Las Vegas, April 9, 2013 — Appear TV, a leading global provider of next-generation headends for broadcast and IP television, is debuting its Satellite Uplink/DTH Headend Solution at the 2013 NAB Show (Booth SU7605). Designed as an efficient, space-saving innovative alternative to the multirack solutions currently in place at most satellite broadcast facilities, the new offering brings all the processes and functionalities required for DTH (Direct-to-Home), trunking and satellite distribution applications into a single 4RU hardware-based modular frame.
Appear TV’s compact and feature-rich Satellite Uplink/DTH Headend solution is part of its revolutionary modular-chassis headend concept. This allows broadcasters to select from several different satellite modules to create a custom-tailored headend. The combined modules create a full solution encompassing hardware-based compression, full statistical multiplexing, flexible MPEG multiplexing and satellite modulation with advanced digital pre-correction. Incorporating all these features into one frame eliminates the waste of power supplies, front panels, control cards and other components traditional solutions often duplicate many times over.
Along with reducing the space required for a fully functional satellite uplink/DTH setup, users can control and manage the headend without a proprietary NMS (Network Management System). A traditional NMS is prone to server-based hardware failure, affecting redundancy. This kind of solution often restricts system openness and expansion, as it only supports the compression solutions of the manufacturer that provided the NMS software. This requires more intensive training and continual manufacturer support for the operator. Appear TV’s new self-managing n+1 redundancy solution for its satellite headend, comprising a pair of ultra-reliable, hardware-based and fully integrated 1+1-redundant control cards, can manage redundancy switching comprehensively, without the need for a third-party NMS. The entire system is also open and easy to maintain thanks to the ability to hot swap for all components, including platform power supplies, fans, control cards and headend modules.
“Despite some improvements, most satellite uplink and DTH solutions are still huge, multirack affairs. The space-consuming external network infrastructure required to mesh multiple headend boxes together ends up being very costly to maintain,” says Carl Walter-Holst, CEO, Appear TV. “Appear TV’s Satellite Uplink/DTH Headend Solution delivers a vastly superior alternative to this kind of setup. It tackles some of the major issues with satellite delivery that, until now, have not been addressed, providing significant cost savings and performance benefits to our satellite customers. This solution makes it entirely possible to implement a complete satellite headend with sufficient capacity to encode, statistically multiplex and modulate two complete transponders with either HD/SD or mixed format content, in a single 4RU chassis. Quite simply, it provides the functionality and performance of a complete two-multiplex headend site within just 4RU at a significant cost saving.”
About Appear TV
Appear TV is based in Oslo, Norway. The company produces world-class equipment that enables operators to deliver professional broadcast services to millions of users around the globe. The company is dedicated to developing reliable, revenue-generating and innovative solutions for operators looking to deliver real-time content to the home. Appear TV headends are designed for modularity, high density, and flexibility. www.appeartv.com.
