Asia Netcom and Japanese Partners Deliver HD Video over IP

Asia Netcom Japan, together with Miyagi Networks and Frontiers, completed a large scale test HDTV over a shared Internet backbone. The trial was conducted using HDTV content (MPEG-2) from Miyagi Networks -- a CATV and broadband service provider in the Sendai Miyagi prefecture; Asia Netcom Japan's Internet backbone; and equipment from Frontiers, a manufacturer of HDTV transmission hardware (HDx1000), which combines "Hi-vision," an MPEG-2 encoder and a Video-over-IP gateway. The trial transmitted HDTV content between the Sendai area and Miyagi's CATV and media partners in the Tokyo area. The companies described the transmission over the 700km distance in the shared Internet backbone as a complete success resulting in nearly zero packet loss and no network delay.


During the trial, the HDTV content was compressed into MPEG2-TS data and sent out at a bit-rate of 20 Mbps, as well as compressed into TS 30 Mbps. In both cases, the HD data was transmitted in real time over Asia Netcom Japan's shared Internet backbone with excellent performance levels with nearly no packet loss or network delay.


"The result of the test means that, in addition to Japanese HDTV operators, media companies in the region and across the globe, can leverage this platform for the transmission of high-definition content over Asia Netcom's global Internet backbone," said Hideo Ishii, Asia Netcom Japan's Director of IP architecture. "This real time high-definition video transmission system is the ideal platform to support international events such as the Olympic Games or the Football World Cup, which requires real-time transmission of video across the globe."http://www.asianetcom.com