RGB Networks announces that its Video Multiprocessing Gateway has been certified by Microsoft as meeting the stringent requirements of its award-winning Mediaroom IPTV software platform. Microsoft Mediaroom is the world's most widely deployed IPTV platform and is in use by more than 25 leading service providers worldwide to deliver advanced IP-based video services to millions of subscribers.

This certification verifies that the VMG, with its TCM transcoding module, successfully interoperates with Mediaroom servers and clients to transcode high definition, standard definition and picture-in-picture programs in real time to pass through the Mediaroom IPTV platform in a reliable manner. The ability to transcode programs in real time from MPEG-2 into the MPEG-4/H.264 format used by IPTV deployments is vital, as the majority of broadcast content is still delivered to IPTV service providers' headends as MPEG-2. In addition, the ability to clamp the rate of MPEG-4/H.264 signals from incoming satellite feeds allows the streams to be reliably delivered over DSL and fiber networks. The VMG was awarded certification after extensive testing by Microsoft validated its transcoding capabilities, including its ability to transcode HD programs in both 1080i and 720p formats.

"Combining Mediaroom certification with the VMG's unmatched transcoding performance, scalability and stream processing capacity make it an ideal solution for service providers to maximize return from their Mediaroom-based IPTV services," said Yuval Fisher, Chief Technology Officer for RGB Networks. "This approval by Microsoft opens up exciting opportunities for us to introduce the VMG, with its unique combination of features, performance and carrier-class reliability to Mediaroom users around the world, enabling them to cost-effectively deploy advanced services to any video-enabled device."