Diversifying from its core videoconferencing systems business, Compression Labs Inc, San Jose, California, has announced Magnitude, an MPEG-2-based Compressed Digital Video product family for provision of entertainment and information services over telephone, cable and satellite networks. It enables delivery of real-time television broadcast and non-real-time video-on-demand services over twisted pair, coaxial cable, optical fibre and satellite. The system reduces the bandwidth required to transmit video (up to 270Mbps) by six to 60 times depending on the complexity of the programme content and the transmission method, the firm says. The product family consists of a modular encoder and a choice of decoders. An enhanced MPEG-1+ version of the new encoder is available immediately, and it can be upgraded to MPEG-2 in late 1994 by changing the video encoder board and multiplexer. The Professional Integrated Receiver Decoder and the Professional Integrated Program Decoder are also available immediately. The Consumer Integrated Receiver Decoder and the Set-top Decoder will be available by December. Compression Labs and Philips Digital Videocommunication Systems have also agreed to jointly design, manufacture and market digital set-top decoders for the delivery of video-on-demand programming to the home.
