San Diego, California based ComStream, provider of digital transmission systems for data, audio, and video applications, has agreed with DiviCom Inc, provider of digital multimedia networking systems to jointly market ComStream’s MediaCast PC/server receiver card and DiviCom’s DiviCast headend system. Used together, these products will enable satellite network operators to transmit data, audio and video at speeds of up to 45Mbps. This speed of pipeline is capable of transmitting data files, web pages, new push and streaming video broadcasts and other multimedia applications. The move lets us to offer an end to end, DVB-compliant system for delivering multimedia applications, commented Alex Robertson, general manager for ComStream’s Broadband Products division. The combined system is aimed at satellite service providers and corporate customers who want to build private datacasting networks for delivering services such as distance learning, streaming video, Internet web pages, software and other large data files in either multicast or unicast mode. The DiviCast system takes IP data from an Ethernet network, and encapsulates it into an MPEG-2 transport stream at up to 15 Mbps. The DiviCast software controller then routes the stream to a DiviCom multiplexer and on through to the satellite modem and upconverter to the satellite. The DiviCast software also lets the operator to control the flow of information to receiver cards, and interface to subscriber management, billing, and scheduling systems. The satellite signal is amplified and downconverted from the Ku-band frequency to L-band. The MediaCast PC receiver card then demodulates and demultiplexes up to 32 data streams at a time and delivers the appropriate digital bit stream to the PCI bus of the computer.
