We cannot think of an IFE show in recent years that we have not walked by the Stellar Entertainment booth to be met with a “G’day! Have a piece of candy,” by a tall silver-haired gentleman. It is precisely the way we will always remember Rob Lynch, Chairman of Stellar Entertainment… his presence and personal demeanor, which is partly what this Hot Topic is about. The other part is about how he and his wife, Helen, have made a success of their humble IFE content beginnings, some 40 years ago with Qantas. More importantly, it is a success story that needs retelling because, who else do you know that has 40 years in this crazy business and, still has their first customer!

When we first decided to do an interview with Stellar someone told us, “You don’t stay in business for 40 years without doing stuff right!” Accordingly, the Stellar Entertainment story begins in 1974 when Rob and his wife, Helen, answered a newspaper ad written to provide Qantas with in-flight programming. They won and later in 1979 they expanded into audio production and post-production services. Today Stellar Entertainment is a full Content Service Provider that offers IFE, in-flight audio production and post-production, music composition, content acquisition and more.

To start from the beginning, this past September we had the pleasure of interviewing the co-founder of Stellar Entertainment, the Australian-based Content Service Provider (CSP). The name Stellar is somewhat obvious, “With airplanes in the stars and inflight movies featuring stars, it was pretty obvious to us what our logo was going to be,” said Rob Lynch.

Stellar is one of the top three CSP in the IFE industry and they are well known in Asia, and today, they have some 75 employees who assist the airlines in delivering the right programming to passengers. Mr. Lynch told IFExpress that in no uncertain terms is he planning on retiring any time soon and it appears to us that his reasoning is based upon his enjoyment of the industry. He also seems to particularly enjoy the complex equipment and processes involved in the science: “Technology has really driven change in this business, more specifically over the past 6 – 7 years… and I love it! The digital age has changed our business and our world and it is one reason why I never seam to get tired of working with our airline partners.” As an example of his love of technology, we note that Stellar was an early adapter of the iPad and worked with BlueBox to provide service on JetStar. “It took 18 months to get the two big conglomerates to agree, but in the end, BlueBox designed the necessary software and we got the order, which included the iPad, and content from four Hollywood Studios!”

Rob went on to say, “In July we have been in this business for forty years. Stellar Entertainment was originally Helen Irvine & Associates and Qantas was the launch customer for our business in the in-flight entertainment industry and they have remained with us throughout our 40 years and in that time we have provide service to some 25 customers. In fact, I think we are the first CSP to reach a 40-year milestone with a customer!” However, Qantas is not Stellar’s only long-term client. “We have just renewed our contract with Malaysia and have been there with them for 25 years.”

While talking with Stellar at APEX we also spoke with Stellar CEO, Peter McLaughlin and he noted that content service providers really have two options: They can take a cookie cutter approach or choose a tailored route, the latter being Stellar’s choice. “We see the world as a partnership, not just a supplier.” We note that in Stellar’s case, their selection of partnerships obviously prove the longevity that they enjoy with their customers.

During our interview one of the requirements that we understood to be tantamount for success was to get the right people and train them properly, especially training about the importance of the customer. In fact, Stellar has an international mentoring system that helps pass on customer knowledge. “We want people who know how to listen and interpret what the customer (and market) wants and we teach them that every customer is different. We have a staff that has a broad spectrum of experience ranging from engineering, to content, to airline.” To quote Mr. Lynch, “We’ve stuck with our knitting. I’ve been in entertainment all my life and began this business as a radio announcer, but Stellar Entertainment from the very beginning has been a family business.” He went on, “We have a very low employee turnover rate. At the end of the day all you have are your people and your brand. So my recommendation to your readers is spend a lot of time taking care of them.”

To Lynch, content is king and their in-flight entertainment approach is that “it is all about content”. He noted that Stellar is always mindful of this mantra and therefore the company is willing to develop, generate, or purchase content whether it is art house movies, independent films, Hollywood movies, etc. “Stellar will purchase content from anyone. Today we go to extremes to get that day-to-day foreign content vs. the first run films.”

