Fox compresses with Tandberg

FOX Broadcasting is continuing its long-time reliance on compression gear from Tandberg Television (formerly NDS) with the purchase of a $1.5 million digital satellite transmission system. The Tandberg system, which is being installed at Fox's Los Angeles headquarters, marks the first U.S. installation of the supplier's 5000 encoder line (Fox will use the E5611 model).

It will handle distribution of 16 MPEG-2 4:2:2 channels to Fox's 200-plus affiliates, using four 36-MHz C-band satellite transponders. Each transponder will be fed by Tandberg's 5000 multiplexer, which has a 100-Mb/s output rate. Each fully redundant multiplex will be configured as a 4+1 system and monitored by Tandberg's Multiplex Element Manager software.