SES S.A. said Frontier Communications has joined a growing mix of MVPDs that have begun to test 4K/Ultra HD video services on the company’s managed distribution platform.
For the tests, SES is delivering UHD content to its partners via dedicated satellite bandwidth, holding that the approach delivers 4K fare at higher quality than content delivered in the pixel-packed format via Internet connections.
"We are optimistic that SES’s innovative, pre-packaged Ultra HD solution will allow for a smooth transition of Ultra HD delivery to Frontier subscriber homes nationwide," Steve Ward, SVP of video technology & content for Frontier, said in a statement.
Other MVPDs working with SES on 4K trials include Marquette-Adams, Buckeye Broadband, Service Electric Cable TV, enTouch Systems, Cable America, Golden West Telecommunications, MTC Cable and Sjoberg’s Cable TV. Those operators are delivering 4K into homes using either managed IP multicast DOCSIS 3.0 streams (not over-the-top/public Internet) or on traditional digital QAM transport streams.
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SES’s managed platform currently offers nine linear Ultra HD channels, with 4K Universe joining the mix late last year.
Outside of SES’s partners, a growing group of other MVPDs have launched or are testing 4K services and apps, including DirecTV/AT&T, Dish Network and Comcast.
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