News Broadcasting
Tandberg Television brings IPTV video head-ends to Globalcomm 2006
MUMBAI: The Globalcomm 2006 to be held in Chicago this month will see Tandberg Television making its advances in the global standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) IPTV video head-end market.
With the recent acquisition of SkyStream, Tandberg Television comes to Globalcomm with expanded compression capabilities. The acquisition combines two highly-complementary technology lines, providing Tandberg Television with increased encoding density and new transcoding solutions and expanding its premium SD video quality and HD AVC encoding. Thus, it is able to provide the industry with the broadest and most flexible IPTV video head-end solution set, informs an official release.
The expanded range of Tandberg Television IPTV products is designed to provide both large and small telcos with the necessary choice and flexibility to efficiently advance their IPTV service roll-outs. The enlarged product line, packaged in telco or broadcast chassis form factors, presents the industry’s widest selection of encoding and video processing technologies for streaming, transrating, transcoding, high density encoding and premium encoding with solutions that are shipping today for standard definition and high definition MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC and SMPTE VC-1, adds the release.
As a result of the acquisition, Tandberg Television’s Globalcomm booth will show fully operational SD and HD IPTV video head-ends with a number of new innovations including:
— Unified IPTV head-end control and management with Tandberg nCompass will provide integrated control for all Tandberg IPTV solutions, enabling telcos to save money through improved operational efficiency.
— Advancements in Picture in Picture (PiP) with the launch of SD PiP on the NEBS-certified, telco-designed Mediaplex and iPlex platforms, as well as SD and HD PiP on the Tandberg premium encoding range.
— Launch of a new HD encoder designed to meet the needs of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 Telco/IOC markets. Called the Tandberg EN5960, the HD platform has been well-received initially with several successful U.S. carrier deployments already completed. The EN5960 extends Tandberg Television’s market leadership in HDTV.
Tandberg Television will also continue its tradition of open integration by working with leading systems integrators, middleware providers and consumer device manufacturers to provide operators with complete systems. The Globalcomm booth will include live demonstrations with both Myrio TotalManage, Myrio Interactive and Microsoft TV IP-TV Edition middleware and leading set-top box vendors.
Tandberg Television EVP Jim Olson said, “Globalcomm will see Tandberg Television cement its lead as the IPTV compression powerhouse. Our unique offering of choice and flexibility enables operators to mix and match their head-end infrastructure investment to maximize utilization of existing network infrastructures (SONET, ATM and IP), to leverage increased bandwidth efficiencies and to select the most appropriate video compression performance and density to support picture quality requirements on a per channel/per program basis.”
“What’s more we will show telcos at Globalcomm how they can integrate our IPTV video head-end systems with our range of revenue-generating solutions for advanced IPTV services. These include Push/Pull video on-demand, interactive television, mobile TV and ad insertion, all of which will truly differentiate a telco’s offering from standard cable services in the Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets,” he added.
HD and SD Picture-in-Picture
According to the release, Tandberg Television is showcasing its latest developments in Picture-in-Picture (PiP) technology that increase operator options for real consumer benefits, such as enabling second channel live viewing, advanced video mosaics, next-generation video programming guides, user configurable multi-view screens and the simultaneous delivery of content to mobile, handheld or web streaming devices.
Tandberg Television will launch SD PiP on both the iPlex and Mediaplex video head-ends. These carrier-class platforms are complete head-end systems in a single chassis that enables a new level of converged services over any last mile access infrastructure (xDSL, FTTx, and CATV). The Mediaplex and iPlex video platforms are the industry’s first fully-integrated switched digital video head-ends to deliver MPEG-4 AVC encoding, MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 AVC transcoding, PIP encoding, transrating, remultiplexing and routing. With flexibility, and highly-dense capacity of up to 48 MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 AVC encoders or transcoders, Tandberg Television’s Mediaplex and iPlex platforms can distribute hundreds of high-quality video channels in multiple formats and rates to millions of subscribers simultaneously.
In addition, HD PiP capabilities will be shown on the Tandberg premium HD platform. Delivering outstanding quality and 3-in-1 resolution choices, the Tandberg EN5990 encoder is able to output MPEG-4 AVC HD main video (either 720p or 1080i), “HD-PIP” which is user selectable with resolutions from 192×192, SIF through to full resolution SD running between 256Kbit/s -> 5Mbit/s and “Micro-PIP” with 96×96 (PAL) / 96×80 (NTSC) resolution. This ability to deliver a full resolution SD version of the HD channel opens up several possibilities for broadcasters and operators and enables a number of HD user multiview applications. With HD source in and both HD and SD versions of the same channel out, SD only subscribers would get a chance to see the HD channel content. Tandberg Television has been shipping SD PiP in its premium EN5920 and EN5930 MPEG-4 AVC and VC-1 encoders since last year.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
