PacTV Upgrades Trinity Broadcasting Transmissions to MPEG-4


LOS ANGELES: Pacific Television Center, an independent global transmission and production company, is pleased to announce that on June 1, it will complete a platform upgrade for longtime client Trinity Broadcasting. The company has enhanced the U.S.-based network’s transmissions from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 to the across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This enhanced capacity will not only improve the efficiency and quality of Trinity Broadcasting’s content as it is transmitted around the globe, but it will also allow the country’s largest Christian broadcast network to increase its footprint, reaching even more international viewers.

“PacTV and Trinity Broadcasting have a long, solid history of working together,” said Howard Fine of PacTV. “Our relationship dates back to 1999 when we originated our services for the company, providing a single MPEG-2 channel across the Pacific Ocean. Over the years our services have increased for the network, so when it came to us asking for assistance in helping it upgrade from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 we were more than happy to accommodate.”

In order to support the MPEG-4 transmissions, PacTV has added two new SES satellites to Trinity Broadcasting’s arsenal--NSS5 and NSS9. The content is uplinked on the NSS5 in Atlanta and then travels to Africa, Europe and the Middle East. There is also a second feed that comes out of Los Angeles and uplinked to NSS9. The content then travels on a global transponder that covers the entire Pacific Ocean region. This means Trinity Broadcasting’s programming will reach the entire Asia-Pacific region including Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand, Guam, Japan and China.

“The new NSS9 satellite has global beam over the entire Pacific Ocean,” Fine said. “We have successfully extended the network’s downlink coverage across the entire Pacific region.

Finally, in addition to the new satellites, PacTV has also acquired additional gear to support the MPEG-4 transmissions, including Harmonic encoders, WellAV decoders and Adtec muxes.