SES Launches IPTV Broadcasting

SES Americom Inc. launched its “IP Prime” high-end video service, designed to deliver content to telcos running Internet-protocol-TV systems

The centralized satellite-delivery platform will bring together standard-definition and HD programming and originate from SES’ IPTV broadcast center in Vernon Valley, N.J. That center will process video and audio and send it via satellite and fiber to telco video hubs.

Scientific-Atlanta Inc. will supply the MPEG-4 (Moving Picture Expert Group) encoding system, supplying more than 100 encoders, SES said. The company will also use S-A’s “ROSA” network-management system.

Globecomm Systems Inc. is providing overall design and integration help, as well as components in the IPTV-broadcast-distribution center.

SES said the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative signed a preliminary agreement to initiate trials early next year.

“SES Americom’s IP Prime represents a significant advancement in the efficient DSL [digital-subscriber-line] delivery of high-end video services to the home,” said Bryan McGuirk, president of North American media solutions for SES. He added that telcos would lower costs by using satellite, versus fiber, for content delivery.

SES is offering to provide telcos with conditional access and middleware all the way to the set-top.