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Korea's C&M Utilizes Harmonic's Technology to Power First High Definition H.264 Cable Service in Asia
SUNNYVALE, Calif.-(Business Wire)-January 29, 2008 - Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) today announced that C&M Co., Ltd., a leading cable TV operator in Korea with more than two million subscribers, has deployed Harmonic's DiviCom(R) Electra(TM) 7000 encoder for Asia's first live high definition (HD) MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video service in a cable environment. Introduced in September 2006, the industry-leading Electra 7000 has been selected by top tier satellite, telco and cable operators in North America, Europe and Asia to provide the highest quality, ultra-low bit-rate compression for more than 1,500 HD H.264 channels.
The increasing availability of HD content, affordable HDTV sets and set-top boxes is strengthening consumer demand for HD services in Korea, as in many countries around the world. This trend, combined with intensifying competition from satellite direct-to-home providers and the expansion of video-over-DSL services, necessitates the addition of more HD programming by cable operators such as C&M.
"We wanted to implement the best and most advanced technology available for our new MPEG-4 HD service," said Jin W. Ko, CTO of C&M. "Harmonic has an outstanding reputation and track record in the industry. The Electra 7000 is a superior compression solution that enables the delivery of a higher quality HD service to our customers while significantly reducing our bandwidth requirements."
"C&M is a leading edge cable operator, deploying the latest compression technology to build a future-ready service today," said Raymond Tse, Vice President of Asia-Pacific Sales for Harmonic Inc. "This implementation represents one of the world's first deployments of H.264 encoding in a cable environment, and C&M's selection of the Electra 7000 for this new service highlights the strength, versatility and performance of the platform. At Harmonic, we are focused on delivering innovative solutions that enable operators to enhance their service offering and provide the consumer with a more compelling viewing experience."
Harmonic offers a comprehensive portfolio of video delivery solutions for cable operators that includes compression and stream processing, universal edgeQAM technology, on-demand software and servers, as well as a range of fiber-deep and 1-GHz HFC broadband access solutions.
The dense Electra platform, supporting four channels per rack unit, consumes less power than previous generations of encoders. The Electra 7000 delivers up to four channels of full resolution video alongside four simultaneous low resolution outputs for applications such as picture-in-picture and multi-channel mosaics. Harmonic's market-leading compression portfolio also includes the Electra 5400 standard definition H.264 multi-service encoder and a range of other H.264 and MPEG-2 products.
About C&M Co., Ltd.
C&M Co., Ltd. is a prominent Multiple System Operator (MSO) with 15 Cable TV system operators in Seoul and the Kyunggi region of Korea, providing analog and digital cable television in addition to high speed Internet services. Its service covers about two-thirds of the Seoul area with over 110 video channels and 30 audio channels including a video on demand service.
C&M's headquarters and its Digital Media Center are located in Samseong-1Dong, Seoul. Visit www.cnm.co.kr for more information.
About Harmonic Inc.
Harmonic Inc. is a leading provider of versatile and high performance video solutions that enable service providers to efficiently deliver the next generation of broadcast and on-demand services including high definition, video-on-demand, network personal video recording and time-shifted TV. Cable, satellite, broadcast and telecom service providers can increase revenues and lower operational expenditures by using Harmonic's digital video, broadband optical access and software solutions to offer consumers the compelling and personalized viewing experience that is driving the business models of the future.
Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with R&D, sales and system integration centers worldwide. The Company's customers, including many of the world's largest communications providers, deliver services in virtually every country. Visit www.harmonicinc.com for more information.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27(A) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21(E) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements related to: strengthening consumer demand for HD services, intensifying competition from satellite direct-to-home providers, the expansion of video-over-DSL services and building a future-ready service.
Our expectations and beliefs regarding the capabilities of Harmonic's Electra 7000 solution and the anticipated benefits to C&M may not materialize, and actual results could differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Harmonic's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its recent Reports filed on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Harmonic does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements.
EDITOR'S NOTE - Product and company names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