When we asked Rob how Stellar Entertainment has stayed in the business for so many decades he said, “You also have to expand and grow or your company will be done. To that end, today Stellar Entertainment owns 50% of Sky Victory in Mainland China with a staff of 10 in Beijing. You must be a multifaceted company. And, you have to have loyalty to your customer. I’ve had the same wife, the same lawyer, and the same accountant from the very beginning. Loyalty is the most important attribute for either an individual or a company. It maybe old fashioned, but the importance of loyalty cannot be diminished. Get to know your customer,” he said.

In closing we note that Stellar Entertainment is consistent, they understand the customer, they listen, they have market knowledge, and most importantly, they deliver on a promise. We cannot think of a better way to do business. One supposes that we should close with something prophetic, but for the life of us, we cannot think of anything after the preceding success story…  so for closers, we will just say, “G’Day, and have a piece of candy.”

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Product Update: Thompson Aerospace’s CSUv2 server

One of our APEX reviews pointed out a real security-based, data transmission product rolled out by Thompson Aerospace at the show, the CSUv2 server that is the core of the 1Netv2 system. It is the highest level of secure off-aircraft (commercial), data communication we know of… all via Iridium or cellular towers. Thompson’s VP Business Development, Craig Jones told IFExpress: “Thompson Aerospace has the only patented Airborne Local Area Network and security for moving all non flight critical data between the aircraft and cloud. With all the recent cyber attacks aircraft data certainly need a high level of protection. The CSUv2 is the most powerful and secure server available in the market today. Managing all the data it represents a paradigm shift in creating the first true ecosystem for aircraft data.” When we looked into the solution we found that no one today is moving data between the airplane and the cloud. While there is a good amount being delivered to the ground, the issue is data availability (worldwide via Amazon Cloud) and security…and Thompson claims FIPS 3.

What data hacking is occurring to airline data is not known to IFExpress but if the airplane follows the ground experiences, why wait? Airlines have claimed the use of bad credit cards has ballooned and we have heard of bad card numbers as high as 20%. One airline even used cockpit communication check of high value card sales (What must that cost?). The Thompson solution uses worldwide Iridium connectivity from the plane (burst mode) to be applied to credit card sales and onboard purchases of all kinds via their new 2 MCU server. The Iridium transmitter is in the server and a small Iridium antenna is installed on the plane. Craig told IFExpress that handheld readers (wireless connections) or installed credit card readers would be connected to the server via WI-FI networks “Even wireless PEDs are a possible reading device,” Craig told us, “We have closed the loop!”

Craig mentioned that Electronic Flight Bag data is a potential, “as well as all Category C” data, he noted. They have even done lab testing for hacking and because the unit is controlled by security firmware in the machine, the data remains quite safe. “Hardware security is the secret, not software”, he told us. “We see flight tracking (when actuated as a backup), health monitoring, and flight recording data as potential airline uses,” he said.

We also thought the use of Amazon Cloud services as an interesting ground based storage solution. “The data is encrypted and the customer has can into the required information with a security key,” said Jones. “Further,” he noted, “airlines are looking at pilot performance data and navigation information so the airlines have the ability to review pilot performance data, since the server collects all data from the 717 and 429 buses as well. Additionally, airlines have told us that if they can prove how long an airplane was is in a location, they can reduce charges pertaining to domicile taxes, CO2 emission and navigation, fees”.

We have included a couple attachments here:  a press release, a product brief of the CSUv2 and product description.

See you at Aircraft Interiors America in Seattle? Today, the The Seating & IFE Integration Symposium begins at the Washington State Convention Center and the event and is a one day feature wherein industry experts lead presentations and debates on the evolving relationship between the seat and inflight entertainment & connectivity systems. The floor opens Tuesday night with a preview and for two days following will accommodate visitors. By the way, there is a new AIX App.

