In Broadcast - May 2013 - 72

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 19 - MAY 2013

N E W S

InFILE

Simplifying Alpha Network’s
OTT And IPTV Delivery
By Thierry Fautier
Senior Director, Convergence
Solutions, Harmonic, Inc.

elgian telecom operator Alpha
Networks is a leading provider
and international host of OTT, IPTV,
and DSL services. To support a
growing consumer demand for IPTV
and OTT video content, the operator
wanted to deploy a more robust and
ﬂexible headend solution.
Key requirements of the new
headend included: The ability to
cost-effectively support high-quality
HD video services on any viewing
device, including connected TVs,
PCs, tablets, and smartphones; A
media server and storage solution
with the scalability to support
a growing volume of streaming
media assets; and the ﬂexibility to
support broadcast, web, and mobile
services under a single architecture.
After performing an evaluation
process, Alpha Networks installed
a unified headend powered by

Harmonic solutions.
Alpha Networks’ headend relies
on a combination of Harmonic’s
video processing solutions to
manage the complexity of IPTV and
OTT applications and deliver highquality SD and HD, MPEG-2 and
MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video in CBR
and ABR modes. Harmonic ProView
7000 integrated receiver-decoders
(IRDs) perform cost-effective
decoding, descrambling, and
remultiplexing of multiple transport
streams. Utilising the high-density,
ﬂexible IRDs, Alpha Networks has
been successful at reducing its
operational and capital expenditures
while simultaneously launching nextgeneration video services.
For live IPTV encoding,
Harmonic’s ProStream 1000
with ACE high-density stream
processor transcodes up to 60 SD

or 20 HD broadcast services per
RU. Consuming no more than 10
watts per channel, the ProStream
platforms have signiﬁcantly reduced
Alpha Networks’ energy costs.
ProMedia Live carrier-grade realtime transcoding and ProMedia
Package adaptive streaming
preparation systems transcode
and package multiple H.264 video
streams for adaptive bitrate delivery
of live multiscreen OTT content.
Harmonic’s NMX Digital Service
Manager gives Alpha Networks total
control over the network topology,
streamlining the overall operation.
Through a simple interface, Alpha
Networks can create, modify,
manage, and monitor service lineups in addition to viewing the realtime status of services and hardware.
Leveraging a distributed clientserver architecture, NMX is able to
provide Alpha Networks with the
ﬂexibility and scalability to support
its growing IPTV and OTT services.

Alpha Networks delivers VOD
content using Harmonic’s ProMedia
Carbon file-based transcoding
solution, a Harmonic MediaGrid
shared storage system optimised
for digital media, and a ProMedia
Origin HTTP streaming video server.
Relying on industry-standard
protocols, including Apple HLS
and Microsoft Smooth Streaming,
the uniﬁed solution helps prepare
and publish live, VOD, and NPVR
content to multiple viewing devices
while supporting a range of CDNs
and encryption methodologies.
This integrated workﬂow has been
critical to helping Alpha Networks
deliver content to a wide variety
of customer devices while still
maintaining streamlined system
architecture.
Since installing the new video
headend, Alpha Networks has
launched Billi IPTV and OTT services
in Belgium, in addition to hosting
a variety of service offerings for
international operators.
By providing Alpha Networks with
a completely unified framework,
Harmonic solutions helped to
accelerate the deployment of highquality multiscreen services.

Harmonic’s ProStream1000

InTECH

Fischer Connectors Makes Broadcast Easier
ischer Connectors has been
designing, manufacturing and
distributing high performance
connectors and cable assembly
solutions for almost 60 years.
Known for their reliability, precision
and resistance, the ruggedness of
Fischer Connectors’ products fully
suits the needs of any broadcast
application, especially when you
need fibre-optic connections
in your work.
Fischer Connectors is key player
in the broadcast connector industry.
The Fischer 1051 Triax HD pro+
won the Best of IBC award for
innovation and cost-efﬁciency. In
addition to Fischer’s main broadcast
connector and cable solution, many
broadcast applications need multipole, power, ﬁbre-optic, electrical
or hybrid connectors. All of which
are available.
The broadcast market continues
to evolve, using some of the most
reliable, proven and high technology
products as they develop new
techniques for capturing content.
Cameras and equipment are

often used in unfriendly and harsh
environments. They are connected
and disconnected many times,
with tight time constraint for setup and the dismantling of the
production site.
Fischer Connectors’ products
meet all those needs. The Fischer
Core Series and the Fischer UltiMate
Series are the right connectors for
applications in harsh environments.
The Fischer Core Series offers a high
ﬂexibility of conﬁgurations, including

Broadcast connectors – the award
winning Fischer 1051 Triax HD pro+

low/high voltage, coax/triax, ﬁbreoptic and hybrid. The product range
of the Fischer Core Series comprises
over 10,000 items.
Fischer Connectors recently
launched the Fischer FiberOptic
Series, a connecting solution
that secures premium optical
performance in extreme
environments. This brand new
interconnecting technology offers
the essential quality and stability
needed for an optical link, combined
with extreme robustness, easy
mating and easy cleaning. This high
performance ﬁbre-optic connector
is not only suitable for camera
connections, but also for general
equipment and accessories for any
type of broadcast applications.
Fischer Connectors is also a
leader in rugged miniaturisation.
The innovative Fischer MiniMax
Series has 20 signal and four power
connections in one small, dense
pre-cabled connection solution.
It is designed for the harshest
environments, passing extreme
temperature tests and boosts an

impressive 1,000 hours of salt
water spray. The Fischer MiniMax
Series is more cost-effective not
only because the connector is
physically smaller, but with the
24-contact configuration fewer
connectors can be used to achieve
the same performance. On top of
that, there are fewer cables needed,
so the entire device becomes more
cost effective and stays reliable.
The Fischer MiniMax Series is
available in three different latching
systems: push-pull, breakaway
and screw lock.
Other premium connector
solutions from Fischer Connectors
include the Fischer AluLite Series
and the Fischer Rugged Flash Drive,
an extremely tough USB memory
stick specially designed for safe
storage and transportation of
sensitive data in harsh environments.
Fischer Connectors’ primary
design and manufacturing
facilities are located in Saint-Prex,
Switzerland, with subsidiaries and
distributors located worldwide.

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