TANDBERG Television Enables the Bigger Picture with HD MPEG-4 AVC Newsgathering Solutions.

SOUTHAMPTON, England -- TANDBERG Television (OSE:TAT):

--Launches MPEG-4 AVC HDTV Voyager DSNG and DENG at NAB

--Responds to growing popularity of HDV format with low-cost wireless and satellite range

--DVB-S2 capable hardware as standard on most Voyager DSNG codecs 

TANDBERG Television today announced that it will continue to build on its technology and market lead in HD MPEG-4 AVC with the launch of groundbreaking high definition (HD) digital satellite and electronic newsgathering solutions (DSNG and DENG) based on its award-winning HD advanced compression engine. These two latest additions to the TANDBERG Voyager range of content acquisition systems will feature in live demonstrations in the NAB outside exhibition arena (booth: OE 122) at the Las Vegas Convention Centre. At the same time, TANDBERG Television will respond to the increase in demand for HD content with a number of bandwidth saving and cost reduction initiatives including the addition of DVB-S2 modulation to its DSNG range and support for the HDV format.

"As the number of HD direct-to-home TV channels increases, there is a growing requirement to contribute feeds in HD. It will soon be the norm to cover sporting and music events "live" in HD, and SD formats will rapidly gain "legacy" status across the world," says Lisa Hobbs, Senior Director Business Development, Satellite & Broadcast of TANDBERG Television. "The launch of our new advanced HD outside broadcast solutions brings together our MPEG-4 AVC lead in the DTH market and our pioneering position in the DSNG and DENG markets. It comes at a time when many of our customers are seeking to upgrade their outside broadcast (OB) trucks to HD and looking to benefit from the bandwidth savings of up to 50% that MPEG-4 AVC provides over MPEG-2."

Advancing satellite newsgathering

NAB '06 will see TANDBERG Television launch its EN5940 DSNG which combines industry-leading MPEG-4 AVC HD encoding technology with TANDBERG Television's latest generation DVB-S2 satellite modulator to create a compact, integrated solution. The EN5940 makes it possible to transmit very high quality HD using the satellite bandwidths commonly used to transmit MPEG-2 SD. When used with the new TANDBERG RX1290 multi-format decoder (also being launched at NAB), the EN5940 enables DSNG operators to migrate to HD using the most efficient means of transmission available. This solves problems associated with the high bandwidth requirements of MPEG-2 HD, which often increases transponder costs and necessitates upgrades to expensive parts of an OB truck's infrastructure to support the high bitrates (up-converters, amplifiers, Tx dish). The EN5940 helps to solve these problems and makes it simple and cost effective to migrate from SD to HD.

"It is possible that a customer purchasing our latest HD DSNG which offers the benefits of MPEG-4 AVC and DVB-S2 in combination, will find that the unit is so efficient that it can transmit a very high quality HD signal using the same transponder bandwidth that is being used today for SD MPEG-2. In bandwidth terms, the efficiency gain therefore equates to migrating to HD for free," says David Mitchinson, Newsgathering Business Development Manager at TANDBERG Television.

HD Wireless links

TANDBERG Television is also bringing its MPEG-4 AVC expertise to the DENG world. The new EN5950 is equipped with a COFDM modulator and offers a reduction in bitrate to allow the more robust COFDM modes to be used, increasing the range and reliability of transmissions dramatically. These transmissions can be received using a COFDM version of the RX1290 receiver, equipped with a 2-input diversity tuner card offering the advanced "Mean Ratio Combining" diversity method for improved reliability and range.

Support for HDV Format

For many operators, moving from SD to HD is a financially daunting prospect. This is especially true within the newsgathering market, which often has a unique set of requirements. To satisfy this need, TANDBERG television is launching a new range of HDV compatible solutions at NAB that are set to become firm favorites with news-gatherers world-wide because of their low cost and tremendous flexibility.

To support low-cost HDV professional cameras and tape decks from major manufacturers such as Sony and JVC, TANDBERG Television is introducing a wireless camera adaptor for HDV camcorders. This economical device offers a fire-wire (DV) interface to the wireless camera and will transmit the HD footage robustly to a compatible TANDBERG HD receiver, such as the TT1280. TANDBERG Television will also offer an HDV option card for the Voyager range of DSNG/DENG products. The single-slot card is designed to interface to an HDV camcorder or tape deck directly using the DV interface, and will enable the HD material to be passed to a REMUX card for transmission.

About TANDBERG Television

Whether it's advanced compression systems, on-demand or interactive television, TANDBERG Television delivers the technology and expertise that is moving digital video forward. The company's award-winning solutions are used by the world's leading network operators, broadcasters and content owners to deliver new viewer experiences and advertising opportunities. With a broad suite of open, standards-based products, TANDBERG Television offers the highest quality digital TV solutions including IPTV, HDTV, video-on-demand, advertising on-demand, and interactive TV applications to customers in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa. For more information, please visit www.tandbergtv.com.