Tribune Broadcasting Signs Master Purchase Agreement With NDS Americas for HDTV Encoding Systems

Business Wire, Oct 29, 1998

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 1998--

KTLA-Los Angeles Is First Tribune Station Scheduled To Receive Equipment; Station Group To Broadcast Live 1080i Feed To October SMPTE

Conference

NDS Americas Inc., a leading provider of end-to-end digital broadcasting solutions, today announced it has signed a Master Purchase Agreement for ATSC encoding systems with Tribune Broadcasting, the nation's fourth largest station group.

The agreement gives Tribune the option to purchase ATSC encoding systems from NDS at predetermined prices for each of its 18 television stations. The first order has been received for Warner Bros. affiliate KTLA-Los Angeles with delivery already made to meet the station's Nov. 1 on-air date.

KTLA plans to demonstrate its HDTV capabilities at the upcoming SMPTE Conference scheduled for Oct. 29 through 31 in Pasadena, where it will transmit a live 1080i feed into the NDS exhibit.

"The Tribune Broadcasting agreement is another in a series of agreements among networks, affiliates and station groups who have selected NDS ATSC solutions based on greater flexibility, price and performance," said Dr. Dov Rubin, NDS Americas Vice President and General Manager. "NDS continues to be a preferred provider of these enabling technologies to American broadcasters as they transition to digital broadcasting."

Tribune extensively tested the NDS system at its corporate headquarters in Chicago to prove the integrity and capability of the equipment to transmit both an ATSC signal at 19.39Mbps and a standard definition 4:2:2 digital NTSC feed at 20Mbps over the same DS3 telecom line.

The tests successfully demonstrated that the separate signals could be multiplexed together in the same transport stream for delivery over an STL (Studio Transmitter Link) to the transmitter site without signal degradation or loss of picture quality. This capability was necessary for Tribune due to cost and availability concerns facing some stations when attempting to secure a second link to carry the ATSC signal to the transmitter site.

The first system NDS delivered is a non-redundant 1080i system to KTLA-Los Angeles. Tribune, as in the case of many station group owners, has different transmission format needs dependent on its stations' network affiliation. The signed Master Purchase Agreement covers all of the NDS ATSC systems for varying formats, including 1080i, 720p, and 480p.

"Tribune Broadcasting is planning to transmit HDTV formats compatible with its affiliated networks as well as 480p60 signals for locally originated product," said Ira Goldstone, Vice President of Engineering and Technology for Tribune Broadcasting. "During non-prime time hours or for special programming, we wanted to ensure each station had the flexibility to use the same equipment to broadcast multiple channels of either 480p60 or 480i30 programming. The NDS architecture with its switchable formats and reconfigureable characteristics gives us greater latitude to pursue our business plan without excessive capital expenditures."

Better Price/Performance with the NDS Series 5810 Encoder

The Series E5810 encoding system meets all of the prevalent profiles required by Table 3 of the ATSC specification, including 480p, 720p and 1080i, with the highest-quality encoding. The design incorporates a bank of six standard-definition encoders, which compress and multiplex the digital feed into one chosen ATSC/HDTV format signal for broadcast to a network affiliate, or in the case of the affiliate, into the viewer's home.

The system offers the added benefit of enabling broadcasters to use the same equipment for single or multicast SDTV transmissions during program hours they prefer not to broadcast in HDTV. Additionally, the Series 5000 encoders provide a number of different options to suit specific broadcast applications, such as statistical multiplexing, data streams, multiple audio channels, locally inserted bugs and support for 4:2:2 distribution and contribution feeds.

The dual SDTV/HDTV approach is preferable to other competitive product offerings that are only capable of broadcasting in a defined HDTV format. A single design approach requires broadcasters with a two-tier SDTV and HDTV business strategy to significantly increase their capital expenditures for new compression equipment to meet both requirements. The NDS solution cost effectively meets both needs and provides the added optional benefit of full redundancy.

About NDS

NDS, headquartered in the United Kingdom, with operations worldwide, provides end-to-end solutions for digital broadcasting through the company's research, development and manufacturing activities. NDS is a recognized leader in digital video compression and conditional access, and has proven systems integration and global support capabilities.

NDS is providing its advanced technologies, products and services to many of the current and planned satellite and terrestrial broadcasting systems around the world. In addition, over ten million subscribers around the globe use NDS conditional access systems to receive Pay-TV satellite and cable services.