(23 August 2008 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Harmonic has announced that Bell Aliant has selected its DiviCom Electra 5400 standard definition (SD) encoders for an MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) upgrade.

This enables Bell Aliant to enhance its Aliant TV video service for customers throughout the Atlantic provinces of Canada.

With this upgradation, Bell Aliant which is is one of the US’ IPTV providers, will become the first telco operator in Atlantic Canada to offer an MPEG-4 based service.

The IP-based Electra platform delivers ultra-high video quality at ultra-low bit rates, enabling Bell Aliant to further enhance the viewing experience.

Bell Aliant’s IPTV service provides over 300 digital television and audio channels to major urban centers throughout Atlantic Canada, including Halifax, Nova Scotia and St. John’s, Newfoundland, as well as Moncton, Saint John, and Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Bell Aliant chief architect broadcasting services Kevin Hastings says, "By transitioning to an MPEG-4 network, Aliant is investing in a platform for the future which brings even higher quality video to our Aliant TV customers. Bell Aliant is committed to offering its customers more value, choice and convenience, and our next-generation IP network gives us tremendous flexibility in achieving these objectives.

"This upgrade allows our customers to simultaneously watch Aliant TV on up to three TV sets in their homes, while enjoying a superior viewing experience. Given our aggressive near-term and long-term objectives, Harmonic was the logical choice for this network upgrade"

Harmonic VP worldwide sales and service Matt Aden says, "Harmonic offers a broad range of highly innovative solutions for telco operators, and leads the industry in pioneering highly efficient advanced compression. Bell Aliant is a successful DSL-based IPTV operator and long-standing Harmonic partner. Aliant’s ongoing selection of our best-in-class digital video technologies is a reflection of their focus on delivering higher quality video services and our commitment to remaining at the forefront of IPTV solutions"

Harmonic’s single rack unit Electra 5400 platform delivers up to four MPEG-4 AVC SD channels and simultaneously generates up to four low resolution services for picture-in-picture or multi-channel mosaic applications.

Key benefits include ultra-low bit rate encoding and outstanding video quality, support for an all-IP infrastructure, and advanced audio format support. Harmonic’s NMX Digital Service Manager — previously installed by Bell Aliant and upgraded as part of this project—delivers a set of tools for managing digital video and audio services. This simplifies mass configuring, monitoring and automated redundancy, in both centralised and distributed architectures.