Global satellite communications company, SES, today announced that two innovative multi-channel video programming distributors (MVPDs) in the US have launched the first commercial linear Ultra HD services to cable and IPTV subscribers using their satellite-delivered, pre-packaged, Ultra HD solution.
Marquette-Adams of Oxford, Wisconsin and Highlands Cable Group of Highlands, North Carolina have licensed the SES-provided Ultra HD programming through Vivicast Media and have initiated their Ultra HD offerings following successful trials of the SES platform. Additional cable and IPTV operators are also close to launching their own milestone Ultra HD services on SES’s fully-managed, scalable system, which is aimed at accelerating 4K Ultra HD deployments across North America.
More than 20 MVPDs, with a combined audience of nearly 10 million subscribers, are testing SES’s all-in-one Ultra HD solution, which packages the world’s largest 4K Ultra HD channel lineup, satellite distribution services, and reception equipment.
Programming on the SES Ultra HD lineup features ten 4K Ultra HD channels, including Fashion One 4K, Travelxp 4K, 4KUNIVERSE, NASA TV UHD, INSIGHT TV, UHD1, C4K360, Funbox 4K, Nature Relaxation 4K as well as SES’s UHD demonstration channel. These channels are hosted on a trio of SES satellites at the centre of the orbital arc (SES-1, SES-3, AMC-18), which covers 100% of the cable head-ends in the US.
Vivicast has played an integral role in the launch of commercial linear Ultra HD by securing licensing rights for the Pay TV providers offering the impressive 4K Ultra HD programming lineup provided by SES.
“These historic commercial linear Ultra HD services are being delivered to subscriber homes by cutting-edge Pay TV providers, who are leveraging SES’s satellite-based Ultra HD platform,” said Steve Corda, Vice President of Business Development in North America for SES. “We have delivered on our bold plan announced at NAB two years ago, which was laser-focused on enabling linear Ultra HD home delivery in half the time it took HD to reach the same television milestone in the US. SES cut through the operational and technical barriers with our scalable solution delivered via satellite, which provides high quality Ultra HD and can reach over 100 million television households throughout North America.”
SES is showcasing its Ultra HD platform at NAB in Las Vegas this week.