Before we get into the ‘meat’ of this IFExpress, we wanted to give some mention to Mark Thompson, (CEO, Thompson Aerospace) and his team at APEX for their clever promotions, and while this is not the medium to cover promotions, Thompson Aerospace concocted an easy way for attendees to build their own advertising banner for his IFE system, built on the spot by the attendee (get the message?),  and offered an Internet tablet to the advert that got the most ‘hits’ at the show on their system. Not to be outdone by his tablet deal was the ‘Free Money’ campaign (Our words not his) that rewarded everyone that heard his spiel with a gold $1 coin. He was telling airlines that advertising and promotion on his IFE was like free money. You bet he had our attention… free money, we liked it!

At APEX, Lufthansa Systems had their official press briefing on the sale announcement of their BoardConnect IFE system to parent company airline, Lufthansa. The deal covers some 20 Lufthansa A321 aircraft and will begin in the summer of 2014 and Lufthansa Technik will carry out installation. To date, the company noted that there are some 30 active BoardConnect aircraft flying. Presently, the BoardConnect shop is up and running and the BoardConnect folks are looking into progressive developments like NFC and content upgrades such as games and onboard advertising. BoardConnect is focusing on single aisle installations in a retrofit application while they, no doubt, will also work on twin aisle solutions. “Line-fit is our eventual goal,” according to Dr. Jorg Waber, Corporate Communications. We note that the Lufthansa Systems solution uses an app-based approach to content delivery (User download on board or on-ground) and thus DRM requirements are met for Early-Window content. Further, their moving map solution is imbedded in the app and does not rely on browser-based workings inside passenger PED’s. We will have more on Lufthansa Systems developing IFE solutions in the future. Stay Tuned.

No IFE exposition would be complete without the creative new product concepts from Geoff (and Claire) Underwood of IFPL. The crew was in true form at APEX this year and two new product concepts stood out – their Contactless Retail System (CRS) and their answer to a magnetic breakaway earphone jack. The Contactless Retail solution is ingenious, as it does not require seat power to read credit cards (NFC) or communicate with the head-end for information storage and credit card charge updates. It does so through a battery that only requires changing every 5 years (guaranteed). The seatback device (about the size of an iPod) uses E Ink (electrophoretic) display technology for a readable and low power screen. Need to charge for seat power, drinks, food… here is your answer. Unused, the display goes to sleep but awake, it ‘talks’ via a low power wireless connection to the front-end cabin crew terminal. The unit only powers up when activated by a user at the seat. This product ought to get some award at a future show as it breaks a lot of barriers for display technology, power, and communication technology. We also note that their breakaway headset jack has a new magnetic solution… it uses only one magnet and gives virtually 180 degrees of breaking direction. This is a great product and it simplifies the issues surrounding magnets and positioning them on the jack and plug… not to mention weight and price.

Quite by accident, the IFExpress team ran into Todd Hamblin (VP Business Development) at APEX and he gave us a pretty convincing reason as to why we should run a story on his company, Global Aerospace Design Corp. After a little research we thought it a good idea as well. Firstly and right up front, we don’t do many stories about after sale, new cabin reconfiguration projects (like IFE and connectivity), but these folks have been doing this kind of work for years now and our readers might need some help from them. With partners like Zodiac, Astronics, Thales, Avio and others, we thought we had better listen to their story.

From a description point of view, Global Aerospace is an engineering services organization that provides aircraft integration and certification services to airlines, maintenance repair organizations, and aviation equipment manufacturers. A complete list of services relating to certification and installation are as follows:  Consulting, Program Management, Purchasing, Installation Design, Certification Support, On-Site Installation Support, Product Support and Business Development. Further Global provides its customers the ability to install new systems into existing aircraft and return the aircraft to revenue service in the most efficient manner. If you want to look at it this way, Global takes care of the installation and certification process after your hardware is sold to an airline and you might want to contact them for background info or specification updates. “Global is comprised of ex-airline personnel who are experts at aircraft integration and certification, and have a complete understanding of how the system will be maintained once on the aircraft,” explained Mr. Hamblin. “With the benefit of having DERs, certified A&P mechanics and licensed pilots on staff, Global can truly take a program from beginning to end.”

