Satellite Operator 'yes' Debuts Over-the-Top On-Demand Service Powered by Harmonic

Friday, September 10th, 2010
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Innovative Operator Delivers VOD Via Internet Connection to Existing Subscriber Installed Base; Upgrades Broadcast HD/SD Video Service With Harmonic’s Encoders

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands — IBC 2010 STAND #1.C61 — Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that ‘yes’ DBS Satellite Services has deployed Harmonic’s MediaPrism™ converged video suite as part of its recently launched video on demand (VOD) service, delivered to subscribers over-the-top (OTT) via a broadband Internet connection to the set-top box. ‘yes’, the leading direct-to-home (DTH) broadcaster in Israel and one of the world’s most innovative and technologically advanced satellite operators, also recently upgraded its headend using Harmonic’s market-leading SD and HD Electra® encoding and multiplexing solutions.

‘yes’ regards VOD as a must-have application for the company to compete in an increasingly on-demand world, and as an important source of new revenues. The new solution enables ‘yes’ to overcome the challenges associated with a one-way broadcast satellite network and easily make VOD services available to more than 576,000 subscribers.

“Offering VOD over-the-top makes sense for DTH providers, but ‘yes’ was concerned about the bandwidth and video quality limitations that are often associated with streaming video over broadband,” said Itzhak Elyakim, ‘yes’ VP of engineering and CTO. “We are thrilled with the excellent video quality provided by the Harmonic Electra encoders and the progressive video download and caching capabilities of the MediaPrism solution. The seamless integration of the new Harmonic VOD platform with our existing EPG, billing and customer service interfaces made it possible for us to launch an easy-to-use Internet VOD service to our subscribers.”

Harmonic’s MediaPrism solution for converged multi-screen video delivery is the industry’s most comprehensive suite of tools for real-time and offline content ingest, transformation, distribution and delivery. At ‘yes’ capture and ingest functions are provided by elements of the MediaPrism suite, including CLEARcut™ offline content preparation and Carbon Coder™ transcoding technology, while the StreamLiner® video servers are used to stream video assets.

StreamLiner supports the latest streaming formats and addresses bandwidth limitations by enabling progressive download of high quality SD and HD video, which is cached by a hybrid IP set-top box. ‘yes’ viewers can switch seamlessly between VOD and broadcast channels, with VOD program selection and billing handled by the existing ‘yes’ infrastructure. Harmonic’s NMX Digital Service Manager™ manages and controls the video delivery network.

“As a long-term solution provider to ‘yes,’ Harmonic understands the company’s evolving needs and is committed to delivering innovative solutions that enable ‘yes’ to offer its subscribers cutting edge services and a comprehensive, compelling customer experience,” said Nimrod Ben-Natan, Vice President of Product Marketing, Solutions and Strategy for Harmonic Inc. “We are proud that Harmonic solutions have contributed to the company’s reputation as a sophisticated, forward-looking provider of advanced services.”