Measat Satellite Systems has launched a high-definition (HD) distribution platform aimed at catering to the needs of international broadcasters wanting to bring more HD content to the Asia-Pacific region, Measat announced July 16.

The platform, which will distribute content via the Measat-3 satellite, was developed with Ascent Media and Pacific Century Matrix, which are providing play-out and uplink services  from Singapore and Hong Kong. Scientific Atlanta and Tandberg Television also contributed to the HD offering.

“Until now the distribution of HD content has been unable to meet bandwidth and compression expectations,” Wee Way Kiat, managing director of Ascent Media Network Services Asia, said in a statement.

“As a provider of playout services to key broadcasters in Singapore, this has been a crucial step in the development of an HD workflow. We are now able to drive the transition to HDTV forward in Singapore and across the region.”