Ericsson supports Telespazio with delivery of premium HD content to viewers worldwide

• Telespazio to deploy Ericsson's AVP 4000 system encoder for content distribution
• Ericsson supports Telespazio withintroduction of new HD TV services within existing transponder space, meeting the rapidly evolving needs of its customers
• Ericsson AVP 4000 guarantees superior picture quality at all operating points in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC and all resolutions from SD to HD

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) ConsumerLab research from 2013 shows that HD quality content is of paramount importance to viewers and that consumer desire for a greater choice of premium content is moving broadcasters and service providers to upgrade their existing delivery infrastructures. In response to this trend, Ericsson has signed an agreement with Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, to expand the company's current service offering to include MPEG-4 AVC HD and SD channels, while maintaining existing MPEG-2 SD channels at premium quality within the existing content distribution infrastructure. 

Telespazio will benefit from cost savings as a result of continuing to use its existing Ericsson multiplexer platform and current transponder space. The deployment of the Ericsson AVP 4000 system encoder will give the company sufficient bandwidth to enable the introduction of new content distribution services. Ericsson's unique solution, delivered by its regional business partner Diem Technologies, is powered by the company's first ever professional video processing chip and will provide best-in-class compression capabilities to Telespazio, allowing it to introduce its new HD and SD services in the most rapid and flexible manner.

"In order to consistently deliver the high quality content in high definition that we know our subscribers want, it was imperative that we upgraded our existing content distribution infrastructure. Ericsson was the natural choice, as we were able to leverage our existing legacy platform to minimize costs, while launching additional MPEG-4 AVC SD and HD premium channels," said Michele Aita, Platforms Engineering Manager, Telespazio. "The superior overall picture quality for premium content offered by Ericsson's solution gives us an edge over our competitors, enabling us to maximize our revenue basis over the coming years."

The Ericsson AVP family of video processors has been very well received by broadcasters and operators around the world. It offers the highest performance and broadest capability in the industry on a single platform across all applications, from SD to HD, 1080p50/60, 3DTV and Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV), and all codecs, including MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC and JPEG2000, with 4:2:0 and 4:2:2, 8-bit and 10-bit all supported.

"Telespazio needed a solution that could rapidly evolve with the changing requirements for the transmission of HD Premium content across Europe, North and South America, North Africa and the Middle East. The deployment of the Ericsson AVP 4000, the most powerful compression platform of its kind, will enable the company to address many of the challenges caused by the continued consumer demand for high quality, high definition video content," said Dr. Giles Wilson, Head of TV Compression Business, Ericsson. "Tests have proved that Ericsson is able to offer superior picture quality, and we are pleased that the expansion of our partnership with Telespazio will enable the company to continue to deliver the quality of content its customers expect."

NOTES TO EDITORS

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Download high-resolution photos and broadcast-quality video at www.ericsson.com/press

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