SAN JOSE, CALIF. —Eutelsat KabelKiosk has deployed an integrated headend solution from Harmonic to power its extended DVB and IP platform and multiscreen service distributed to multiple cable and telco operators throughout Germany.
Utilizing Harmonic’s headend solution, KabelKiosk can prepare 50 HD and 100 SD channels for IPTV and adaptive bitrate streaming to smartphones, PCs, set-top boxes and connected TV devices.
“For this project, it was important that we are able to support a wide range of applications, including live, on-demand services and start-over TV, on both set-top boxes and multiscreen devices,” said Martina Rutenbeck, managing director of Eutelsat visAvision GmbH, which operates KabelKiosk. “Harmonic's end-to-end headend solution is extremely dense, making it easy to support a wide range of applications, services and devices, while also ensuring superior video quality.”
Leveraging Harmonic's versatile ProView 7100 integrated receiver-decoder, KabelKiosk can receive up to four satellite carriers per rack unit.
Harmonic’s ProStream 9100 with ACE high-density stream processor and transcoder increases operational efficiencies by supporting 20 HD or 60 SD broadcast transcoding services, as well as 10 HD or 20 SD OTT services encoded in a variety of adaptive bitrate profiles, from a single rack unit. Additionally, by leveraging market-leading ACE transcoding technology, the ProStream 9100 delivers video quality and the flexibility to support applications such as digital turnaround, any-to-any transcoding, time-shift TV, VOD, picture-in-picture and live adaptive streaming to PCs, tablets, smartphones and OTT set-top boxes. The system also requires low power consumption and is designed for serviceability.
Content storage is optimized using ProMedia Origin HTTP streaming video server and MediaGrid shared storage system. ProMedia Origin and MediaGrid accelerate file-based workflows while reducing I/O latencies. Relying on protocols such as Apple HLS and Microsoft Smooth Streaming, ProMedia Origin publishes live and time-shifted services to multiple viewing devices. By supporting independent scaling of storage capacity, bandwidth and streaming capability, the solution enables expansion of IP and multiscreen service.
Harmonic’s NMX Digital Service Manager controls the ProView 7100, ProStream 9100 with ACE and ProMedia Origin systems. Through a comprehensive user interface, NMX enables KabelKiosk to create and modify network topology and channel lineups, in addition to setting transcoding parameters. NMX features a scalable and extensible architecture, making it easier to introduce new value-added services.
“Our headend solutions feature an integrated functionality and flexibility to support seamless migration and future expansion,” said Michael Salomon, Harmonic’s area sales manager for Germany and Switzerland. “This functionality, along with our dedicated support team, will be critical to increasing Eutelsat KabelKiosk’s revenue streams as it continues to roll out advanced pay-TV services.”
