SES Launches Online Video Platform, Linear Ultra HD Cable TV Channel Via Satellite

SES Platform Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, has announced its new product, LUCID online video platform (OVP). The solution comprises all the building blocks a customer will need to launch its own online video offering, from setting up an Internet-TV channel to on-demand services: Video Processing (including Content Ingest, Management, and Encoding, Transcoding, DRM Integration and Playout); Monetization Services, with support of flexible business models (such as SVoD, TVoD); and Applications with an intuitive and easy-to-use User Interface (for iOS, Android) and an HTML5 realization for an IP Box.

LUCID OVP is an integral part of SES Platform Services’ new “Media Toolbox” concept. The Media Toolbox is a modular all-in-one solution for the optimal distribution of audio-visual content. From linear distribution to all forms of on-demand services, it covers all technological aspects in a highly flexible and scalable way, reducing technical complexity for customers in order that they can concentrate on their core business.

Combining Linear TV Streaming, Catch-up TV and video-on-demand (VoD) into one powerful online video platform, LUCID OVP is a complete, ready-to-launch, end-to-end solution for Platform Operators, Broadcasters and OTT-Players looking to optimise their operations and boost subscriber growth. It allows platform operators to create an online video and multi-screen user experience to complement their video strategy. Also, broadcasters and content providers can easily and quickly set up an online video service as a supplement to Direct-to-Home (DTH) services to address new customer groups.

“For many broadcasters, broadcasting linear TV programs is just not enough anymore. People watch more and more online and mobile content. With ready-to-start workflows and ‘out-of-the-box’ features, LUCID OVP ensures fast time-to-market and enables our customers to reach viewers and customers anywhere and on any device. We have been a leading provider of backend services, and now we can also deliver our customers everything for the front-end to create a great user experience,” said Daniel Kiessling, Senior Manager Solution Management SES Platform Services.

SES and High TV Launch 24/7 Linear Ultra HD Channel
SES has launched a 24/7 multi-genre linear Ultra HD cable TV channel via satellite. The new Ultra HD network is called High 4K TV and features a broad range of round-the-clock content from Ultra HD movies and TV shows to sports and documentaries.

Content for the new High 4K TV channel will be delivered over the SES-3 satellite, one of three satellites (SES-1, SES-3, AMC-18) that make up SES’s Ultra HD neighbourhood at the centre of the orbital arc over North America. High 4K TV will be the latest channel to join SES’s growing worldwide Ultra HD line-up. The trio of satellites at the core of SES’s North America Ultra HD platform enable programmers to reach more than 100 million U.S. television homes through virtually every cable TV, IPTV and direct-to-home provider across the region.

“The new channel, with its breadth of programming, is another key step in helping cable operators through North America accelerate the delivery of linear live Ultra HD content to subscriber homes across the U.S.,” said Steve Corda, Vice President of business development for SES in North America.

SES has developed the first end-to-end solution capable of delivering linear live Ultra HD content to a cable system. The innovative Ultra HD platform was unveiled by SES and Harmonic at the NAB Conference earlier this year, followed by cable operator trials of the plug-and-play service and the launch of North America’s first Ultra HD demonstration channels.

“This launch is a major step toward enabling the affordable and timely delivery of Ultra HD to cable homes across America,” noted Justin Borrelo, Head of Business Development at High TV. “It is indeed a major milestone for us, as an international 4K channel, to be present in North America with SES. We are excited to be bringing the very best in lifestyle and entertainment programming to an audience that embraces entertainment as the very essence of their culture, and we look forward to expanding the delivery of High 4K TV programming to other regions around the world.”