Harmonic’s Digital Video Processing Technologies Power Free-to-Air Digital Television Service in Germany

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) today announced that ASTRA Platform Services GmbH (APS), a subsidiary of the Luxembourg-based satellite service operator SES ASTRA, has selected Harmonic’s advanced video processing solutions to support APS’ digital free-to-air television service for Kabeldienstleistungs GmbH (KDL), a service provider to independent and private cable operators in Germany. Independent cable operators today serve several million German subscribers, and with APS’ infrastructure upgrade, KDL now can provide up to 22 additional digital free-to-air channels being delivered from APS and SES ASTRA to the cable subscribers via the cable headends. Harmonic’s IP-based MPEG-2 standard definition (SD) DiviCom® Electra® 5000 encoders, selected by APS for this project, achieve the best possible video quality at ultra low bit-rates.

"Harmonic continues to support APS’ technology and business objectives, most recently to establish KDL’s new free-to-air TOPP (transponder optimized program packages) service provided to independent and private cable operators by KDL,” said Jörg Eich, VP DVB/CA, APS. "Harmonic’s highly advanced digital video solutions enable us to offer an optimized service and provide outstanding flexibility, a critical requirement to launch new value-added services as quickly as possible.”

The Electra 5000 supports up to four simultaneous MPEG-2 SD channels in a one rack-unit (1-RU) chassis, providing a highly-dense, top-of-the line solution that drives down cost-per-channel, power consumption, space requirements, and overall operational costs. The combination of Harmonic’s advanced, IP-based Electra encoders with DiviTrackIP™ statistical multiplexing technology further maximizes the number of channels per transport stream while maintaining superior picture quality.

"Harmonic is at the forefront of MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC video processing,” said Ian Graham, Vice President of EMEA Sales and Service, Harmonic Inc. "APS’ selection of Harmonic for this project reflects the inherent strength of our Electra compression platform, which is playing a critical role in the digitization and advancement of video delivery networks across Europe and the world. APS operates one of Europe's most modern satellite broadcast centers, and with this latest upgrade provides private and independent cable operators in Germany with a very attractive free-to-air digital television service.”

In addition to outstanding video quality, efficiency and density, Harmonic’s Electra 5000 MPEG-2 SD encoders provide a native IP interface, for seamless integration into IP-based networks, enabling more advanced service delivery while reducing network cost and complexity. The Electra platform also features integrated decoding capabilities with Harmonic’s innovative FLEX™ technology. DiviTrackIP distributed statistical multiplexing enhances bandwidth efficiency of APS’ network by allowing bandwidth to be dynamically allocated to geographically dispersed encoders based on complexity of content. NMX Digital Service Manager™ greatly simplifies network management and control and provides seamless management of the new service.

About ASTRA Platform Services GmbH (www.aps.de)

APS - ASTRA Platform Services GmbH, an SES ASTRA subsidiary based in Unterföhring near Munich, operates one of the state-of-the-art playout centres in Europe. APS is regarded as a technical provider for broadcasters and production companies and offers a great range of services for the processing and broadcasting of content for TV and radio channels. Apart from digital archiving, these include playout services as well as the processing and broadcasting of content via satellite, internet and to mobile devices. Today, APS distributes about 250 analogue and digital TV and radio channels, interactive services and data services. As the first playout centre in Germany, APS operates the complete HDTV playout service for HD channels.

Among its customers are Premiere, the channels of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group, Das Vierte, HSE 24, Deutsches Sportfernsehen DSF, Discovery, Tele 5, 9Live and many other TV and radio programmes.

About Harmonic Inc.

Harmonic Inc. is a leading provider of versatile and high performance video solutions that enable service providers to efficiently deliver the next generation of broadcast and on-demand services including high definition, video-on-demand, network personal video recording and time-shifted TV. Cable, satellite, broadcast and telecom service providers can increase revenues and lower operational expenditures by using Harmonic’s digital video, broadband optical access and software solutions to offer consumers the compelling and personalized viewing experience that is driving the business models of the future.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with R&D, sales and system integration centers worldwide. The Company’s customers, including many of the world’s largest communications providers, deliver services in virtually every country. Visit www.harmonicinc.com for more information.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27(A) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21(E) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements related to: the advancement of video delivery networks across Europe and the world.

Our expectations and beliefs regarding the capabilities of Harmonic’s advanced video processing solutions and their benefits for APS and KDL may not materialize, and actual results could differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Harmonic’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its recent Reports filed on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Harmonic does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements.

EDITOR’S NOTE – Product and company names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.