NDS Americas' Preferred Provider Market Position Reinforced With the Addition of Tribune and Fox Contracts

Business Wire, Oct 29, 1998

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

Networks and Affiliates Continue to Choose E5000 ATSC Encoder Range

for HDTV Rollout Schedule

NDS Americas Inc., the leading provider of end-to-end digital broadcasting solutions, today announced at the SMPTE Conference, Oct. 28-31, three new ATSC-compliant encoder contracts with Tribune Broadcasting, Fox Broadcasting Company and Fox Television Stations Inc.

The addition of these contracts further reinforces NDS' market position as a preferred vendor of ATSC-high-definition encoders and complementary technologies for U.S. broadcasters.

"The combination of these additional contract wins coupled with NDS' worldwide expertise has made us a leading and preferred vendor of ATSC equipment," said Dov Rubin, vice president and general manager of NDS Americas. "Our ability to offer the broadcast industry the highest-quality and most-complete solutions makes it an easy transition for networks, station groups and affiliates to convert their broadcast studios to digital."

Since NDS announced its new ATSC-compliant digital broadcast equipment at the annual NAB Conference and Exposition, the company has delivered encoding systems to several U.S. networks, station groups and affiliates in recent months to meet the initial rollout of HDTV scheduled for Nov. 1. HDTV encoders already delivered to U.S. broadcasters include: -0-

     Networks

--   Fox Broadcasting Company

     Station Groups

--   Cox Broadcasting Inc.
     (KTVU-Oakland/FOX, WSB-Atlanta/ABC)
--   Fox Television Stations Inc.
     (WJBK-Detroit, KDFW-Dallas, WTXF-Philadelphia)
--   Imes Communications
     (WMUR-Manchester, NH/ABC)
--   E.W. Scripps Company
     (WXYZ-Detroit/ABC)
--   Tribune Broadcasting
     (KTLA-Los Angeles/Warner Bros.)

-0-

At the SMPTE Conference, KTLA-Los Angeles plans to demonstrate its readiness to begin broadcasting in HDTV format starting Nov. 1 by transmitting a live 1080i digital television signal into the NDS booth using an NDS E5810 ATSC encoding system.

Two of the contracts already awarded have included Master Purchase Agreements that have created fixed pricing schedules for future purchases. NDS has signed Master Purchase Agreements with both Tribune and E.W. Scripps.

E5810 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 UK, 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.

NDS plays a major part in developing open systems and the international standards for the digital broadcasting arena, providing the technology and market know-how to implement standards such as MPEG-2, DVB, ATSC, SMPTE and DTTV. The company continues to make a major commitment to R&D, with over 700 of its 1,350 plus employees dedicated to its pioneering development work at research centers in Israel, the U.S. and the UK.

NDS is a subsidiary of News Corporation (NWS), a leading global media company. NDS has won many awards for technology including an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and three Queen's Awards, one for Technology and two for Export. NDS is on the World-Wide-Web at: http://www.ndsworld.com.

Editors Note: The Tribune Broadcasting and Fox Television contract announcements were announced separately today at the SMPTE Conference.