Rainbow Media Selects Scientific Atlanta Systems for Analog-to-Digital Content Distribution Migration

ATLANTA, GA., May 3, 2006 - Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco Company, announced today that Rainbow Media Holdings LLC has selected multiple Scientific Atlanta® PowerVu® digital content distribution systems for the analog-to-digital migration of North American programming delivery to its affiliates. Scientific Atlanta will provide two PowerVu multiplexes for the delivery of standard definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) programming from uplink facilities in Bethpage, NY. In addition, Rainbow Media has purchased a backup PowerVu SD multiplex system for deployment in Belmont, N.Y., and will rely on Scientific Atlanta for assistance in distributing more than 6,000 PowerVu integrated receiver/decoders (IRDs) to its cable affiliates.
“We’ve dealt with Scientific Atlanta from our earliest days and have come to rely on the video expertise and high-performance products and systems they have constantly provided for us,” said Steve Pontillo, senior vice president at Rainbow Media. “Our analog-to-digital content distribution transition is a major benchmark in our program delivery timeline and we knew we could depend on Scientific Atlanta’s people and products to make this as seamless as possible for our affiliates and us.”

Rainbow Media will use the PowerVu Advanced Encoder (model D9120TM) at the primary and backup uplink sites and deploy the PowerVu Program Receiver (model D9850TM) across its service area to support the analog-to-digital migration.

“With the explosion of new services and the bandwidth they require growing every day, Rainbow Media has greatly enhanced its ability to support new VOD and HD video services with the implementation of bandwidth-efficient digital video distribution,” said Dean Rockwell, vice president and general manager, Digital Media Networks at Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco company. “Rainbow Media has been an innovator in television programming and entertainment for more than 25 years and the new PowerVu systems will help enable it to continue to occupy a leadership position among cable programmers.”

Rainbow Media is using Scientific Atlanta’s PowerVu ConnectTM program to streamline the rapid deployment and authorization of the PowerVu IRDs for its affiliates. PowerVu Connect is an integrated Web-based system that provides a centralized contact point that automates the process of acquiring the IRDs and authorizing them to receive the Rainbow Media signal. The PowerVu Connect system coordinates the order entry, billing, shipping and authorization of the IRDs, freeing Rainbow Media’s staff to focus on delivering programming while Scientific Atlanta coordinates and handles IRD distribution.


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About Scientific Atlanta

Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco company, is a leading supplier of digital-content contribution and distribution systems, transmission networks for broadband access to the home, digital interactive set-tops and subscriber systems designed for video, high-speed Internet and voice-over-IP (VoIP) networks, and worldwide customer service and support. Scientific Atlanta, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc. More information about Scientific Atlanta is available at http://www.scientificatlanta.com.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Information on Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

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For more information visit http://www.scientificatlanta.com. Writers and editors may access a variety of information on the company and its products, as well as downloadable images, by selecting News Center from the home page. Scientific Atlanta and PowerVu are registered trademarks and D9120, D9850 and PowerVu Connect are trademarks of Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information

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