IBC 2007 – AMSTERDAM. Harmonic has unveiled a new look that has been designed to reflect the company’s evolution from an encoder supplier to broader based video technologies. “We think that over time the growth opportunities around file base technologies is greater than for traditional broadcast encoding. These change not just high def but mobile in an on demand user personalised environment signals key growth,” Harmonic president Partrick Harshman told Broadband TV News. He said that 18 months ago Harmonic had taken the decision to refocus itself as a leader in video infrastructure, adding mobile and Internet-based technologies.
A key element of the transition was the purchase of Rhozet and its transcoding software. Rhozet has just added the Israeli DTH platform Yes to a client base that already includes CNN, Microsoft. ProSiebenSat.1, Sky News and BBC News. Yes has selected Harmonic’s Rhozet Carbon Coder video transcoding solution for a new Internet-delivered VOD service.
“We deal with about 40 different formats and in addition to the formats we’re dealing with the other things of the software, just as language transition,” explained David Trescot, VP Rhozet Business Unit. Trescot gave the example of a news feed that might have online and broadcast versions with a variety of logos depending on the host website.