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Harmonic's Market-Leading Contribution and Distribution Solutions Selected by SABC for 2010 FIFA World Cup

^{Published on 2010-07-08 06:11:54 - Market Wire}
 

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwire - July 8, 2010) - [ Harmonic Inc. ] (NASDAQ: [ HLIT ]) today announced that its cutting-edge contribution and distribution solutions were deployed to facilitate the live broadcast of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the official South African Broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup. The tournament has been played in 10 stadiums in nine South African cities from June 11 to July 11, 2010. The SABC selected Harmonic [ Ellipse™ 1000 ] contribution encoders, [ Electra® 8000 ] HD broadcast encoders and ProView™ integrated receiver/decoders (IRDs) along with Atecom's ATM adaptors from local Harmonic partner Graphic Image Technologies (GIT) for this widely-viewed, multi-venue sports event. Harmonic and GIT were selected due to their video quality, scalability, support, integration and performance.

To bring the matches live to fans, an Electra 8000 dual-channel HD encoder and 12 Ellipse 1000 SD encoders, [ ProView 2900 ] SD IRDs and [ ProView 7000 ] HD decoders were seamlessly integrated through Atecom Falcon ATM units over the local Telco's ATM network into SABC's video infrastructure. The link-up facilitated networking the FIFA International Broadcast Centre (IBC) to the SABC's Broadcasting Centre at the Sandton Convention Centre (SCC) and their master control room (MCR) in Auckland Park for final broadcast.

"We chose Harmonic to improve and power our broadcasts simply because the company, through its local partner GIT, provided a good quality, cost-effective, integrated and feature-rich video solution to meet our needs," said David Wilson, Hi-Tech Manager TVOB at South African Broadcasting Corporation. "This latest deployment provided the added performance we needed to bring the World Cup matches, in good quality, to our viewers."

"With Harmonic's contribution and distribution solutions, we were able to offer SABC, the host broadcaster, a unique and integrated solution that further enhances scalability, improves performance and eases management of their video services," said Mark Chertkow at Graphic Image Technologies, Harmonic's local partner in South Africa. "With this deployment, SABC has expanded its use of Harmonic's video delivery solutions and implemented an efficient solution for increasing its live event programming."

The Ellipse 1000 encoder is ideal for fixed contribution over IP and legacy ATM/PDH/SDH networks. A professional, high quality encoder, it provides efficient bit-rate utilization for delivery of high quality video. The Ellipse 1000 simultaneously encodes video feeds as MPEG-2 SD 4:2:0/4:2:2 and MPEG-4 AVC SD 4:2:0, providing a smooth and cost-effective migration path from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 AVC encoding schemes. It is firmware-upgradeable to MPEG-4 AVC HD as well, making it one of the most versatile encoders available.

The professional ProView family of integrated receiver/decoders are broadcast-quality decoders, decryptors and interface converters that provide MPEG-2 and AVC SD/HD decoding, advanced transport stream processing, cutting-edge IP processing technologies and a variety of front-ends, including DVB-S2 and MPEG over IP.

About South African Broadcasting Corporation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation is a public broadcasting organisation established in 1936 out of the merger of three separate broadcasting stations formed in the early 1920s. The SABC's core business is to deliver a variety of high quality programmes and services through television and radio that informs, educates, entertains and supports the public at large.

The SABC, through its 3 television channels & 18 radio stations is providing live coverage of all 64 World Cup matches across their network.

About Graphic Image Technologies (GIT)
Graphic Image Technologies (GIT) is a specialist in broadcast video compression and transmission as well as in remote CCTV and control room technologies.

GIT has also deployed a range of broadcasting applications such as business TV multicast over corporate networks, TV over satellite for customers such as Multichoice Africa, and video over Telkom's ATM network for the SABC. In addition, the company's offerings include live video, alarm, and remote monitoring solutions for transport and logistics, retail, industrial, manufacturing and other industries where the safety and security of property and vehicles is critical.

As an authorised distributor of SerVision, Harmonic, Pixelemetrix, Optibase, and Rad, GIT is able to offer clients access to world-leading technologies and products. GIT's solutions are all designed to leverage standard wide area networking technologies such as GSM, ADSL, GPRS, EDGE, 3G, and DIGINET. Founded in 1991, GIT is located in Sandton, South Africa.

For more information, visit [ http://www.git.co.za ] or phone +2711 884 9570.

About Harmonic Inc.
Harmonic Inc. is redefining video delivery with the industry's most powerful solutions for delivering live and on-demand video to TVs, PCs and mobile devices. Harmonic's technical innovation and market leadership enable the company to offer a unique and comprehensive solution portfolio -- including encoding, transcoding, content preparation, stream processing, asset management, edge processing, and delivery. Broadcast, cable, Internet, mobile, satellite and telecom service providers around the world choose Harmonic's IP-based digital video, software, and broadband edge and access solutions. Using these award-winning and industry-leading solutions, operators can reduce costs and differentiate their services by offering consumers a higher quality, personalized multi-screen experience.

Harmonic (NASDAQ: [ HLIT ]) is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with R&D, sales and system integration centers worldwide. The company's customers, including many of the world's largest communications providers, deliver services in virtually every country. Visit [ www.harmonicinc.com ] for more information.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27(A) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21(E) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements related to: good quality, cost-effective, integrated and feature-rich video solutions that enhance scalability, improve performance and ease management of video services for SABC.

Our expectations and beliefs regarding the capabilities of Harmonic's contribution and distribution solutions and the anticipated benefits for SABC may not materialize, and actual results could differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Harmonic's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its recent Reports filed on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Harmonic does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements.

EDITOR'S NOTE -- Product and company names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.