Foxtel Links London to Australia With Thomson Video Networks

RENNES, France -- Nov. 15, 2012 -- Thomson Video Networks announced today that Australian pay-TV operator Foxtel relied on the company's technology to send HD video from London to Sydney for Foxtel's coverage of the London Games. In London, Foxtel used Thomson ViBE(TM) EM3000 HD encoders and NetProcessor 9030 multiplexers to prepare eight HD channels of live content for transmission to Australia via an IP link. 

Foxtel in Sydney operates one of the largest Thomson Video Networks platforms in the Asia-Pacific region, incorporating several generations of encoders, multiplexers, and video servers. For the London Games, both the Sydney head-end and the installation at the broadcast center in London were integrated with Foxtel's Thomson XMS(TM) Management System, giving the broadcaster a complete and integrated solution for monitoring and controlling the contribution feeds from city to city. Thomson Video Networks' technical staff in Australia, London, and France worked closely with Foxtel to implement this highly efficient HD solution.

"Getting it all together for an event of this scale requires really good teamwork and a great understanding between the collaborating partners," said Brett Paton, head of product solutions design for Foxtel. "With Thomson Video Networks, we knew we could deliver the best-possible quality for our coverage with a fully integrated system at both ends."

Thomson's ViBE EM3000 HD MPEG-2/MPEG-4 AVC encoder sets the benchmark for HD encoding for satellite and terrestrial broadcast, high-end IPTV operations, and other content aggregation applications. The EM3000 combines compression efficiency and advanced preprocessing to deliver clearer pictures with increased depth and clarity, broadcasting high-quality HD content even at low bit rates. The ViBE EM3000 also helps to simplify head-end infrastructure with features such as Dolby(R) E decoding, Dolby Digital plus, and Dolby Pulse surround sound.

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About Thomson Video Networks

From the very onset of digital TV broadcasting, the Thomson name has been synonymous with supplying expertise, quality, and reliability to the world's leading broadcasters. Since delivering the world's first large-scale direct-to-home satellite system, Thomson Video Networks has been a global leader in compression systems for satellite, terrestrial, cable, IPTV, mobile TV, and Web streaming. The company helps its customers deliver superior quality video to anything from small handheld devices to large 3D HD screens, with the lowest bandwidth to ensure a profitable business model. A trusted supplier to more than 20 percent of the active channels deployed worldwide, with a global support presence and a reputation for delivering quality at every stage, Thomson Video Networks offers the experience and range of products to meet every need, from hybrid multi-format compression systems to contribution links for content exchange networks.

Information about products from Thomson Video Networks is available at www.thomson-networks.com. 

Photo Link: www.wallstcom.com/ThomsonVN/ViBEEM3000MPEGHDEncoder.zip 

Photo Caption: Thomson Video Networks ViBE(TM) EM3000 MPEG HD Encoder