We sought out an airline reference to back up Mr. Hamblin’s praise of their services and we got this quote from Mr. Tahawar Durrani, GM of Engineering Services at Air Nugini – “On behalf of Air Niugini Engineering Services, I would like to thank all the Global team for a job well done. They have a professional, hardworking and dedicated team with a high sense of duty, engineering acumen and spirit to work effectively in an environment with competing milestones and alternating time-lines.” Global has over 30 years of efficient FAA and EASA certification experience. If you have the job of installing and certificating IFE and Wi-Fi or need to understand the process, be sure to give Todd Hamblin a call at +1 513 304 9315 (thamblin@gadc.com) and check out this link (Icelandair Partnership and Global Data Sheet) for a bit more information about their experience and services. All the new single-aisle IFE and connectivity hardware shown at APEX is going to need install and certification assistance and these folks in Cincinnati, Ohio just may be your installation solution.

An old friend popped up at APEX, Peter McLaughlin (see this week’s IFEC Buzz). As CEO of Stellar Entertainment, Peter has an airline past at Qantas and we first met him there in the early 90’s. This fellow knows the IFE business and showed a few new products the Stellar team is flogging. One caught our eye – their Home-to-Hotel digital Newspaper & Magazine service. But there’s more and we will cover their offering in a future Hot Topic. By the way, they will also be at AIX Hamburg 2014!

Last week we noted these new BOSE QuietComfort 20 headsets and here is link to the official image and the press release/spec.

 

Sydney, Australia | July 10, 2013– Stellar Entertainment Chairman Rob Lynch has announced the appointment of Peter McLaughlin to the position of CEO/Managing Director, effective immediately.
In making the announcement Mr. Lynch said, “I am delighted that
Peter has agreed to accept the position. He is an exceptional
Executive who knows how to expand the reach of the Stellar
Entertainment’s products and services. As CEO and Managing Director, Peter will further advance our position in the industry and accelerate innovation; he is the right person to lead Stellar Entertainment into a new era. Peter has vast experience in both the aviation industry and associated entertainment demands with a background of over 30 years with Qantas, where his Senior Executive roles covered Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Product Development, and Regional Management. Furthermore, he has served on the Board of Directors of Stellar Entertainment since March 2012.”

Mr. McLaughlin said, “It is with great pride and a high sense of anticipation that I take on this role in Stellar; a company with an enviable 40 year record of delivering content to airlines and providing quality audio/visual production services, and I look forward to moving the company forward into its next 40 years.”

For more information, please contact rob.lynch@stellargroup.com or peter.mclaughlin@stellargroup.com

Sydney, Australia | February 8, 2013– Stellar Entertainment has again proven its technical leadership by working closely with its customers to launch wireless streaming of on demand video and audio content on their aircraft.

Chief Operating Officer Michael Reilly said: ‘We love having customers un-afraid to embrace new technology quickly. Just as we blazed new trails a couple of years ago being so closely involved with the launch of both iOS and Android tablets as IFE platforms, we’re doing the same with wireless streaming’.

Said Reilly: ‘We have two airline customers flying with two different streaming platforms and a third customer with a third platform will be airborne by mid-year. As with any new technologies there can be traps for young players but it ‘s pleasing to see our digital wizards mastering the requirements and even better to fly on our customers aircraft and observe their passengers embracing the systems too.’

‘We’d encourage any airline considering a streaming solution to talk to us. As a platform agnostic provider of content and technical services, we can help!’

Stellar Entertainment is a leading provider of entertainment content and technical services. Established in 1974, the company has five offices and technical facilities globally, and also jointly owns Sky Victory Technology in China.

