S.A., a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is sometimes also used to describe the channels broadcasting from these...
satellites at 19.2° east
Astra 19.2°E
Astra 19.2°E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 19.2°East orbital position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg....
and the Astra 3A
Astra 3A
Astra 3A is a communications satellite owned and operated by SES Astra, launched in 2002 to the Astra 23.5°E orbital slot providing digital television and radio for DTH and cable, multimedia and interactive services, corporate networks, and occasional and other business services to central...
satellite at 23.5° east
Astra 23.5°E
Astra 23.5°E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 23.5° east position in the Clarke Belt owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg...
.
Initially customers were mainly Dutch citizens who did not have cable access. But in the meantime the company also managed to expand into the cities. This is sometimes complicated in the Netherlands due to local building code
Building code
A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...
s restricting the placement of satellite dish
Satellite dish
A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed to receive microwaves from communications satellites, which transmit data transmissions or broadcasts, such as satellite television.-Principle of operation:...
es. It is only possible to register as a customer of CanalDigitaal using a Dutch postal address, due to copyright
Dutch copyright law
Dutch copyright law grants exclusive rights to the author of a work of literature, science or art. It was originally intended to cover books, but today it applies to many other materials including films, recorded music and visual art....
restrictions.
CanalDigitaal and it's Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
cousin TV Vlaanderen Digitaal
TV Vlaanderen Digitaal
TV Vlaanderen Digitaal is a digital satellite television provider for the Flemish market, using the Astra satellites at 19.2° east and at 23.5° east.TV Vlaanderen's customers are mostly people living in Flanders...
are owned by Airbridge Investments and Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners is a global private equity investment firm focused on media, entertainment, communications and information investments...
. The latter has a controlling majority investment.
Smartcard
Unlike eg. many GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
broadcasters, the Dutch public and commercial broadcasts are not freely available via satellite. To receive the Dutch broadcasts a smartcard is required to decrypt the Mediaguard
Mediaguard
Mediaguard is a conditional access system for digital television developed by SECA , company renamed to Canal+ Technologies SA , a subsidiary of Canal+ Group, sold to Thomson...
signal. CanalDigitaal has recently begun switching from Mediaguard 2 to Mediaguard 3. The public broadcasts are free-to-view
Free-to-view
Free-to-view is a term used for free of charge and encrypted audio and/or video contents transmission that do not require any form of continual subscription...
, the commercial broadcasts are not.
A standard DVB-S
DVB-S
DVB-S is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Satellite; it is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and demodulation standard for satellite television and dates from 1994, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997...
or DVB-S2
DVB-S2
Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite - Second Generation is a digital television broadcast standard that has been designed as a successor for the popular DVB-S system. It was developed in 2003 by the , an international industry consortium, and ratified by ETSI in March 2005...
receiver is used, which can also receive other free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
broadcasts.