Liquid Telecom Selects HEVC Headend Solution From Harmonic for Linear DTH Service in Africa

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- May 3, 2016 -- Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure, today announced that Liquid Telecom, the leading independent data, voice and IP service provider in eastern, central and southern Africa, will launch a fully managed service headend for a new direct-to-home (DTH) provider leveraging a complete headend solution from Harmonic.

Liquid Telecom is using Harmonic's ProView(TM) 8100 integrated receiver decoders (IRDs), Electra(TM) X2 advanced media processors, ProStream(R) 9100 high-density stream processors and NMX(TM) Digital Service Manager for the new headend. By providing Liquid Telecom with a highly flexible, dense and scalable HEVC video infrastructure solution for linear broadcast delivery, Harmonic will enable the service provider to maximize bandwidth efficiency, improve video quality, and address future market demands for OTT multiscreen applications.

"While our platform will launch imminently, the goal was to partner with a video infrastructure provider with demonstrated deployment experience, technology innovation and a forward-looking roadmap to support our wider ambitions to include multiscreen delivery," said Scott Mumford, group managing executive, satellite and VSAT at Liquid Telecom. "Within the marketplace there is only one company with the relevant suite of solutions, international expertise and pedigree we were looking for. Harmonic's headend solution supports the latest video compression technologies, including MPEG-4 AVC and HEVC, as well as statistical multiplexing, allowing us to deliver superior video quality at low bit rates, with the flexibility to evolve via software upgrades."

Liquid Telecom will utilize Harmonic's ProView 8100 IRDs for digital turnaround satellite reception. They will be integrated with Harmonic's market-leading Electra X2 advanced media processors for high-quality, low-bandwidth HEVC encoding of SD and HD video content. Powered by the Harmonic PURE Compression Engine(TM), the media processors support a wide range of video formats and codecs for satellite delivery, simplifying operations and future upgrades for the service provider.

Tight integration between the Electra X2 processors and Harmonic's ProStream 9100 stream processors with DiviTrackIP(TM) statmux technology will increase the efficiency and flexibility of Liquid Telecom's statistical multiplexing operations. All of the headend components will be controlled by Harmonic's NMX video network management solution.

"Harmonic is uniquely positioned to facilitate Liquid Telecom's long-term business plans, providing a complete headend solution that enables agile video delivery, access to new markets and profitable growth," said Ian Graham, vice president of sales, EMEA, at Harmonic. "This project will be the first major DTH HEVC headend for Harmonic. The use of the HEVC codec and, in particular, Electra X2 media processors will allow Liquid Telecom to make the best use of available bandwidth on its three transponders and deliver pristine video quality to customers in Africa."

Further information about Harmonic and the company's products is available at www.harmonicinc.com.

# # #

About Harmonic

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) is the worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure for emerging television and video services. Harmonic enables customers to produce, deliver and monetize amazing video experiences, with unequalled business agility and operational efficiency, by providing market-leading innovation, high-quality service and compelling total cost of ownership. More information is available at www.harmonicinc.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements related to the anticipated capabilities and benefits of Harmonic's DiviTrackIP(TM), Electra(TM) X2, NMX(TM), ProStream(R) 9100, ProView(TM) 8100, and PURE Compression Engine(TM) products. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these products may not materialize and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the possibility that the products may not meet some or all of their anticipated capabilities or provide some or all of their anticipated benefits, such as enabling access to new markets and portfolio growth, maximized bandwidth efficiency, and the delivery of improved video quality at lower bit rate, the ability to address future demands of OTT multiscreen applications.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, such as those more fully described in Harmonic's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec.31, 2015, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and its Current Reports on Form 8-K. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Harmonic as of the date hereof, and Harmonic disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. 

EDITOR'S NOTE - Product and company names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Share it on Twitter: https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Liquid%20Telecom%20Selects%20HEVC%20Headend%20Solution%20From%20Harmonic%20for%20Linear%20DTH%20Service%20in%20Africa%20-%20http://goo.gl/4yFqIZ

Photo Link: www.202comms.com/Harmonic/Harmonic-ElectraX2.jpg

Photo Caption: Harmonic Electra(TM) X2