The company specialises in:

– Content Creation, Programming/Licensing for Film, TV, Music, Games, e-Books/Magazines and more
– Video Production, Post Production, Motion Graphics & Branding, including a green screen filming facility.
– Standalone, full studio production services in our state-of-the-art studios
– Complete IFE Technology Management & Delivery – Compilation, Editing, Encoding and Duplication
– Complete IFE Digital Content Management – Metadata, QC, Integration & Rack Testing
– Print & Digital Design and Production
– IFE Technology Consultancy – iPad, Wireless Streaming and more

Sydney, Australia | November 30, 2012 —Stellar Entertainment is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Abul Rahman to the position of Systems Development Manager, effective December 1. A Network and infrastructure specialist, Dr. Rahman brings with him a plethora of knowledge and experience. With a Ph.D in Computer Networks, Dr. Rahman has expertise in Networking and CISCO, Network management and monitoring, network security and system administration. He also brings with him complex web programming experience.

Dr. Rahman is highly practiced in both the practical and theoretical aspects of networks and infrastructure, with an impressive working history that includes lecturing at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Stellar Chief Operating Office Michael Reilly says: “‘Abul’s appointment is perfect timing for us. Having just embarked on a re-brand to better reflect our range of services and customers across varied industries – and with many new projects lined up for 2013, his talents will be of great asset to the group. He will provide solutions that will increase efficiency, capacity and ultimately help us increase our productivity through the application of leading edge technologies. Stellar has always prided itself on the investment in and application of technology to underpin business growth.”

Dr. Abul Rahman says: “As an IT professional with a diverse and significant industry and academic experience and strong problem-solving and relevant technical skills, I am confident that I would make a productive addition to Stellar technical team. I am excited by the possibility of conducting leading edge technology research and deployment with Stellar. ”

Stellar Entertainment is a leading provider of entertainment content and technical services. Established in 1974, the company has five offices and technical facilities globally, and also jointly owns Sky Victory Technology in China.

The company specialises in:

– Content Creation, Programming/Licensing for Film, TV, Music, Games, e-Books/Magazines and more
– Video Production, Post Production, Motion Graphics & Branding, including a green screen filming facility.
– Standalone, full studio production services in our state-of-the-art studios
– Complete IFE Technology Management & Delivery – Compilation, Editing, Encoding and Duplication
– Complete IFE Digital Content Management – Metadata, QC, Integration & Rack Testing
– Print & Digital Design and Production
– IFE Technology Consultancy – iPad, Wireless Streaming and more

Kuala Lumpur | November 28, 2012– Stellar Entertainment is pleased to announce the completion of the expansion of it’s production facility based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Asia’s only truly complete IFE facility.

The new expansion will cater for more than 20 additional staff as well as expanded video dubbing facilities and digital capturing, archiving and transcoding.

Stellar Entertainment Chief Operating Officer Michael Reilly said: “We’re very pleased to be able to continue to expand our KL facility, which is a sign of not only continued business growth in general, but the rapid growth of Asia as a whole. We are pleased that our strategy of backing significant growth in Asia some 7 years ago has well and truly paid off”.

The expansion is the third since the company constructed and opened its original production facility in Malaysia in 2005.

“We opened KL in 2005 with about 12 staff and a hybrid video and audio facility of 4 studios. We originally expanded in 2010 and with our latest extension we own and occupy 3 entire floors with 7 studios dedicated to producing a huge volume of physical and digital IFE media – with 25 staff with more coming. We remain committed to investing in our people and technology to offer second-to-none service and support in the Asia Pacific”, said Reilly.

Stellar Entertainment is a leading provider of entertainment content and technical services. Established in 1974, the company has five offices and technical facilities globally, and also jointly owns Sky Victory Technology in China.

The company specialises in:

– Content Creation, Programming/Licensing for Film, TV, Music, Games, e-Books/Magazines and more
– Video Production, Post Production, Motion Graphics & Branding, including a green screen filming facility.
– Standalone, full studio production services in our state-of-the-art studios
– Complete IFE Technology Management & Delivery – Compilation, Editing, Encoding and Duplication
– Complete IFE Digital Content Management – Metadata, QC, Integration & Rack Testing
– Print & Digital Design and Production
– IFE Technology Consultancy – iPad, Wireless Streaming and more