Ukrkosmos Launches DTH Teleport Powered by Harmonic

Harmonic today announced that Ukrkosmos, the state-appointed operator of satellite telecommunications systems in Ukraine, has selected a Harmonic video compression solution to support its new teleport offering for direct-to-home (DTH) service delivery. Harmonic’s Electra™ X2 advanced media processor provides high-quality, low-bandwidth MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC variable-bitrate encoding of SD and HD video content for live DTH services, enabling Ukrkosmos to deliver more channels with superior video quality.

“Our new teleport service is unique to the marketplace, as it allows local DTH operators to use several satellites simultaneously, based on factors such as capacity and geographical location. To get the most out of the teleport’s bandwidth, we needed to partner with an expert in video compression solutions,” said Yuri Balychev, first deputy general director at Ukrkosmos. “Harmonic’s Electra X2 media processor offers bandwidth efficiency, exceptional video quality and scalability giving our customers the means to drive new revenue-generating services now and in the future.”

Due to several factors, including increased DTH delivery costs, the satellite TV industry is looking to adopt more efficient video delivery approaches, such as shared capacity via teleports. Harmonic’s Electra X2 media processor boosts video compression efficiency for Ukrkosmos operators.

Powered by the Harmonic PURE Compression Engine™, the Electra X2 media processor supports a variety of formats and codecs, including the next-generation HEVC codec, providing Ukrkosmos with a flexible and bandwidth-efficient solution. With the Electra X2 solution, Ukrkosmos can control multiple encoding and playout operations from a single interface. Reducing the number of discrete boxes in the broadcast chain reduces network complexity, resulting in an operation that is easier to set up, manage and maintain.

“Today’s operators are looking for cost-effective distribution methods for their channels without sacrificing video quality,” said Ian Graham, vice president of sales, EMEA, at Harmonic. “Harmonic has extensive experience working with DTH operators and delivers significantly improved efficiency, better video quality and simplified upgradeability over competing encoder technologies. As Ukrkosmos’ teleport grows, and its customers’ video delivery requirements change, the Electra X2 solution will scale to keep their DTH business competitive.”