Harmonic Transforms Video Delivery, Bringing Ultra HD and Intelligent Function Integration to New Electra X Advanced Media Proceor Family

Date:

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Harmonic's PURE Compression Engine Enables Unparalleled Compression and Format Diversity while Delivering Superior Video Quality at Minimum Bandwidth Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure, today launched the latest generation of its market-leading Electra product line, the Electra X family of advanced media processors for broadcast and multiscreen content delivery. As the world's first encoder family to support graphics, branding, and playout functionalities, as well as industry-leading video quality and full-frame Ultra HD (UHD) live encoding, Electra X revolutionizes video delivery.

Powered by the Harmonic PURE Compression Engine , Electra X appliance-based media processors boost video compression efficiency across an extensive range of formats and codecs including MPEG-2, AVC, and HEVC codecs, over CBR, VBR, and ABR encoding schemes, to support a broad array of devices from handhelds to UHD TV. Already deployed by Harmonic customers, the multi-codec and multi-format nature of Electra X makes it well suited to solve the video processing challenges of broadcast, cable, satellite, and telco operators today and in the future.

Building on the success of our industry-leading compression family, the Electra X media processors offer a dramatic new approach to encoding, said Bart Spriester, senior vice president, video products, Harmonic. The Electra X simplifies content delivery operations, enabling video content and service providers to offer linear and multiscreen services from low bandwidth profiles all the way up to UHD, plus the additional function integration can have a profound impact when deploying new services.

Integrating real-time SD and HD encoding, high-quality graphics, branding and playout functionality, the Electra X2 media processor unifies market-leading video quality, unparalleled function integration, and increased operational flexibility in a single 1-RU appliance. Utilizing this next-generation media processing system, video content and service providers can dramatically simplify their infrastructures, reduce costs, and drive new revenue-generating services, while delivering superior video quality at the lowest possible bitrate.

By converging broadcast and multiscreen encoding with the graphics and branding from Harmonic's Spectrum ChannelPort integrated channel playout system, plus transport stream playout functionality, onto a single, compact appliance, Electra X2 reduces the number of devices required to build a broadcast transmission chain. This approach lowers capital and operating expenditures, resulting in exceptionally low total cost of ownership (TCO), continued Spriester.

With the Electra X2 media processor, multiple encoding and playout operations can be controlled from a single interface, making operations easier to set up, manage, and maintain, thereby dramatically lowering TCO. Through its pay-as-you-grow approach to scalability, the next-generation media processor assures that users pay only for media processing capabilities they need, enabling them to add new capabilities in the future as business requirements change. The Electra X2 media processor is managed via Harmonic's NMX Digital Service Manager, a video network management solution that encompasses a powerful set of tools for monitoring and managing compressed digital media services. When paired with other NMX-controlled systems, such as Harmonic's ProStream 9100 high-density stream processor and ProMedia X Origin multiscreen media server, the Electra X2 media processor becomes part of a highly scalable, converged solution for the deployment of linear broadcast and OTT video services.

For operators and service providers that want to deliver UHD video quality at the lowest bitrates, Harmonic also announced the Electra X3 advanced media processor. This media processor exploits the power of the Harmonic PURE compression engine to also deliver real-time, broadcast-ready content, supporting UHD formats up to 2160p60 (HEVC Main 10 profile). Unlike other UHD compression solutions on the market, which contain multiple logical encoders, the Electra X3 is the industry's first production-ready, full-frame UHD encoder in a single 2-RU appliance. Consequently, the Electra X3 integrates easily into existing workflows and boasts lower power consumption for additional TCO benefits.

Further information about Harmonic and the company's products is available at www.harmonicinc.com.

About Harmonic

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) is the worldwide leader in video delivery infrastructure for emerging television and video services. The company's production-ready innovation enables content and service providers to efficiently create, prepare, and deliver differentiated services for television and new media video platforms. More information is available at www.harmonicinc.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements related to the anticipated capabilities and benefits of Harmonic's Electra X media processors, NMX Digital Service Manager, ProMedia X Origin multiscreen media server, ProStream 9100 media stream processor, and PURE Compression Engine. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these products may not materialize and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the possibility that the products may not meet some or all of their anticipated capabilities or provide some or all of their anticipated benefits, such as being well suited for solving video processing challenges for various operators today and in the future, dramatically simplifying content delivery and customer infrastructure, reducing costs and driving new revenue while deli

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