[25 February 2014]
Deployment represents first end-to-end DVB-T2 implementation in a Gulf state
Harris Broadcast, a market share leader of content management and network infrastructure solutions serving the global broadcast, communication service provider, government and enterprise markets, today announced that Kuwait TV, the country’s official state-run television station run by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information, has selected the company’s distribution and over-the-air transmission technology as part of the region’s first end-to-end DVB-T2 implementation. Kuwait TV has embarked on the transition from analogue to digital transmission in a bid to attract more of the population to watch local television over the air.
“We are proud of this regional first – leading our customers in the Gulf state toward a digital broadcasting future that reinvigorates the medium,” said Mathias Eckert, Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa for Harris Broadcast. “Kuwait TV selected the Harris Broadcast solution as they wanted a single vendor they could trust, and together with our local dealer Gatelink Communications Company, we proposed a best-in-class solution that was simple and robust. The integrated Harris Broadcast technology enabled Kuwait TV to rapidly address the market demands for top quality, high definition channels from its viewers.”
The country will be covered using Harris Broadcast Maxiva™ ULX solid-state transmitters – ranging in power from 1kW to 2 kW – in a single frequency network configuration. The Maxiva ULX UHF liquid-cooled, solid-state transmitter provides today’s over-the-air multimedia broadcaster with one software defined transmitter platform capable of multiple modulation schemes. Using a single frequency network ensures the best use of the wireless spectrum available, thereby maximizing the number of high definition television channels the national broadcaster can transmit.
Eckert continued, “DVB-T2 is a key component in rolling out high quality, high capacity over-the-air television in national markets like Kuwait. What we bring to the market is not only highly stable and power-efficient transmitters, but also a complete Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) solution using the Selenio™ media convergence platform as the encoder and multiplexer. The modular Selenio platform allows us to create a headend that is tailored precisely to the needs of the customer, then deliver a transport stream to any number of transmitters in an efficient single frequency network. We are sure that other broadcasters will follow Kuwait’s lead as they look to roll out high quality, high capacity DTT networks in the region.”
The network is fed from a single Selenio MCP3 platform at the headend. Fitted with 12 HD encoders and two multiplexers, the Selenio platform generates the DVB-T2 transport stream at the headend. This is fed to the three synchronized transmitters, providing a high quality service to the whole country. Selenio MCP3 is a next-generation, modular solution that presents an all-new approach to networking and signal processing in this converging baseband/broadband arena. The industry’s first integrated media convergence platform, Selenio combines traditional baseband video and audio processing, compression and IP networking features — all in a single, space-saving 3RU frame. An intuitive, web-based GUI enables effortless configuration and effective troubleshooting for superior operational efficiency.
