IP video delivery specialist, SkyStream, says that it has been awarded a contract to provide 106 channels of MPEG-4 AVC video headends to Shanghai-based IPTV operator, SiTV. The latter launched its IPTV service last week, and says that it will initially serve 10,000 Shanghai homes by the end of the year, and that it will eventually be expanded to serve the greater Shanghai area. According to SkyStream, the integrator for the SiTV service, Shanghai Daning, chose its Mediaplex headend after nearly two years of evaluation and lab trials of video headends from multiple international suppliers. The Mediaplex headend will encode and transcode MPEG-2 content into MPEG-4 AVC for delivery over the new China Telecom ADSL-based IPTV network: SkyStream recently announced that it had integrated MPEG-4 transcoding functionality into its video headends (see [itvt] Issue 6.27 Part 1), and the SiTV deployment represents the first deployment of an AVC transcoder in China, the company claims.
SiTV's operations will be managed by Shanghai Daning, and its content and services will be provided by Shanghai Media Group. The service will offer 99 channels of linear TV, 10,000 hours of VOD content, and nPVR services over a fiber network supplied by China Telecom. VOD content will be charged as premium content and the nPVR service will carry an extra fee per set-top box, as well as a monthly service charge. SiTV's content will consist largely of Chinese-originated programming, including sports coverage, movies, opera, soaps and talk shows, but will also include English-language educational content. The service will be delivered on an MPEG-2 and MPEG-4/ASP/H.264/AVC-compatible set-top, which will be provided by SiTV. Unlike other Chinese IPTV providers, SiTV will not offer triple-play services: China Telecom will provide separate voice and data services to SiTV subscribers. According to SkyStream, SiTV will also shortly offer HDTV using SkyStream technologies: "Shanghai Daning's SiTV project allows end-users to experience real IPTV, instead of Internet TV, not only in terms of quality-of-service, but also in ultra-DVD picture quality," Dr. Joe Cao, SkyStream's general manager for China, said in a prepared statement. "We will continue to support Shanghai Daning with technology that will allow it to introduce MPEG-4 high-definition TV by the end of the year."
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