CANALSAT Expands Video over DSL Service with Harmonic's MPEG-4 High Definition and Standard Definition Encoders

IP-Based DiviCom® Electra® Systems Provide Unparalleled Compression Efficiency and Superior Picture Quality

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that CANALSAT, part of the CANAL+ Group and a fully-owned subsidiary of Vivendi (Paris: VIV), has expanded its ADSL video service with MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) based digital video solutions from Harmonic. The DiviCom® Electra® 7000 high definition (HD) and Electra 5400 standard definition (SD) high density encoders enable CANALSAT–the leading digital pay-TV operator in France with more than 10.5 million subscriptions–to provide viewers with superior quality video at ultra-low bit-rates. Using the Harmonic solution, CANALSAT can enhance its service portfolio to meet increasing demand for HD programming, expand the SD channel lineup and increase the number of households that have access to its ADSL video service.

The CANAL+ Group distributes more than 300 television channels to viewers in France via multiple platforms, including digital terrestrial television, direct-to-home satellite, ADSL and mobile phone subscription services. CANALSAT is one of the world’s largest aggregated DSL service providers, delivering programming to consumers through several major telecommunications operators’ networks.

“Harmonic continues to demonstrate its leadership in providing reliable and high performance compression solutions for both standard and high definition programming,” said Christophe Hennequin, Technical Director of CANALSAT. “The ability to deliver a technically superior H.264 solution is critical as we introduce new revenue-generating services such as HD to our subscribers. Harmonic’s new IP-based Electra H.264 encoders meet our needs for provisioning the highest quality video and give CANALSAT the compression efficiency improvements that allow us to support more services to the home.”

“Maximizing bandwidth utilization has become a top priority for telco video service providers worldwide as demand for HD, video-on-demand and higher-speed Internet access continues to grow,” said Thierry Fautier, Director of Telco Solutions for Harmonic Inc. “The deployment of Harmonic’s highly flexible Electra 7000 HD and 5400 SD H.264 encoders gives CANALSAT the ability to significantly decrease bit-rates in comparison with MPEG-2 while enhancing the viewing experience. The multi-channel and multi-service capabilities of the latest generation Electra H.264 multi-service encoders greatly simplify operations, reduce costs and help enable a profitable video over DSL business model.”