Photo: Fashion One 4K.

[Via Satellite 07-27-2016] SES is shipping 4K/High Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC) Set Top Boxes (STBs) to cable operators participating in Ultra-HD trials across the United States. The cable operators are testing Ultra-HD content across SES’ fully managed Ultra-HD platform and receiving the IP STBs in preparation for subscriber trials into U.S. households later this year.

SES has signed Ultra-HD trial agreements with Cable America in Missouri, Golden West Telecommunications in South Dakota, MTC Cable in New York, Sjoberg’s Cable TV in Minnesota, and ATMC in North Carolina. The cable operators can use the multicasting capability of the DOCSIS 3.0 transmission standard and traditional digital TV to deliver a wide range of linear and live Ultra-HD programming to subscriber homes. According to SES, the operator’s managed solution, delivered over dedicated bandwidth, provides a much higher quality viewer experience free of buffering and network congestion, compared to current internet-delivered 4K offerings.

“As millions of cable subscribers increasingly press for 4K content on their new Ultra-HD TVs, some of the smallest cable operators in the U.S. are now leading the way to bringing Ultra-HD to homes across the country,” said Steve Corda, VP of business development in North America at SES. “SES’ breakthrough, fully-managed Ultra-HD platform is enabling us to conduct the first-ever trials, which are bound to play a key role in the national and global rollout of Ultra-HD.”

SES is currently carrying four Ultra-HD channels on satellites, including Fashion One 4K, NASA TV UHD, and High 4K TV. The fourth choice is the operator’s own UHD1 channel, a venue for up-and-coming content producers creating Ultra-HD material with an eye toward ultimately launching their own Ultra-HD channels.