DENVER, April 12, 2010 — Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), an international communications and information technology company, announced today that its MPH™ platform will be used by six of the eight broadcast stations participating in the upcoming Washington Consumer Showcase in the nation's capitol.
The Harris-supported stations participating in the event are WDCA-DT (Fox Television Stations); WUSA-DT (Gannett Broadcasting); WPXW-DT (ION Media Networks); WHUT-DT (Howard University/PBS); WNVT-DT (MHz Networks); and WFDC-DT (Univision Communications). Designed to be a real-world showcase to measure consumer interest in mobile digital television, the consumer event is organized by the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a 30-station group organization representing nearly 900 TV stations that are helping to make mobile DTV a reality for millions of viewers.
"Mobile Digital TV gives viewers exactly what they want — the ability to watch live, local programs when on-the-go," said Anne Schelle, executive director of the OMVC. "The stations participating in our consumer showcase are leaders in the broadcasting industry, and with the support of Harris, they are delivering on the promise of making digital television a mobile service you can watch wherever you go. Our coalition is proud to win the support of transmitter manufacturers, broadcasters and consumer device makers who will make this consumer showcase of mobile DTV a success."
In preparation for the consumer showcase event, Harris worked with the six stations to add the Harris MPH platform, which is capable of transmitting multiple, mobile channels of free and premium broadcast TV programming. The programming will be distributed to hundreds of mobile devices that will be used by actual viewers and local residents.
The Harris MPH platform integrates into most DTV transmission systems. It has everything that broadcasters need to launch and support one or more ATSC Mobile DTV program streams. The complete solution includes Harris NetVX™ mobile video encoders, the Synchrony™ mobile networking adapter and the Apex M2X™ exciter — as well as the Roundbox Server, which generates service signaling and transmits a rich Electronic Service Guide (ESG), from Roundbox, Inc. The Mobile DTV broadcast platforms also feature the Nagravision service protection system, which enables stations to offer premium program streams. Nagravision is the world's leading supplier of open service protection systems for mobile DTV platforms.
Harris Broadcast Communications offers products, systems and services that provide interoperable workflow solutions for broadcast, cable, satellite and out-of-home networks. The Harris ONE™ solution brings together highly integrated and cost-effective products that enable advanced media workflows for emerging content delivery business models.