SFP (France) Adopts NTT Electronics HD MPEG-2 Encoder/Decoder; The HD MPEG-2 Encoder and Decoder by NTT Electronics Featured in Bringing Live Action From the French Open Tennis Tournament.

TOKYO -- NTT Electronics Corporation (NEL), an industry leader in image compression technology, is pleased to announce the delivery of its HD MPEG-2 Encoder/Decoder to Societe Francaise de Production (SFP), France's biggest program production company. SFP, which provides countless sporting events to TV viewers, is using the equipment in its live sports broadcasts.

At the recent French Open Tennis Tournament, one of the four major tennis tournaments, taking place in May and June of each year in Paris, SFP used NEL's HD MPEG-2 Encoder/Decoder for its high-definition broadcasts from the center court of Roland Garros stadium. The encoder was carried along with wireless high-definition cameras covering center court action, while the decoder was deployed in an outside broadcasting van on the stadium premises. SFP, which began high-definition broadcasting this fiscal year, chose the NEL encoder and decoder because of their high quality, light weight and ease of operation.

NEL's powerful and highly reliable encoder solution helps bring live sporting events into viewers' homes more realistically than ever, in high-definition broadcasts.

SFP Development Director Rudy Dendleux explains his company's product choice. "Adopting the NTT Electronics encoder/decoder makes it possible for SFP to broadcast sporting events in high definition. The lip sync feature(a) is especially nice, enabling us to configure and operate a system easily with correctly synchronized images and sound. We also liked the excellent image quality and the stable operation. The compact, half-rack size is great for carrying around. We're now planning to use it for high-definition coverage of bicycle racing."

According to Tsuneo Okubo, head of NEL's Multimedia System Group, "The HD MPEG-2 HD Encoder HE3000 and MPEG-2 HD Decoder HD3000 adopted by SFP are highly regarded both in Japan and overseas for their outstanding image quality. They support a variety of image formats, from 1080i to 720p and 480i, and can encode up to two audio systems for a total of 8 channels. Operations are readily accessible from the front panel, and the system boots up quickly. A major advantage is the zero phase difference between image and sound. The small form factor (1U height and half-rack width) and light weight (2 kg, or 4.4 lbs) make these products easily transportable."

Taking advantage of the worldwide expansion of high-definition digital broadcasting, NTT Electronics will be promoting sales of its encoder/decoder products, supporting high image quality, to overseas broadcasting networks.

About SFP:

SFP (Societe Francaise de Production) is a major player in the French audiovisual and film services market. SFP is also one of the European leaders in digital RF Ground to Air and relay transmissions. Its RF's technical skills are well known in France and abroad because of the great events managed by SFP like the "Tour de France cycliste" or the "Olympic marathon in Athens."

About NTT Electronics:

NTT Electronics is an industry leader in image compression technology. Our solutions for high-definition broadcasting, in particular, are winning high praise in the Japanese and world markets. Our outstanding technologies make it possible to transmit, edit, and deliver broadcasting content of the highest image quality.

Please visit http://www.nel-world.com/digital_video/top.html for details about NTT Electronics.

(a) Terminology note:

Lip-sync
    TV viewers can tell whether or not broadcast images and sound are
    properly synchronized by looking at the lips of people speaking or
    singing. The optimum state is zero lip-sync error, when lip
    movement matches the sound.