Global satellite operator SES announced the launch of its Ultra HD platform in Latin America to accelerate commercial 4K rollouts among leading pay TV operators of the region.
The new solution will open with four Ultra HD channels, including Nasa TV UHD, produced by Harmonic, as well as the SES Ultra HD demo channel, an incubator for emerging 4K content producers. The company said it plans to add new channels and content produced in Brazil, Mexico, and other Latin American countries in the future.
According to SES, many of Latin America’s leading pay TV providers are already testing the company’s new Ultra HD solution, an all-in-one package of pre-configured Ultra HD content, reception equipment, and satellite distribution that will enable quick and easy Ultra HD deployments over the region. The end-to-end platform will be distributed over multiple SES satellites: SES-6 will provide dedicated delivery across the Brazilian market while SES’s NSS-806 satellite will serve the rest of the region until it is replaced by the recently launched SES-14 satellite later this year.
SES said it has over 300 HD and Ultra HD channels currently hosted on its satellites. According to Jurandir Pitsch, Vice President of Sales and Market Development for SES Video in Latin America and the Caribbean, “Latin America’s leading Pay TV providers are poised to offer Ultra HD content to their subscribers via the SES platform ahead of the 2018 World Cup, which is driving strong interest in 4K services across the region.”