XPost: sci.space.moderated, sci.space.station, sci.space.tech   
   From: ken123@xtra.co.nz   
      
   "Joann Evans"  wrote in message   
   news:3FD3CBDA.B7AA5913@frontiernet.net...   
   > Norris Watkins wrote:   
   > >   
   > > Hello:   
   > > 1. When you make an international phone call - say from NY to China -   
   > > how does the voice data travel ? Does it have to be send to the   
   > > satellite and then received at teh ground, some distance away, then   
   > > sent to another satellite till it reaches the destination country. ? I   
   > > mean is there any direct satellite to satellite communication. Or is   
   > > it always bouncing between teh satellite and the ground at an angle.   
   > >   
   > > 2. Is this true for international television programming too ? I know   
   > > there are live television from Arab countries, Japan etc, in US.   
   > >   
   > > Thanks   
   > > --sony   
   >   
   >    Sometimes there are *multiple* satellite hops, depending.   
   >   
   >    For a one-way broadcast, it doesn't matter much, but a few years ago,   
   > I had occasion to watch a Presidential address where multiple   
   > televisions were present, and tuned each to a different network. No two   
   > were in sync, implying different speed of light delays between the point   
   > of origin in Washington D.C., and the local stations.   
   >   
   >    Then there's the noticeable delay on a news program when the anchor   
   > is in 'live' contact (espically with videophones) with the reporter in   
   > the field....   
   >   
   I'd bet that the different delays you noted weren't to do with satellite   
   delays at all, but processing delays in video compression kit that the   
   different networks were using. I can't see any reason why a Presidential   
   address, sent out to a domestic audience, would be multi-hopped on   
   satellite.   
      
   Cheers.   
      
   Ken   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)