DTH News: Sun Direct adds capability to deliver 80 additional HD channels with Harmonic

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MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) operator Sun Direct, which has more than 12 million subscribers, has deployed a Harmonic software-based HEVC media processing solution within its all-IP workflow in order to expand its HD service offering.

Harmonic’s Electra X2 encoder and ProStream multiplexer will enable Sun Direct to deliver an additional 80 HD channels from four transponders to subscribers, with crystal-clear video quality at the lowest possible bitrates.

The DTH operator is planning roll-out more high definition (HD) set top boxes (STBs). In FY17, Sun Direct added three transponders on GSAT 15. It has a total of eight transponders, equally split between Measat 3 and GSAT 15. The addition of the transponders has enabled the company to increase the number of HD channels its offers to 55. This will help the company to improve its ARPU going forward, a media analyst said.

“Today’s television viewers want exceptional video quality and a broad selection of channels. When we looked into expanding our HD service offering, we needed to partner with an expert in satellite deployments and encoding efficiency. Harmonic enables us to deliver more channels using the same amount of transponder space so that we can focus on increasing subscriber satisfaction and revenue growth,” said Sun Group Group CTO S. Kannan.

Harmonic’s Electra X2 system improves video quality through world-class encoding technologies. In addition, the Electra X2 encoder maximizes the efficiency and flexibility of statistical multiplexing through tight integration with Harmonic’s ProStream video stream processor, allowing Sun Direct to increase bandwidth efficiency and broaden its channel count. The ProStream processor maximizes transponder savings, supporting up to 100 statmux services per platform. Sun Direct’s entire system workflow is IP-based and controlled by Harmonic’s NMX network management system.

Harmonic Professional Services ensured the project was completed quickly, providing Sun Direct with HEVC and DTH expertise throughout every stage, from planning to implementation and deployment.”Sun Direct plans to roll out additional HD STBs this year, and Harmonic is leading the way in helping the operator capitalize on the associated higher subscription rates,” said Harmonic vice president of sales, APAC Tony Berthaud.

“With this new investment, Sun Direct significantly enhances its DTH service and now offers a very attractive number of HD service channels to their subscribers in India. They primarily chose Harmonic for outstanding encoding efficiency, pristine video quality and our long-term and continued deployment support.”

India’s pay-TV industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.2 percent, reaching $14.5 billion in revenue by 2021 and $18 billion by 2025, according to global media research and consulting firm Media Partners Asia. Harmonic’s solution enables Sun Direct to differentiate itself within the Indian pay-TV market by delivering more channels with crystal-clear HD video quality.

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