While the goal of some companies is to put a cinch on their niche spot in the broadcast chain, other companies are looking to be a one-stop shop for broadcasters and their needs.
Is it a plot to swallow up as many companies as possible to eliminate the competition, or is it really just one savvy business move after another? Harmonic company reps assured its media audience at a press conference last night that it's definitely not trying to take over the broadcast world. It just makes sense that if the company already has a presence in multiple places in the broadcast chain, why not partner with other companies that fill in those gaps?
Some months ago, Harmonic acquired Rhozet, bringing in a huge player in transcoding technology -- furthering Harmonic's goal to bring "any video to any device." (More about Rhozet and its NAB announcements later.) But the more immediate news is the acquisition of Scopus Video. What Scopus is bringing to the chain is its contribution and distrobution technology -- again, covering an area that Harmonic had yet to reach.
Among other products at NAB, Harmonic will be showing its Ellipse family of encoders for digital video contribution -- specifically, the Ellipse 1000 for fixed-line contribution and 2000 with DVB-S2 for digital satellite newsgathering (DSNG). Based on Scopus technology, the Ellipse platform supports compression standards ranging from MPEG-2 SD to MPEG-4 AVC HD/SD. For now, both curent and nascent standards are supported.
Could Harmonic be plotting to take over the broadcasting world? It's not likely. But is the company making some smart moves? It sure seems like it.