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Year In Review... Haivision


hai_sm1210_l For Haivision, 2010 was another record year in terms of growth. Delivering innovative technologies specifically focused on IP video solutions has always been our forte, and this year we have grown our business by more than 40 percent. While Haivision has been historically focused on LAN delivery of IP video, we are now expanding towards multi-platform support for inbound and outbound streaming requirements associated with IP video.

To this end, one of our 2010 initiatives involved addressing the fact that digital video broadcast signals over satellite must be effectively retransmitted over LAN environments. Part of our commitment to this effort was the release of our new Torpedo™ DVB-to-IP gateways. Torpedo takes European DVB satellite and terrestrial signals and re-encapsulates them for distribution over LAN. Some of the related challenges the Company has taken on over the past year are the streaming management and content protection considerations associated with bringing satellite broadcast signals to a LAN for distribution.

The video signals transmitted via satellite are finely tuned for the capacities, quality specifications, and other unique requirements of that transmission medium. When those signals are brought onto a LAN for streaming delivery within an enterprise, two factors must be taken into account.

First, the decode environment must be able to handle those digital video signals. HaiVision has invested heavily in bringing the capacity of our soft players and set-top boxes into accord with this requirement. Second, the capacity of satellite networks typically does not match the characteristics of the LAN or of the players. For example, digital satellite can support HD signals up to 18 Mbps. The bandwidth of these signals is too large for general LAN delivery or computer based decoding. In 2010, there was significant investment in transcoding technology that can take streams of a bandwidth suited for satellite and adjust them so they are suitable for consumption throughout an enterprise, whether with respect to network considerations or to the endpoint, be it a set-top box, soft player or mobile device.

hai_sm1210_g1 Content-management security is a critical consideration, as any free-to-air or paid subscription content needs to be protected when it is distributed across a network. Content providers need the comfort of knowing that IP streams are not being readily recorded. Over the course of 2010, Haivision introduced new solutions including VF Encrypt, as well as ongoing enhancement of our end-to-end Furnace™ IP video delivery solution, to provide this level of security. Furnace guarantees content production through the application of AES encryption across the network from head end to any end point and also gives administrators the technology to monitor the consumption of any feed. This combination of security and reporting in turn allows the enterprise to adhere to any requirements of bulk provisioning agreements.

hai_sm1210_bio All of these developments in Haivision’s approach to IP video delivery represent a transformation from an encoder-centric proposition to a comprehensive facility-oriented position that embraces digital video broadcast over satellite. Haivision is focused on delivering such capabilities throughout our target market segments: military, enterprise, education, as well as sports and entertainment. These segments demand attention not only on delivering media to TVs, but also on delivering media to any visual endpoint, including displays, desktops, and mobile devices.

In response to the demands of these markets, Haivision will continue its innovation and ongoing development in 2011 to address new challenges. Throughout the coming year, we will be focusing on extending the unique benefits of our IP video proposition — performance, security, accountability, control — to all viewers, regardless of device.