TV/COM marks entry into the private satellite systems market with Single Channel Encoding System (SCES).

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 18, 1997--National Cable Television Association--

TV/COM Capitalizes on Experience With Large Uplink Systems

to Bring Cost-effective Digital Encoding Solutions

to Small Systems

TV/COM International Inc., a subsidiary of Hyundai Electronics America (HEA) Tuesday announced its Single Channel Encoding System (SCES) for the growing private satellite systems market.

The SCES enables smaller satellite systems the same high-quality, digital MPEG-2/DVB encoding that has previously only been available to the larger Direct-to-Home (DTH) uplinks at a fraction of the cost.

"The SCES allows TV/COM to capitalize on our experience in the DTH industry and bring our expertise with end-to-end solutions to the smaller private satellite systems market," said Bob Luff, TV/COM's president and chief executive officer. "The market is growing extremely fast, and we intend to maintain and expand our leadership role by providing cost-effective digital communications solutions, including those developed specifically for Business TV, distance learning and content delivered directly into the PC."

The typical private satellite network includes an encoding system, a satellite modulator, a control system and an integrated receiver decoder (IRD). With this system, businesses can communicate with remote sites, teachers can teach at more than one location, and news crews can transmit from remote locations. Business and education TV, Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) and Pay-Per-View (PPV) are just a few of the additional small digital satellite system applications.

While businesses are increasingly recognizing digital video broadcasting as a strategic tool for the delivery of data, audio and video, because of the cost, many smaller customers have been unable to provide digital delivery service. The SCES is a cost-effective digital communications solution for the small systems market because these networks generally only require one to four channels of video and audio, a minimal control system, and usually have less than 10,000 subscribers.

Additional SCES Features Offer Interoperability and Flexibility

TV/COM's SCES is MPEG-2 and DVB compliant for interoperability, and its unique modular architecture provides for flexibility and support for trouble shooting and product upgrades. In addition, the SCES features selectable video and audio compression data rates for efficient satellite utilization, and supports National Television System Committee (NTSC) and Phase Alternating Line (PAL) formats for the global market. The system also interfaces with TV/COM's Windows NT-based Compression Networks Control System, providing a user friendly interface to control the encoder and modulator.

SCES Availability and Pricing

The SCES will begin beta testing in April and volume production is scheduled for June, with pricing starting at $60,000.

Information about HEA and TV/COM

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. (HEI) was founded in 1983. Today, it is one of the largest semiconductor memory manufacturers in the world. HEI's parent company is Hyundai, Seoul, Korea, a $83 billion corporation involved in more than 40 business areas, ranging from fabrication, petrochemicals, engineering and construction, to automobiles, finance, insurance and securities.

Hyundai Electronics America (HEA), a subsidiary of HEI, combines many business divisions that include computer systems, telecommunications products, systems ICs and MPEG chips. HEA has headquarters at 3101 N. First St., San Jose, Calif. 95134.

Founded in 1973, TV/COM was acquired in 1995 by Hyundai Electronics America and is a subsidiary of HEA. The company's products include digital compression systems, headend equipment, conditional access systems, scrambling/encryption systems, digital set-top boxes, near video-on-demand (NVOD) servers and software for subscription, pay-per-view and interactive entertainment.

TV/COM is uniquely positioned in the direct broadcast satellite (DBS) industry to provide all of the components needed for a true end-to-end solution from the silicon technology to the set-top box. For more information about TV/COM or its products, contact: Andrea La Vorgna at 17066 Goldentop Road, San Diego, Calif. 92127. Phone: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. -0-

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