AsiaSat’s Tai Po teleport. Photo: AsiaSat

[Via Satellite 01-22-2016] Harmonic and AsiaSat have entered a partnership to launch a new Ultra-HD channel “4K-SAT2/HVN,” AsiaSat’s second Free-to-Air (FTA) Ultra-HD channel on AsiaSat 4 at 122 degrees east for the Asia Pacific.

The channel, which launches on March 1, will broadcast 4K video content from Harmonic’s broad video library, as well as content from the new NASA TV Ultra-HD channel, in 2160p60 with HEVC Main 10 profile, using an end-to-end Ultra-HD video processing system from Harmonic. Harmonic and NASA jointly launched NASA TV Ultra-HD in North America late last year.

The Ultra-HD channels on AsiaSat 4’s Ultra-HD platform are available FTA across the satellite’s footprint, which spans from New Zealand to Pakistan and part of the Middle East. The new “4K-SAT2/HVN” Ultra-HD channel deploys Harmonic’s MediaGrid shared storage system; Polaris playout management suite; Spectrum X advanced media server system; and the Electra X3 Ultra-HD media processor, to enable full Ultra-HD channel production and transmission from AsiaSat’s Tai Po Earth Station in Hong Kong.