Advanced ACT-L3™ Codec Offers High-Quality Pictures at Very Low Bit Rates and Replaces Costly Satellite Backhaul System
SEATTLE -- July 17, 2007 -- Streambox, Inc. today announced that Maharishi Open University (MOU) is using Streambox® SBT3-5100 video transport systems to deliver the Maharishi Channel to viewers across the globe. The Streambox solution provides a cost-effective platform for delivery of both live and recorded educational series, press conferences, and global celebrations by founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi over T1/E1 backhaul lines.
"Our goal, reflected through the continuous programming on the Maharishi Channel, is to share the benefits of The Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) program," said Steve Glickman, director of engineering for MOU. "We distribute this message via satellite to viewers in countries all over the world, and the Streambox video transport system has enabled us to replace all of our expensive satellite backhauls with transport over more affordable T1/E1 circuits. The quality of the pictures delivered by the ACT-L3™ codec is impressive and moving forward we've committed to building out our distribution network on Streambox technology."
The Streambox® SBT3-5100 video transport system is a true 24/7 plug-and-connect, real-time solution that delivers stunning full-motion, full-frame interlaced broadcast video and audio over satellite and IP-based networks. Based on the Streambox® ACT-L3™ technology, the SBT3-5100 system provides unrivaled video compression and quality at low data rates. The efficiency of the Streambox compression enables MOU to use just one T1 line to deliver programming and features, such as advanced forward error correction and burst error protection ensure error free signal delivery to satellite uplink sites.
MOU installed its first SBT3-5100 system at the beginning of 2007 and brought a second system online in April. The 1.5 Mbps backhaul line facilitates video delivery to U..S. viewers by the Galaxy 25 satellite and to viewers in Europe on Hotbird via GlobeCast. A third link on an E1 line is being established to help expand the global footprint of MOU programming. With flexible streaming rates, the Streambox system will also support MOU's planned upgrade to a higher bit rate for both the backhaul lines and the satellite distribution. This change will provide viewers with an even higher quality picture.
"We are pleased to provide the Maharishi Channel with a highly reliable and efficient IP- based video transport solution," said Bob Hildeman, chairman and CEO of Streambox. "In addition to providing high-quality video at low bandwidth, our systems guarantee maximum flexibility over T1/E1 networks."
More information about the SBT3-5100 system and other Streambox solutions is available online at www.streambox.com.
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About Maharishi Open University
Established in 1998 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi Open University (MOU) offers distance education globally via the Internet and in many areas also by satellite. MOU courses are for people from all walks of life, cultures, races, religions, and educational backgrounds. The first, historic Total Knowledge course was broadcast globally in 1998 by satellite to 15,000 people in 96 countries in Arabic, Cantonese, Croatian, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, and Turkish. More information is available at www.mou.org.
About Streambox, Inc.
Streambox manufactures a complete line of video transport and news gathering solutions used by broadcasters, government agencies, and enterprises worldwide. The company provides best-of-class encoding, decoding, and transmission over IP and satellite networks for all real-time and store and forward applications.
Streambox® ACT-L3™ video transport solutions have been specifically developed to meet the performance, compression, and quality requirements of a diverse range of customers. The robust family of ACT-L3™ solutions provides unrivaled video quality at low data rates. Streambox's innovative error correction and bandwidth shaping technologies enable users to manage, control, and mitigate packet loss and correct irregularities inherent in video delivery over satellite and IP/T1/E1 networks. Learn more at www.streambox.com.
