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Ericsson to provide compression platform for UK Local TV

Comux UK, selected by Ofcom to build, operate and manage the infrastructure needed to support local TV in the UK, has chosen Ericsson’s AVP 4000 encoder to enable it to package content delivered to 19 new local TV areas.

Comux UK, selected by Ofcom to build, operate and manage the infrastructure needed to support local TV in the UK, has chosen Ericsson’s AVP 4000 encoder (pictured) to enable it to package content delivered to 19 new local TV areas.
The first of the 19 local channels will launch in November 2013. The new licensees will cover Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Grimsby, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Preston, Sheffield and Southampton. A further 30 licenses under consideration for launch in next year. The infrastructure needed to launch the new TV channels was launched at the Edinburgh International Television Festival under the brand Local TV.

The Ericsson multi-platform head-end system will enable the 19 local TV stations to deliver new services and channels to UK viewers and provide Comux with the flexibility to grow their infrastructure in the future. Core to the solution is the Ericsson AVP 4000 compression platform, powered by the company’s first-ever video processing chip. The platform’s dedicated software programmable engine will allow Comux to benefit from further video quality improvement in MPEG-2 in the future as well as upgrade to other resolutions and formats.
The Ericsson AVP platform offers a broad capability across many applications, from SD to HD, 1080p50/60, 3DTV, and Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV), as well as all codecs, including MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC and JPEG 2000, with 4:2:0 and 4:2:2, 8-bit and 10-bit.

Ed Hall, chief executive, Comux said, “After a thorough evaluation of a number of compression platforms, carried out jointly with our systems integrator Techex, the Ericsson AVP 4000 solution delivered the performance and support package that best meets our needs. The implementation of the Ericsson AVP 4000 solution ensures that we can continue to be innovative, flexible and responsive to the needs of the local TV license holders as the service develops and expands.”

 “The launch of local TV in the UK is an exciting, ambitious project, and we are delighted that our partnership with Comux is helping to create the biggest addition to the UK’s TV infrastructure since the transition to digital TV,” said Dr. Giles Wilson, head of TV compression business, Ericsson. “The high performance of our latest video processing platform will mean that this new terrestrial network will benefit from the industry’s leading bandwidth management and enable Comux to meet consumer desire for high quality, regional content.”