[Satellite Today 8-15-08] Tandberg Television is introducing a new cable HD program transcoder that will enable programmers to harness the bandwidth efficiencies of MPEG-4 AVC HD and DVB-S2 (Digital Video Broadcasting – Satellite – Second Generation) satellite distribution, the company said Oct. 15.
    Tandberg says its new RX8250 product means MPEG-4 AVC HD content can be cost-effectively converted into high quality MPEG-2 HD streams at the cable head end. The RX8250 is part of an end-to-end Tandberg Television cable HD distribution solution, which enables content providers to carry six to eight MPEG-4 AVC HDTV channels on a satellite transponder. According to Tandberg, this represents a doubling in the number of channels to be carried per transponder compared to today’s best MPEG-2/DVB-S HD satellite distribution solutions.
    Lisa Hobbs, VP of business development for satellite and broadcast at Tandberg Television, commented, “The RX8250 completes an end-to-end HD cable distribution solution that changes the economics of HD program distribution and enables programmers to add a significant number of new HD channels to their line-ups.”