Harmonic Solutions Support Reliable Delivery of High-Quality Video as Telekom Austria

 Harmonic announced that Telekom Austria Group has launched its new direct2home (DTH) platform on Harmonic ProStream with ACE high-density stream processers and transcoders, SMD 9200 DVBS-S2 modulators, and NMX Digital Service Manager.

 Delivering superior video quality and the flexibility to support multiple complex digital processing applications, the Harmonic solution enables the group’s entry into the field of satellite television to meet rising DTH demand as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) makes the transition to digital.

 “The Telekom Austria Group has a long tradition as a provider of satellite services, and we are active as a TV provider for both IPTV and cable services,” said Stefan Amon, head of wholesale at Telekom Austria Group. “By leveraging our existing infrastructure and expertise, along with best-of-breed processing technology from Harmonic, we are bringing convergence to a new level. Working with proven and reliable equipment that meets our high standards, we assure a high level of signal quality for our own satellite-delivered services, as well as those we enable for other broadcasters, IPTV, cable TV, and network operators.”

The DTH platform uplinks TV signals to the Eutelsat satellite on 16° East for broadcasting to CEE, as well as wider regions of Western Europe. Telekom Austria Group maintains the integrity of content distributed from the platform by relying on ProStream 9100 with ACE for dual IP input and output, advanced remultiplexing, DVB SimulCrypt scrambling of all services, and high-density SD/HD AVC transcoding. Hot swappable dual power supplies provide Telekom Austria Group with high reliability and simplified serviceability. Capable of modulating up to six transport streams on a single carrier, the SMD 9200 professional modulator improves operators bandwidth efficiency and reduces costs. Multi-stream support with Variable Coding and Modulation (VCM) ensures the SMD 9200 will be ready for future advances in S2 modulation. The NMX Digital Service Manager supplies a powerful set of tools for monitoring and managing Telekom Austria Group’s new DTH workflow.

 “In addition to supporting the Telekom Austria Group’s own expanding operations, the company’s DTH platform enables its clients to extend their own service footprints in CEE simply and cost-effectively,” said Stefan Meier, regional sales director at Harmonic. “The quality and reliability of signal processing and delivery are critical to the success of this platform. The Harmonic solution delivers excellent performance and helps to maximize uptime as Telekom Austria Group and its clients move to take advantage of new opportunities in the CEE market.”

Installation of the system was performed by Normann Engineering GmbH, a leading systems integrator and Harmonic reseller based in Austria.