Contact Information: Public Relations Contact: Sara Stutzenstein Cisco 770.236.2181 stutzes@cisco.com Investor Relations Contact: Marisa Ross Cisco 408.527.9830 mariross@cisco.com Industry Analyst Relations Contact: Ward Wrzenski Cisco 408.853.1768 wwrzenski@cisco.com
ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire - March 31, 2008) - Cisco® (NASDAQ : CSCO ) today announced that
Hallmark Channel will deploy Cisco's MPEG Advanced Video Coding
(AVC)-to-MPEG-2 transcoding technology and use its MPEG AVC encoder to
launch
high-definition (HD) service in the United States.
"The launch of Hallmark Movie Channel HD in April 2008 will come at a time
of high demand from our distribution partners who are hungry for
family-friendly content," said Jim Bennett, vice president, engineering at
Hallmark Channel. "Our new HD service will also help us meet the needs of
consumers who want more HD content to enjoy with their HDTVs. With 50
percent of all cable or satellite television homes expected to have
purchased an HDTV by the end of 2007, we couldn't be more in demand."
The Cisco Advanced Receiver Transcoder (Model D9858 ) will provide vital
transcoding capabilities to support the efficient satellite delivery of HD
content using MPEG AVC video compression and DVB-S/S-2 technology. Using
the single-rack-unit transcoder to receive the MPEG AVC signal and convert
it to MPEG-2 allows Hallmark Channel to take advantage of the bandwidth
savings delivered by AVC encoding and to help protect the cable operators'
investment in the installed base of MPEG-2-based set-tops. Additionally,
support for Digital Video Broadcast - Satellite (DVB-S2) forward error
coding and modulation helps deliver higher throughputs and improved
satellite bandwidth use to support efficient HD content delivery.
Hallmark Channel's video service provider, Andrita Studios, has selected
the Cisco MPEG AVC HD Encoder (Model D9054) for origination of the AVC HD
signal. Andrita Studios will deliver the encoded HD signal via a
terrestrial link to Denver, where the Hallmark Movie Channel HD feed will
be added to the Hallmark programming multiplex.
"Our new transcoder, which received a Broadcast Engineering 'Pick Hit'
award at IBC2007 in Europe, provides programmers and broadcasters with
powerful capabilities for the delivery of considerably more HD content over
today's satellite transponders," said Dean Rockwell, vice president and
general manager, Digital Media Networks at Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco
company. "The Cisco D9858 transcoder allows programming to be delivered to
the headend using the most up-to-date, bandwidth-saving technology."
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