Futhura Plus TV Transmitter Wins TV Technology’s STAR Award
PARIS — Oct. 2, 2011 — Thomson Broadcast’s new high-efficiency Futhura Plus television transmitter added to its award-winning debut at IBC2011 by picking up a STAR award from the editorial staff of TV Technology Europe magazine.
The Superior Technology Award Recipient (STAR) award is designed to celebrate and showcase the preeminent technological innovations available to the broadcast industry. Twenty-five STAR awards are given each year to new products that help users save money or accomplish a task more easily. The products selected help advance the industry through technical novelty or innovation, or by filling an important gap in the production or transmission chain.
The Futhura Plus transmitter incorporates several advanced technologies to deliver substantial energy savings of up to a 50-percent improvement in efficiency over current standard transmitters on the market. Thomson’s innovative drain modulation technology plays a large part in making the Futhura Plus the most environmentally friendly transmitter on the market, and an important contribution to lower energy consumption in the broadcast industry. The transmitter’s greatly reduced power requirements offer operational cost savings that can have a considerable impact on the performance of a broadcast business, substantially outstripping the return on investment of any transmitter on the market today. Thomson’s fully automatic realtime Digital Adaptive Pre-correction (DAP) technology corrects linear and non-linear distortions, while low operating junction transistor temperatures contribute to exceptional and extended durability.
“The Futhura Plus is the state of the art in green transmitter technology — a clear leader in the market, both in performance and in reducing a broadcaster’s carbon footprint,” said Nicolas Dallery, president of Thomson Broadcast. “This award adds to a highly successful product launch at IBC for the Futhura Plus. The R&D effort that went into its development is part of Thomson’s continuous drive to bring greater efficiency and performance to the industry, which will result in further launches of class-leading products in the near future.”
For use in initial deployments or for extending existing digital networks, the UHF wideband Futhura Plus offers high-power capability suitable for HDTV and 3D services, with up to 35-percent transmitter efficiency and market-leading power density of up to 12.6 kW OFDM. Equipped for all OFDM standards in the UHF frequency band, the Futhura Plus features Thomson’s latest software enhancements for the exciters.
The Futhura Plus was also the recipient of a Pick Hit award from Broadcast Engineering at IBC2011.
About TV Technology Europe
TV Technology Europe is the region’s leading magazine for broadcast technology. The magazine is published by NewBay Media. See www.nbmedia.com
About Thomson Broadcast
Since the earliest years of broadcasting, the Thomson name has been synonymous with expertise and innovation at the highest level. A trusted partner to the world’s leading broadcasters, Thomson has pioneered many developments that have shaped the industry, leading innovation in solid-state technology, Digital Adaptive Pre-correction (DAP), Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), and Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB); winning multiple Emmy® Awards; and gaining more than 50 patents in technologies that have become fundamental to broadcasting. Thomson Broadcast is building on this great heritage with a market-leading portfolio of transmission products for terrestrial television, radio broadcasting, and state-of-the-art products for scientific applications, combined with world-class systems integration services. With more than 50,000 active Thomson transmission systems deployed worldwide and a global support presence, Thomson Broadcast continues to forge technologies for the future, with initiatives such as the innovative GreenPower and broadcast/mobile convergence programs. In addition to broadcasting, Thomson’s list of projects in the field of special applications dates back to 1981 and includes installations on five continents managed by private and public organizations operating in the areas of scientific research, medical, or industrial applications.
Information about products from Thomson Broadcast is available at www.thomson-broadcast.com.
