>> Harmonic to showcase enhancements to its Spectrum™ Media Server System at IBC2012

Harmonic, the worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure, today announced enhancements to its Spectrum™ media server family. The recently introduced Spectrum ChannelPort™ integrated channel playout device boasts new capabilities and advanced onboard features that further simplify channel playout, and the new Spectrum MediaStore™ 5000 high-performance disk-based shared storage system brings the benefits of serial attached SCSI (SAS) drives to Spectrum media server systems.

“Harmonic’s goal is to provide broadcasters and other service providers with solutions that help them produce video content more efficiently and cost-effectively, and the capabilities of both ChannelPort and MediaStore 5000 reflect this priority,” said Krish Padmanabhan, senior vice president of video products at Harmonic. “Each of these Spectrum server family products addresses the challenges that our customers face in distributing a greater volume of content with fewer resources.”

Combining channel branding and master control switching with clip playout on the industry’s most trusted media server platform, the modular ChannelPort enables broadcasters, content owners, and service providers to speed the cost-effective deployment of new television channels through a simple incremental upgrade to their existing Spectrum architecture.

The new ChannelPort features include DVE functionality to enable more sophisticated, high-end graphics presentation, and support for AVC-Intra playout that aids in accelerating the production-to-playout workflow. The system’s new dynamic subtitle insertion capability supports just-in-time playout of multilingual content. Traffic-driven onboard playout control with automatic media fetch facilitates remote “lights-out” operation without the need for legacy automation software.

The MediaStore 5000, which makes its worldwide debut at IBC2012, brings the latest SAS disk technology — and associated savings in size, cost, and power requirements — to the storage component of the Spectrum media server system. MediaStore systems combine with MediaPort and MediaDirector systems to comprise a full Spectrum system. The release of the 2-RU MediaStore 5000 introduces a smaller form factor, higher bandwidth, and greater storage capacity.

The MediaStore 5000 boasts industry-leading density, accommodating up to 24 hot-swappable high-performance drives in a space-efficient chassis. The system supports hard-disk drive (HDD) sizes of 300 GB, 600 GB, and 900 GB for a maximum of 62.8 TB of usable online storage, and it provides storage bandwidth of up to 1600 MBps. Reliable performance is assured by a RAID 6 storage topology, hardware redundancy, and the same robust architecture already proven in MediaStore 4000 systems.

Spectrum ChannelPort and Spectrum MediaStore 5000 will be featured at Harmonic’s stand 1.B20 during IBC2012 in Amsterdam, Sept. 7-11. At IBC the company will demonstrate solutions that enable broadcasters and operators to produce video content more efficiently in any format, distribute content cost-effectively over any network, and support a high-quality viewing experience reliably on any device.

>> IBC2012: Harmonic to showcase comprehensive solutions for broadcast and multiscreen services

Demonstrations Include High-Performance File-Based Transcoding, Integrated Network PVR, Enhancements to Spectrum™ ChannelPort™ Integrated Channel Playout

At IBC2012, stand 1.B20, Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure, will showcase a comprehensive range of solutions for broadcast and multiscreen production and delivery. Highlighted at the show will be solutions designed to streamline multiscreen content delivery, enabling broadcasters and operators to produce video content more efficiently in any format, distribute content cost-effectively over any network, and support a high-quality viewing experience reliably on any device.

“IBC gives us the opportunity to showcase production-ready solutions that address key trends in a rapidly changing landscape,” said Peter Alexander, senior vice president of marketing and chief marketing officer at Harmonic. “In particular, broadcasters and other media companies today face the challenge of accommodating new content consumption patterns, and we’ll demonstrate how Harmonic solutions meet these demands cost effectively.

Key highlights of Harmonic’s presence at this year’s IBC show include:

Encoding and stream processing

• The new ProMedia™ Xpress high-performance file-based transcoder, the latest addition to the comprehensive ProMedia Suite multiscreen solution, that uses Harmonic’s market-leading H.264 codec technology to deliver excellent video quality and MicroGrid™ parallel-computing technology to achieve dramatic transcoding performance
• Live MPEG-DASH streaming demonstration based on Harmonic compression technology used in the first large-scale public trial of DASH during the 2012 London Olympic Games
• Demonstration of the next-generation HEVC compression standard that promises to improve OTT delivery and support a wide range of compelling applications
• An innovative Network PVR demonstration featuring ProMedia Origin integration with Omneon MediaGrid storage and KIT digital solutions, highlighting an end-to-end integrated multiscreen video solution, currently deployed by a leading operator in Latin America, which is optimized for adaptive streaming applications and multi-protocols and offers guaranteed performance
• A new addition to the dense ProStream™ with ACE™ real-time stream processor and transcoder portfolio that adds dual power supplies to maximize service uptime for broadcast and OTT services
• The next-generation multifunction ProView™ 7100 providing transcoding, transport stream descrambling, and MPEG stream processing in a single rack unit
• The industry leading Electra® universal multifunction, multiformat encoding platform that powers more than 75,000 channels worldwide

Storage and playout

• Enhancements to the recently introduced Spectrum ChannelPort integrated channel playout device that unites channel branding and master control switching with clip playout
• A new addition to the MediaStore scalable and reliable high-performance shared storage offerings for Spectrum™ media server

Cable edge and access

• Advanced cable edge and access solutions, including the ultra-dense NSG™ 9000 HectoQAM™ universal edge processing platform and SUPRALink™ HFC transmission solutions

>> Thank you for attending the launch of Harmonic in Australia

The team from Harmonic in Australia would like to thank all who attended our launch event last Tuesday, held at the iconic Sydney Opera House. We appreciated all of the positive feedback and support received from within the industry on this launch and were delighted to have the chance to share ideas and discuss current industry issues with colleagues. Everybody indicated a desire to gain further knowledge of our products and in turn improve the efficiency of day-to-day operations.

