Motorola Mobility announced that ESPN will use Motorola’s video distribution solution to transition all programming for ESPN and ESPN-2 networks to an MPEG-4 HD format, freeing up precious bandwidth to increase the number of HD services offered.
Motorola’s solution also positions ESPN to offer both 1080p60 HD and 3D TV programming when service providers are ready for it.
“Motorola’s MPEG-4 HD distribution system will allow us to consolidate our distribution while efficiently delivering the highest quality 1080p60 HD sports programming,” said Chuck Pagano, executive vice president, technology, ESPN.
Motorola’s solution is comprised of the SE-6601A MPEG-4 encoder that preserves exceptional video quality while decreasing bandwidth consumption, the DSR-6100 integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) that uses MPEG-4 to MPEG-2 transcoding to bridge to legacy operator services, and a highly flexible software control system. As both ESPN and ESPN-2 transition to all MPEG-4 HD over the next several years, Motorola’s system will distribute full resolution HD programming while simultaneously providing legacy MPEG-2 HD and SD services to ESPN affiliate operators, all without requiring additional satellite bandwidth.