From contribution to distribution, satellite technology has and will continue to play a vital role in delivering video from the camera to the home. Recognizing the power of advanced technologies to maintain a competitive edge, content providers and broadcasters are leveraging DVB-S2 and MPEG-4/H.264 to build cost-effective new systems from the ground up, as well as improving existing networks by enhancing service quality and enabling the addition of SD and HD services.

At SENCORE, 2010 has been a time to prepare for technology advances and changes in the industry, to extend the Company’s global reach and reputation in the video delivery sector, to invest in core product and service offerings, and to rededicate ourselves to meeting the needs of our broadcast, cable, and satellite customers.

This year, for example, witnessed the introduction of ProCare customer support and professional service options, which help customers plan, install, operate, maintain, and troubleshoot their video delivery business, based on the industry’s best practices and on the customers’ individual requirements. Also launched was a new website featuring user friendly and readily accessible customer support tools. The engineering focus of the entire sales team has been refocused to provide best-in-class solutions. Finally, the SENCORE brand has been rebuilt to raise awareness of core competencies in HD video delivery and high-quality signal transmission.

Our customers’ needs inevitably respond to larger economic and financial trends — product offerings have been realigned with this in mind. For example, given the approximately $200+ million cost of launching a satellite, it’s no surprise that organizations want to do more with the bandwidth already available. Consequently, cost-effective and bandwidth-conserving technology is in increased demand — provided the technology also supports delivery of a consistent, high-quality viewer experience.

SENCORE recognizes that the customers’ overarching goal is to attract more viewers or subscribers, which translates into more revenue, in part by taking better advantage of the revenue sources new delivery platforms promise. This goal, in turn, requires broadcasters and content providers to deliver uninterrupted high quality video, lest annoyance causes viewers to go elsewhere. Ways to deliver media to a variety of devices is required through the deployment of new formats and methods. To accomplish this, technology and technical support are sought that will help keep capital and operating costs in line.

Today’s video delivery systems are a complex mix of technologies that must allow customers to support a variety of signals, interfaces, standards, and formats. The future will see the introduction of additional, next-generation delivery platforms as well as increasingly complex networks that are accompanied by further bandwidth constraints and a higher probability of signal issues.

With all of this in mind, SENCORE has made a major commitment to R&D that has yielded significant accomplishments on the product roadmap, including state-of-the-art multi-format devices that are dense, efficient, and interoperable. Experienced R&D teams have developed, refined, and perfected the Company’s revolutionary dual-channel SMD 989 DVB-S2 modulation platform, the high-density TXS 3453 “any to any” multi-channel transcoding platform, and several new receiver-decoders and IP monitoring solutions.

As you may already be aware, the Company played a vital role in providing highly reliable and interoperable compression products and engineering services that were crucial to the digital and HD transition in the U.S. The close of this transition leaves us ideally positioned for the future with a mature solution set for video delivery and HD video signal processing in both global contribution and distribution applications.

In 2011, SENCORE looks forward to bringing these solutions and capabilities to the rest of the world with a focus on expanding international efforts. Because of the complexity of the video delivery system, it takes years of real-world testing to deliver a useful piece of gear with the off-the-shelf reliability found in our devices. With our unique heritage in digital video and experience with real-world build-outs of HD services, SENCORE is able to provide proven, exceptionally reliable products, a fact that’s attested to by our reputation.

With our multiple operational products for satellite video delivery, we are familiar with the handshake points among products and are able to make those that work seamlessly within the signal-flow, even when that includes legacy devices. For example, the IRD 3000 Series of receiver decoders are 3D ready and also versatile enough to operate over a wide variety of parameters, including DVB-S and low symbol rate applications.

At the same time, these devices can demodulate any DVB-S2 modulation scheme including 16-APSK and 32 APSK and can support multi-stream ISI applications. Quite simply, SENCORE’s proven product line — including these cost-effective integrated receiver decoders — allows customers to provide the highest quality of video delivery available today — customers say, “SENCORE products just work!”

Throughout this year, and most recently at IBC 2010, the team heard renewed optimism across all segments of the professional video delivery industry. Content providers are finding new revenue streams, adding new media services to existing networks, and delivering more HD content, while at the same time controlling operating expenses by increasing bandwidth efficiency and deploying new content delivery models.

All of this makes SENCORE optimistic about the company’s prospects as well as those of our customers and this exciting industry.

We’re committed to being your engineering partner of choice and invite all to call us to learn more about SENCORE products to help your business.