SOUTHAMPTON, England, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- TANDBERG Television (Oslo: TAT.OL) today announced that its high definition (HD) MPEG-4 AVC video encoding and distribution system has been chosen by BSkyB for the launch of its HD service. BSkyB recently announced that it plans to become one of Europe's first HD broadcasters when it launches HD services in 2006. To deliver an HDTV channel line-up that will include a combination of sports, movies, entertainment and documentary programming, BSkyB is deploying a TANDBERG Television HD video head-end with statistical multiplexing and TANDBERG EN5990 HD MPEG-4 AVC encoders.

The use of TANDBERG Television's first-to-market MPEG-4 AVC encoding systems will enable BSkyB to achieve very efficient HD bandwidth utilisation, more than halving the bit-rate required by MPEG-2 while at the same time achieving the high picture quality that a HDTV service demands. BSkyB will support 720p and 1080i picture formats to allow broadcasters to choose which is most appropriate to their requirements.

"As HDTV becomes a reality we are committed to ensuring that Sky customers can access the most advanced television services. TANDBERG Television's commitment to HD MPEG-4 AVC means that we can launch HD with high bandwidth efficiency from an advanced compression system from day one," says Alun Webber, BSkyB's Group Director of Engineering and Platform Technology.

The prestigious contract from BSkyB is further validation of TANDBERG Television's technology and market lead in the advanced compression arena and is the first deployment of HD advanced compression to be announced in Europe. TANDBERG Television launched its first-to-market HD Intelligent Compression Engine at IBC 2004 and has already secured significant trials and contracts across the world.

"We are delighted to be working closely with BSkyB for this important HDTV roll-out. High Definition is going to take TV viewing to a new level and is without doubt a key service differentiator for pay-TV operators such as BSkyB. Already a mass consumer proposition in the US, HDTV is now taking off in Europe and Asia. In fact, when we talk to broadcasters and operators in these regions, the question is no longer if, but when," says Roger Bolton, director of satellite at TANDBERG Television. "Our bold decision to invest early in HD advanced compression technology is now reaping rewards as we are uniquely placed to provide advanced systems that enable HD business models today for customers like BSkyB."

For BSkyB's HD roll-out TANDBERG Television has designed a redundant system based on the TANDBERG EN5990 HD AVC Encoder and TANDBERG Reflex(TM) statistical multiplexing. The TANDBERG EN5990 has been designed for real-time TV delivery environments that need the highest quality encoding combined with the industry's highest quality of service (QoS) levels. The system takes advantage of more than 10 years of digital compression system development and key features include proven control, statistical multiplexing and modulation solutions combined with powerful advanced encoding.

The new HD contract with BSkyB builds on successful previous collaboration between BSkyB and TANDBERG Television. The companies share a 10-year plus track record based on co-operation and trust and their engineering teams have worked closely together to pioneer digital pay-tv satellite technologies and services. BSkyB was one of the early adopters of TANDBERG MPEG-2 encoders during the 1990's.

About TANDBERG Television

TANDBERG Television (Oslo: TAT.OL) designs and develops professional systems that enable new business models in the media and entertainment market through the delivery of high quality live digital video and on-demand content. The company provides open standards-based technology solutions, systems integration, support and monitoring through its sales and 24-hour support operations in the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe. TANDBERG Television's customers include many of the major broadcasters, network operators, telephone companies, cable operators and content owners around the world. For more information visit: http://www.tandbergtv.com/ .

About BSkyB

BSkyB is the operator of the leading multichannel television platform in the UK and Ireland. Around 19 million viewers in 7.6 million households enjoy an unprecedented choice of movies, news, entertainment and sports channels and interactive services on Sky digital, the UK and Ireland's first and most popular digital television platform. BSkyB's channels are available in a further 8.1 million cable and digital terrestrial households.

CONTACT: Gay Bell of Platform PR, +44 (0)20 8964 9149, or
gbell@platformpr.com ; or Robert Fraser of BSkyB, +44 (0) 207 705 3036, or
robert.fraser@bskyb.com

Web site: http://www.n2bb.com/