RENNES, France — Sept. 11, 2010 — South African pay-television operator MultiChoice has become the first broadcaster to install Thomson Video Networks’ (formerly the digital headend division of Grass Valley) new ViBE EM2000 dual-channel SD encoders, as part of an infrastructure expansion for its Johannesburg headend facilities broadcasting to sub-Saharan Africa. The recently introduced ViBE EM2000 allows MultiChoice to achieve high-density expansion of its headend capability, with the potential for easy, modular growth to meet increasing demand for services.
The ViBE EM2000 encoders are deployed by MultiChoice within the framework of a 14+2 redundant IP architecture designed to support multiple transponders with output from Thomson NetProcessor multiplexers. Future growth of capacity will require only the addition of extra encoders.
“It was vital for MultiChoice to provide the highest quality video at the lowest possible bit rate, while building a physically dense infrastructure at the headend to meet space constraints,” said Gerdus van Eeden, chief technology officer at MultiChoice. “With the Thomson ViBE EM2000 dual-channel encoders and the NetProcessor with its multiple output capability, we have been doing this, laying a good foundation for quick and cost-effective future expansion when required.”
The ViBE SD MPEG-2/MPEG-4 AVC encoder establishes a new benchmark for SD encoding and is perfect for satellite and terrestrial broadcast applications and high-end IPTV operations, ensuring the best viewing experience on all devices over any network.
Combining compression efficiency features, including the complete MPEG-4 AVC toolset, and advanced preprocessing, it delivers clearer pictures with increased depth and clarity. The ViBE EM1000 and ViBE EM2000 MPEG SD encoders include a Mustang Compression engine, offering premium compression and true multipass encoding. Together they deliver MPEG-4 AVC compression at more than 50-percent efficiency compared to existing MPEG-2 systems.
This encoder line can be configured as single-channel or multi-channel units, where the latter offers the advantage of both a reduced footprint and lower power consumption per channel. Each channel can be independently configured for MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 encoding, extending the possibilities for hybrid applications. Both encoders tap the Dolby® Digital and AAC audio compression formats and support up to eight stereo pairs of audio.
“This first installation of the dual-channel ViBE EM2000 was completed against a very tight schedule, and in the context of on-air service,” said Christophe Delahousse, president, Thomson Video Networks. “The high efficiency of the ViBE encoders has enabled MultiChoice to create the platform for continuing success in the region.”
