Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat) and Rohde & Schwarz have partnered to advance next-generation Ultra HD (UHD) TV technologies by implementing the first free to air (FTA) UHD channel on AsiaSat 4. The R&S AVHE100 encoding solution and R&S CLIPSTER mastering station are key components of the UHD broadcast platform that will launch an UHD channel at 122°east on AsiaSat 4 this month.
The AsiaSat plans for an UHD TV broadcasting service over satellite have taken a major step forward with the imminent launch of its first channel following an extensive technical evaluation carried out at the AsiaSat UHD laboratory. The high-power coverage provided by AsiaSat 4 will enable broadcasters and pay TV platforms with an AsiaSat 4 C-band antenna in the Asia-Pacific region to receive the UHD channel directly.
Operating at 122°east, AsiaSat 4 provides customers with leading-edge satellite solutions for TV distribution, DTH as well as broadband services throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Its high-power C-band footprint spans from New Zealand to Pakistan and part of the Middle East.
Rohde & Schwarz is providing a comprehensive broadcast solution that includes the R&S CLIPSTER mastering station for editing, handling and playing out UHD data in real time. In addition, the R&S AVHE100 headend will be used for live encoding using an HEVC encoder with 10 bit color depth. Rohde & Schwarz technology not only gives AsiaSat the best UHD TV picture quality, it also provides a future-proof solution.
