Consolidated Communications has selected Entone Technologies Hydra HD IP video gateway for their IPTV services.

With approximately 240,000 access lines throughout Illinois and Texas, Consolidated Communications is the 16th largest telephone company in the US. The company has provided telecommunications services to its communities for more than 100 years and now offers a triple-play service bundle of voice, video, and data.

Hydra HD is part of Entone's Connected Home Solution that eliminates the need for set-top boxes or new home wiring to deliver IPTV services. Hydra HD is the only IP video gateway available in the market today that can deliver up to three independent video streams – with any combination of SD/HD, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 (H.264/AVC) signals, over a single DSL or Ethernet connection using existing in-home coax cabling. It supports both SD (480i/480p) and HD (720p/1080i/1080p) signals, as well as MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 (H.264/AVC) and VC-1 compression formats.

Hydra HD's integrated HomePNA 3.0 interface allows for high-speed IP service over existing in-home coax and phone lines. It also has integrated Caller ID features and a built-in ATSC tuner for receiving over-the-air broadcast. Hydra HD also offers full interactivity and a modular personal video recorder (PVR) with up to 1 Terabyte of storage.