Satellite operator SES (Euronext Paris:SESG) announced that four more U.S. cable operators are testing 4K video content delivery across SES's managed Ultra HD platform, in advance of 4K/UltraHD subscriber trials set to begin later this year.
SES has struck new UltraHD trial agreements with Marquette-Adams in Wisconsin, Buckeye Broadband in Ohio and southeast Michigan, Service Electric Cable TV in Pennsylvania, and enTouch Systems in Texas. SES now has eight operators currently assessing the satellite-based 4K solution. The first wave of trials kicked off this past summer with Cable America in Missouri, Golden West Telecommunications in South Dakota, MTC Cable in New York, and Sjoberg's Cable TV in Minnesota.
SES' UltraHD solution uses either managed IP multicast DOCSIS 3.0 streams (vs. over-the-top Internet connections) or traditional digital QAM transport streams. With its pre-packaged UltraHD platform, SES combines UltraHD channels, 4K set-top boxes and reception gear to enable small and medium tier cable operators to provide linear and live UltraHD over dedicated bandwidth.
SES offers 30 Ultra HD channels worldwide, including seven channels hosted aboard two SES satellites (SES-1, SES-3) at the center of the orbital arc, serving nearly 100 million homes across North America.
"We will soon be testing a great mix of 4K movies, cutting-edge TV shows, news and sporting event coverage from SES's growing, satellite-based Ultra HD platform, with plans to deliver Ultra HD to subscriber homes on the horizon," said Brad Mefferd, chief administrative officer, Buckeye Broadband. "The fact that the SES solution works over existing, high-capacity DOCSIS 3.0 cable networks and traditional digital QAM will enable us to be flexible in how we distribute Ultra HD content in our markets."