Our thanks again for taking time out of your very busy schedules and allowing us to start the conversation to gain a better understanding of your current and future technology needs.

>> Hogg and Bickerton join Harmonic in Australia

Sydney, Australia – 26th June 2012 – Harmonic has strengthened its presence in Australia and New Zealand by partnering with leading ANZ solutions provider Techtel to launch Harmonic in Australia. Operating as a business unit of Techtel, Harmonic in Australia will provide dedicated resources for the new venture, supported by Harmonic’s existing in-country personnel.

“The integrated Harmonic product set is well placed to serve both the growing new media markets and the traditional production, playout and content delivery markets”, commented Andrew Thornton, Vice President of Sales, Asia Pacific, at Harmonic. “Having this local presence and the resources of Harmonic in Australia strengthens our ability to deliver those solutions to the market”.

Harmonic in Australia provides two business development professionals, each with a strong background in production, playout and delivery. Another two dedicated personnel already well known to the local market come from Harmonic. Back office, logistics and customer support activities will be provided by Techtel in their recently refurbished Sydney offices in Artarmon.

Management professional Andrew Hogg joins Harmonic in Australia as Director of Business Development. Andrew’s responsibilities will lie with the broader Harmonic portfolio, focusing on content delivery and new media. He comes with over 25 years’ experience in the media industry, most recently as CEO of the MediaHub Australia joint venture and previously as GM of The Playroom, Omnilab Media’s broadcasting and distribution business. His proven track record of successful operations management and business development leaves him well placed to take a seat in this new operation.

Jo Bickerton joins Hogg as Business Development Manager – Production, Playout and Storage. With 20 years’ experience in the industry, Jo has a strong production and operations background in a range of creative, operational and management roles including Head of Operations at The Playroom, where she played a significant role in the design and fit-out of Omnilab Media’s new infrastructure and distribution facility. Jo’s focus will be with production and playout workflow solutions.

“The launch of the Harmonic in Australia brand is exciting for me as it brings together best-of-breed products and a local team drawn from both sides of the world to offer first-class solutions and service”, says Dave Elsmore, Managing Director of parent company Techtel.

>> New ProMedia Xpress sets the bar for high-volume multiscreen transcoding

New File-Based Transcoder Uses Harmonic’s MicroGrid™ Parallel-Computing Technology to Achieve Dramatic Improvement in Transcoding Performance

SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 15, 2012 - Harmonic Inc. today announced the release of the ProMedia™ Xpress high-performance file-based transcoder, the newest addition to the company’s ProMedia family of software and appliance solutions engineered to optimize video production workflows for high-volume multiscreen video-on-demand (VOD) applications.

ProMedia Xpress uses Harmonic’s market-leading H.264 codec technology to deliver excellent video quality without impeding transcoding speeds, thereby improving video workflows for content owners and service providers, enabling them to deliver a significant increase in content hours while adhering to processing timetables and video quality targets. Facilitating cost-effective faster-than-real-time transcoding of broadcast-quality content for multiscreen VOD delivery of commonly used formats to mobile devices, PCs, and connected TVs, ProMedia Xpress allows operators and media companies to launch new services efficiently without compromising on the quality of their offering.

ProMedia Xpress employs Harmonic’s new MicroGrid™ parallel-computing technology to achieve a dramatic improvement in transcoding performance relative to currently available technology. MicroGrid’s video-centric approach for exploiting multi-core computing environments eliminates the bottlenecks associated with traditional transcoding approaches. By employing all available processor core capacity, ProMedia Xpress can scale effectively to provide remarkable transcoding performance without the need for custom computing hardware.

"Service providers and content owners must not only deliver VOD content to consumers’ PCs, connected TVs, and mobile devices within a tight timeframe, but also meet specific performance requirements for each adaptive streaming format used," said Moore Macauley, senior director, multiscreen product line management at Harmonic. "ProMedia Xpress addresses these demands, enabling programmers to take on the challenge of providing high-volume multiformat OTT delivery while maintaining the quality and value of their video assets through the use of Harmonic’s market-leading H.264 codec."

Part of the ProMedia suite of multiscreen products, ProMedia Xpress is a critical component of a complete file-based multiscreen workflow that scales from several to hundreds of nodes and provides the operational integrity required in demanding 24/7 VOD environments.

When combined with the ProMedia Package stream packager, ProMedia Xpress allows multirate H.264 assets to be encapsulated with the utmost speed and flexibility for target ecosystems including Apple® HTTP Live Streaming, Microsoft® Smooth Streaming, Adobe® HTTP Dynamic Streaming, and MPEG-DASH. Because ProMedia Xpress and Package separate the transcoding and packaging processes, users can transcode an asset once and package it multiple times, thereby reducing repetitive processor-intensive tasks and easing the need to accommodate changing delivery standards and protocols. In addition, tight integration between ProMedia Xpress and Harmonic’s Omneon® MediaGrid™ shared storage system allows content to be stored and accessed on the network at high speed, eliminating the latency associated with copying content to the transcode nodes before transcoding, and instantly making available transcoded content for downstream operations such as QC, distribution, delivery or archive.

Harmonic’s comprehensive portfolio of solutions for multiscreen production, distribution, and delivery will be on display at Harmonic’s booth 212 during Streaming Media East in New York, May 15-16. ProMedia Xpress is expected to ship in the third quarter of 2012. Further information is available at www.harmonicinc.com.