Ooredoo, a telecommunications operator based in Qatar, has launched a 4K TV service in the Middle East using Harmonic’s Electra VS convergent video system. Ooredoo’s new multiscreen channels, called FunBox UHD and C4K360, offer a combination of 24-hour programming, live TV, time-shift TV and VOD.
Harmonic’s Electra VS convergent video system supports IPTV delivery, OTT live and VOD streaming, as well as UHD with HDR.
According to Harmonic’s Ian Graham, VP of sales, EMEA and LATAM, besides the bandwidth concerns in the Middle East, video formats are changing all the time, making the delivery of content to multiple networks a challenge. The Electra VS solution was designed to meet this challenge, supporting OTT and IPTV delivery, with HEVC encoding for both live and file-based content.
According to SNL Kagan, by 2020 more than 40 million consumers around the world will be watching close to 250 linear UHD channels.
