Vodafone Spain and Valencia FC test LTE Broadcast

Vodafone España and Valencia Football Club have successfully completed a trial of LTE Broadcast technology to distribute five simultaneous channels of live HD content to fans’ mobile devices in Mestalla Stadium during Valencia CF’s last Spanish League match against Celta de Vigo. 

The trial used Thomson Video Networks’ eMBMS-compliant ViBE VS7000 encoder to convert the HD streams to mobile formats during the trial, which was completed on May 17.

The trial delivered exclusive video content to Valencia CF fans in the arena via a new application on their mobile devices.

“All over the world, 4G LTE networks are changing the way consumers think about accessing video on their mobile devices. The growth of 4G LTE-capable devices is exploding, and video traffic over the Internet and mobile networks will reach unprecedented levels over the next few years. The rapid evolution and innovation of mobile consumer devices is not only driving an ever-increasing demand for HD services, but also differentiated value-added services such as live in-event broadcasts,” said Christophe Delahousse, president, Thomson Video Networks.

“With the ViBE VS7000, we’re staying on the forefront of these trends. Building on an extensive feature set that already includes MPEG-DASH for linear and non-linear output and complemented by proven integration with eMBMS technology, the ViBE VS7000 provides a unique answer to operators and service providers looking to expand their service portfolios to video broadcast and multicast offerings over 4G LTE networks.”