SES Americom, a subsidiary of SES Global, says that it has integrated Harmonic's latest video encryption technology, the Harmonic ProStream 1000 with ProCipher AES scrambling and bulk descrambling technology, with its IP-PRIME IPTV distribution service (note: according to SES Americom, advanced trials of IP-PRIME by indie telcos are already underway in three cities). The companies plan to demo their integrated solution at the TelcoTV show this week in Dallas. IP-PRIME is billed by SES Americom as enabling telcos and other broadband service operators in the US to deliver a full line-up of high-quality programming securely and cost-effectively. According to the company, it offers a fully managed solution that includes over 200 channels--secured by Harmonic's ProCipher encryption technology--and that is delivered from SES Americom's IPTV Broadcast Center in Vernon Valley, New Jersey, and then transported to the headend at telcos' central offices. It also features a "drop-off" solution, allowing telcos to take over the programming signal once it arrives at their video headends. "SES Americom's IP-PRIME service with the ProStream encryption is the world's first implementation of this unique encryption technology within a single 1-RU system," Nimrod Ben-Natan, Harmonic's VP of solutions and strategy, said in a prepared statement. "SES Americom has played an important role in helping Harmonic to define the requirements for the AES bulk decryption technology implemented in this project. At Harmonic, we are committed to working closely with our customers to develop and deploy creative and technically advanced solutions that meet their business and technology needs. In this case, the unique ProStream solution with ProCipher AES encryption not only reduces cost and complexity in the IP-PRIME network, it also streamlines the encryption and delivery of aggregated video services." According to Harmonic, its IP-based ProCipher technology provides a high-performance AES encryption solution, capable of supporting bulk descrambling of up to 128 services in a single rack-unit. The company claims that its ProStream 1000 can be easily scaled and configured to provide a wide range of digital video stream processing functions--including multiplexing, scrambling, bulk descrambling, re-encoding and SFN over IP--within an integrated system.
In other IP-PRIME news:
- SES Americom has signed a multi-year agreement with Cambridge, UK-based IP set-top box vendor, Amino, that will see the latter's set-tops being used (alongside other set-tops whose selection has yet to be announced) as a component of the IP-PRIME solution. The deal calls for Amino to provide SES Americom with its MPEG-2/4 AVC/H.264-capable, standard- and high-definition AmiNET130 set-top. "Amino IPTV set top boxes are proven and tested around the world and provide a powerful choice for service providers tapping the open, turnkey IP-PRIME content distribution platform to effectively and affordably offer a compelling lineup of world-class television," SES Americom CTO, Alan Young, said in a prepared statement. "The Amino devices are the first of several set top boxes to be selected for IP-PRIME, which is a truly open delivery solution designed to eliminate barriers to entry and drive competition in the world of IP television." According to Amino, the AmiNET130, which was launched at the NAB show in April, is pre-integrated with technologies from major providers of middleware, content security, encoder and browser solutions.
- SES Americom has also integrated International Datacasting Corporation's (IDC) DVB-S2 satellite receivers with IP-PRIME, as part of a new deal that designates IDC as the exclusive provider of satellite receivers for the initial year of IP-PRIME service roll-outs. According to SES Americom, the IDC receivers incorporate state-of-the-art DVB-S2 technologies to maximize IPTV delivery over satellite bandwidth. The receivers will be installed at IP-PRIME hubs, where programming is either handed off to telcos or delivered all the way to IPTV set-top boxes in consumer homes. SES Americom is also using IDC IP encapsulators and custom engineering and network management in support of IP-PRIME.
Originally Published: November 6, 2006 in [itvt] Issue 7.03 Part 2
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