Latest Pace innovation makes wireless video services viable

Stand 1.B21, IBC2008, Amsterdam — Pace plc (LSE:PIC), the leading developer of digital TV technologies, is introducing its latest innovation in wireless technology at IBC – the Pace Connection Suite – a crucial step in enabling operators to launch viable wireless in-home video services to subscribers.

Pace Connection Suite (PCS) addresses a key problem operators are facing in delivering video content wirelessly – being able to maintain quality of service and real-time delivery of content that will make wireless home networking an attractive service for subscribers.

PCS is an innovative software solution, created by Pace, which monitors and adapts the wireless network in the home. PCS uses a defined set of rules to reconfigure and modify content on a network, and then intelligently manage the available bandwidth to ensure a good quality of service to the end-consumer.

Darren Fawcett, Chief Technologist – Wireless Systems, at Pace plc commented: “The demand from operators and consumers alike for home networking solutions is becoming very real. Operators are assessing the best commercial options to enable this. We expect wireless to be at the forefront of delivery of content via a home network.

“The technology to move content wirelessly around the home has been around for some time, but the issue has always been about delivering real time video in a robust manner that eliminates disturbing artefacts from the end picture.

“Pace Connection Suite solves this problem by intelligently managing the requirements on the network through the use of transcoding and transrating to ensure the end picture appears smooth and without errors.”

Pace will be demonstrating this technology at IBC using an advanced media server set-top box connected to two video clients and a PC using advanced WiFi and WiMAX technology. Innovative technology from ViXS Systems Inc., the leading developer of video processing solutions, will be used to match, repurpose and repackage the content once Pace Connection Suite has monitored and recommended the required actions. The demonstration will mimic how reducing the bandwidth available affects the data stream, and how the Pace software responds to combat this effect.

The demonstration makes use of advanced error concealment technology to improve viewing quality by discretely masking errors is the source content, such as corrupted packets or a drop in packet information.