Satellite : DIRECTV Continues High Definition Channel Expansion

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DIRECTV Continues High Definition Channel Expansion With Harmonic's DiviCom(R) Electra(R) 7000 Encoders
Last update: 3:30 a.m. EDT Sept. 15, 2008

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Sep 15, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Harmonic Inc. (HLIT:
Harmonic Lightwaves Inc

4:00pm 09/15/2008

the world's largest direct-to-home (DTH) satellite operator with more than 17.1 million customers, has expanded its deployment of Harmonic's market-leading MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video processing solutions to support its high definition (HD) national channel service. DIRECTV is now delivering more than 130 HD channels to its customers.
Harmonic's DiviCom(R) Electra(R) 7000 HD H.264 encoders and ProStream(TM) 1000 stream processing platform with DiviTrackIP(TM) statistical multiplexing solution power DIRECTV's continued HD expansion.
"DIRECTV delivers ultra-high quality HD via the most advanced technology available," said Hanno Basse, Vice President, Broadcast Systems Engineering, DIRECTV. "The technical merits of Harmonic's Electra 7000 encoders and IP-based video processing technologies are outstanding and continue to help us deliver a superior HD experience to our customers."
"Consumer demand for more, higher quality HD continues to grow, and DIRECTV continues to enhance its HD offering to meet these requirements," said Matt Aden, Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Service, Harmonic Inc. "The Electra 7000 delivers unmatched video quality, density and flexibility, reflecting the unique strength of our HD H.264 compression platform. We also remain focused on the pioneering use of a broad range of IP-based video processing technologies, enabling operators such as DIRECTV to enhance the capabilities of their network and add new services."
Electra 7000 encoders today power more than 1,800 HD H.264 channels worldwide. The Electra 7000 supports multiple HD formats including 1080p video at 24 frames per second (fps). The compact and power-efficient one rack-unit (1RU) platform flexibly delivers up to four full resolution HD channels alongside four simultaneous low resolution outputs for picture-in-picture (PiP), multi-channel mosaics and other applications.