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Altitude Sports & Entertainment

TUESDAY, 21 APRIL 2009


Altitude Sports & Entertainment, the Denver- based regional sports network, has selected the Cisco® MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) and transcoding high-definition (HD) platform to enhance its regional sports programming delivery capability. Altitude Sports & Entertainment, the official television network of the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Mammoth and Colorado Rapids sports teams, will also use the Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) solution to broadcast entertainment and community programming from music to theatrical performances, as well as boxing, rodeo, auto racing, golf, skiing and extreme sports, and a series of outdoor and lifestyle shows. Altitude is among a growing number of forward-looking content providers that are evolving their network into a medianet, a network optimized for video and rich media that is scalable nationwide, while it streamlines operations and accelerates service velocity.

Facts:

* Altitude will use the Cisco solution to distribute a single MPEG-4 AVC HD video stream for reception by Cisco Advanced Receiver Transcoders, which convert the incoming video to MPEG-2 HD, MPEG-2 standard definition, or analog to protect affiliates' investments in the large installed base of MPEG-2 set-tops.

* A Cisco MPEG-4 AVC encoder will create a single MPEG-4 AVC HD video stream that requires up to 50 percent less bandwidth than a comparable MPEG-2 video stream, plus deliver DVB-S2 forward error correction and modulation for higher throughputs, improved satellite bandwidth use and more efficient content delivery.

* The Altitude television network originally launched in September 2004 using a Cisco PowerVu® standard-definition distribution system.

Supporting Quotes:

* "When you make a transition to advanced technology, you don't want to team with a newcomer," said Matthew Hutchings, chief operating officer for Altitude Sports & Entertainment television network. "Our past experience with Cisco plus its leadership in the MPEG-4 AVC encoding and transcoding marketplace helped us take an aggressive time-to-market approach and take advantage of the savings in capital and operating expenses with this new platform."

* "Video is driving a market transition for content providers and their affiliates," said Brian Morris, vice president, global business development, Digital Media Networks business unit for Cisco. "Cisco has industry-leading end-to-end video and networking solutions and is uniquely placed to help answer the challenges our customers face in this highly competitive and changing environment."

Supporting Resources:

* Cisco D9054 MPEG-4 AVC HD encoder
* Cisco award-winning D9858 Advanced Receiver Transcoder


For more details on this news, please visit pr-usa.net.

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