NTT Electronics’ HV9100 series of AVC/H.264 HDTV/SDTV encoders/decoders has been selected by Sentech, a state-owned communication service company in the Republic of South Africa, as the codec equipment to be used for HD coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The operation of a broadcast transmission system using the HV9100 series was started in the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, which opened on June 14, 2009, as a precursor to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the satellite communications of Sentech will be used for coverage of video from each stadium to the international broadcast center, which will be the base for broadcasters worldwide. The NTT Electronics HV9100 series will be installed in all 10 stadiums in various regions of the Republic of South Africa where games will be held and will be used by Sentech for contribution feeds to the broadcast center.
“The MPEG-2 format will be used in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but we will also make use of the AVC/H.264 format in the future. The NTT Electronics HV9100 series meets our needs in that it is compatible with both MPEG-2 and AVC/H.264,” said Allan Bester, executive of network services for Sentech. “The HV9100 series is also compatible with the 4:2:2 profile, allowing us to distribute HD video of Africa’s first FIFA World Cup in 2010. In addition, the HV9100 series has already demonstrated outstanding performance in sporting events around the globe such as the Beijing Olympics, and we are confident that it will also contribute to high-quality video transmission of the FIFA World Cup. Viewers will be able to enjoy full HD coverage from the stadiums.”
The HV9100 series supports both HD (1080i/720p) and SD (480i/576i). It additionally supports, optionally, up to 16 channels of audio input and an IP interface. The HV9100 series gained a great deal of attention after its release in January 2008 and has already been selected by many broadcasting stations with a broad use ranging from domestic station content transmissions to contributions or distributions in Japan, North America, Europe and Brazil.
