Hong Kong– ESPN STAR Sports is looking to manage distribution of programming to head-ends across Asia and satellite transponder usage using Tandberg Television’s video compression head-end for its MPEG-4 AVC contribution and distribution (C&D) system. ESPN STAR Sports’ programming has a cumulative reach of over 310 million viewers in Asia via its encrypted pay services to 15 networks covering 24 countries. It’s using Tandberg Television’s MPEG-4 AVC EN8000 encoders to achieve bandwidth savings. The new video head-end including EN8030 SD encoders will be deployed at ESPN STAR Sports’ 73,000 square-foot production facilities and earth station in Singapore. The EN8030 provides bandwidth improvements of up to 50% over currently deployed MPEG-4 AVC units. Graham Cradock, EVP and General Manager of Tandberg Television Asia-Pacific, says more than 5,500 MPEG-4 AVC HD and SD encoders have been commercially deployed.