ViXS Systems Inc., a pioneer and a major player in media processing solutions, has partnered with SES (News - Alert) for the world's first end-to-end satellite broadcast of Ultra HD 4Kp60 using 10-Bit High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC).

Officials with ViXS Systems said that the ViXS XCode 6400 decoder is a key technology component of SES' end-to-end satellite broadcast of UHD 4Kp60 content encoded in the HEVC Main10 standard and demonstrated during the 7th SES Industry Days in Luxembourg. 

Company officials claimed that ViXS XCode 6400 is the first and only commercially available real-time decoder for Ultra HD (UHD) 4K content encoded with high efficiency video coding (HEVC) main10 profile.

SES is a satellite operator with a fleet of 56 geostationary satellites. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and Internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organizations worldwide.

SES will dedicate a satellite channel to broadcast live content in brilliant detail, using commercially available equipment for encoding, decoding and television display. This demonstration sends a clear message to the European pay television market that UHD is ready for deployment now. 

“SES is excited to show Ultra HD in 10-bit HEVC at 60 frames per second at our Industry Days, and we knew we needed the best technology in the world for a stunning demonstration,” said Thomas Wrede, VP reception systems, SES, in a statement.

“By choosing ViXS, we were confident our conference delegates would have a great experience and recognize that SES has the infrastructure and respective industry partners to make their Ultra HD launch plans a reality,” said Wrede. 

Sally Daub, president and CEO, ViXS Systems Inc., said that the company is delighted to partner with SES on this important demonstration of live Ultra HD content.

“SES is taking a leadership position in driving UHD content to market, and ViXS is establishing itself as the de facto choice for 10-bit HEVC decoders to support UHD deployments,” said Daub.