February 18, 2016

NEC Corporation announced today that its subsidiary, CJSC NEC Neva Communications Systems (NEC Neva), with CJSC Gazprom Space Systems has carried out successful tests on the transfer of television signals in the 4K high resolution format via satellite "Yamal-401". As a result of the test, the companies confirmed it is possible to broadcast in 4K Ultra-High Definition (UHD) format through Gazprom Space Systems’ Yamal satellite network, using NEC’s solution for encoding and transfer of the 4K UHD video signal.

During the tests, the TV signal was encoded by NEC’s VC-8150 encoder, broadcast via the satellite of Gazprom Space Systems, and decoded by NEC’s VD-8100 decoder with a time lag of no more than three seconds. To compress the digital video signal, NEC used the high efficiency video coding (HEVC) standard, which doubled the efficiency of data compression in comparison with MPEG-4 technology, and increased the image quality by a factor of four in comparison with the HD high definition television format. 

Akihiro Sakurai, Managing Director of CJSC NEC Neva Communications Systems, noted the readiness of NEC to expand cooperation with Russian partners in the field of digital television. He said, "NEC has for the first time tested video signal transfer in the 4K UHD format in Russia. It was a useful experience, and we hope that it will open new prospects and opportunities in the field of digital television with our long-term partner, Gazprom Space Systems.”

Alexander Illiasov, First Deputy Chief Engineer at Gazprom Space Systems, said, “Our cooperation with NEC Corporation began in the 1990s, starting with the supply of equipment for digital TV signal compression. We aim to apply the most modern technologies in our satellite broadcasting network, and are always ready to expand services in response to users’ demand. Joint tests with NEC of the 4K UHD standard has confirmed the readiness of the Yamal satellite network for introducing new services. We hope that the ultrahigh resolution and unsurpassed image quality will appeal to our TV viewers, in particular to sports fans."