6,000 TV Channels Deployed Worldwide With Thomson Video Networks ViBE EM SD Encoders
RENNES, France — Sept. 10, 2011 — Thomson Video Networks today announced a milestone achievement, with the total number of television channels using Thomson’s ViBE EM SD encoders surpassing 6,000. Quickly established as a reference for high quality and efficiency, the ViBE EM1000 and ViBE EM2000 have consistently been the best-selling standard definition encoders since their launch in 2009.
Real-time encoders supporting both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (H.264), Thomson Video Networks’ ViBE EM1000 and ViBE EM2000 are powered by the custom-designed Thomson Mustang compression engine, and deliver benchmark encoding efficiency for broadcasters worldwide transmitting signals over their satellite, terrestrial, cable, and IP networks.
In the first half of 2011, the ViBE EM1000 and ViBE EM2000 were widely used in Europe for the deployment of digital terrestrial television (DTT) networks in Sweden, France, Spain, and Russia. Combined with the Thomson Video Networks NetProcessor, the ViBE encoders offer compelling benefits for DTT broadcasters seeking optimization of their terrestrial bandwidth together with specific features for content regionalization.
In Africa and the Middle East, direct-to-home (DTH) satellite operators including Noorsat in Bahrein and Multichoice in South Africa are operating the ViBE EM SD encoders.
Latin America’s two major satellite operators rely on the ViBE EM1000 and ViBE EM2000 for delivering their SD TV programs, and more than 50 transponders are currently on air. The Thomson ViBE EM1000 and ViBE EM2000 encoders are also widely deployed in the IPTV and cable TV domains in this region.
In Asia, ViBE EM1000 and ViBE EM2000 encoders are deployed in all broadcast TV applications including contribution. Thomson’s encoders deliver TV channels to millions of viewers for a roster of customers including Independent TV in Bangladesh, Television Broadcasts Ltd. (TVB) in Hong Kong, Fujian Southeast Cable in China, and Reliance in India.
When configured for delivering MPEG-2 content, the ViBE EM1000 and ViBE EM2000 achieve a bit rate savings of at least 15 percent. Satellite and terrestrial broadcasters can use this gain to pack more channels into the same spectrum or to improve the picture quality of SD content. For MPEG-4 encoding, the ViBE range’s full implementation of all the encoding tools offered by the standard delivers encoding of SD content at outstanding quality, at rates of less than one Mbps.
“With the performance of the ViBE EM1000 and ViBE EM2000 encoders, broadcasters can free up the space to carry more HD channels. When they combine these encoders in statistical multiplexer pools with ViBE EM3000 HD encoders, they get the most efficient solution on the market,” said Christophe Delahousse, president of Thomson Video Networks.
The Thomson Video Networks ViBE video compression family has been defining the standard for delivering premium video quality across all formats to all networks for the last 15 years. The ViBE range offers the widest array of compression products in the market for applications from Web and mobile TV to large 3D high-definition screens, covering MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and JPEG 2000 compression formats.
Available in single- and multi-channel versions, the ViBE EM1000 and ViBE EM2000 are comprehensively specified with a large number of features that reduce the need for additional equipment, simplifying system architectures for broadcasters wherever they are deployed.
About Thomson Video Networks
From the very onset of digital TV broadcasting, the Thomson name has been synonymous with supplying expertise, quality, and reliability to the world’s leading broadcasters. Thomson Video Networks builds on this great heritage by providing unique and innovative video delivery solutions for a premium viewing experience. Since Thomson Video Networks delivered the world’s first large-scale direct-to-home satellite system, the company has maintained the same philosophy: to provide the best possible picture quality across any network, to any device. As a worldwide leader in compression systems for satellite, terrestrial, cable, IPTV, mobile TV, and Web streaming, Thomson Video Networks is helping its customers deliver superior quality video to anything from small handheld devices to large 3D HD screens, with the lowest bandwidth to ensure a profitable business model. A trusted supplier with more than 20 percent of the active channels deployed worldwide, a global support presence, and culture of delivering quality at every stage, Thomson Video Networks boasts the experience and range of products to supply every need, from hybrid multiformat compression systems to contribution links for content exchange networks.
For information about products from Thomson Video Networks, please visit www.thomson-networks.com.
Agency Contact:
Marguerite Clark
Wall Street Communications
Tel: +33 1 45 25 36 91
Email: marguerite@wallstcom.com
Thomson Video Networks Contact:
Crystèle Trevisan
Corporate Communications Director
Tel: +33 2 99 27 38 93
Email: crystele.trevisan@thomson-networks.com
