Thomson-Networks

RENNES, France — Sept. 8, 2011 — Thomson Video Networks today announced that long-term business partner Hannu Pro has now become a Value Added Reseller (VAR), distributing and supporting the entire Thomson Video Networks product line in the Baltic states, and in selected Eastern Europe countries.

Representing more than 50 of the industry’s top manufacturers, Hannu Pro has a track record of successful regional installations for Thomson Video Networks, including a complete national and regional DTT implementation for Latvia State Radio and Television Center, a hybrid DTT and IPTV system for Lattelecom, and a satellite headend for NURTS Bulgaria. Hannu Pro is based in Riga, Latvia, with offices in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Bulgaria. Over more than 15 years, the company has built a formidable reputation as a provider of integration services for customers in broadcast, post production, and telecommunications.

“During our cooperation in many successful projects, Hannu Pro has demonstrated a high degree of expertise and a strong committment to excellent customer service,” said Eric Louvet, vice president of worldwide sales and services for Thomson Video Networks. “This new step in partnership is a natural development of our positive relationship to date, and as an organization, Hannu Pro shares so many of the values needed for our VAR program.”

Thomson Video Networks’ new VAR program is designed for experienced headend distributors who aim to develop their integration and customer services. The VAR acts as a qualified integrator and the first level of support. Thomson Video Networks offers VAR partners an advanced annual training scheme, with commissioning assistance, a second-line service level agreement, and remote or on-site support.

“Our work with Thomson Video Networks in some major projects has given us a lot of confidence in the company and its technologies,” said Kalvis Baumanis, general manager of Hannu Pro. “Long-term relationships are important to us, since they allow the development of the kind of in-depth knowledge that leads to high standards of customer service. We are pleased to enroll in Thomson’s VAR program and are very excited about the quality of support the company gives its business partners.”

Thomson Video Networks provides broadcasters with a premium viewing experience across all networks, to all devices. For more than fifteen years, the company has driven the digital television revolution forward with its advanced compression and content delivery platforms. The award-winning Thomson product range is used by the world’s major broadcasters and prized for the superior video and audio quality it delivers to all platforms, from large 3D screens to handheld mobile TV devices.

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About Hannu Pro

Hannu Pro is a leading system integrator company in the Baltic states and a part of the Silicon Group company network, with more than 15 years of experience in TV, broadcast, production, and post production system development. The main activities of Hannu Pro are the development of complete media production and distribution solutions, professional equipment distribution, and installation operations. In the Baltic states, Hannu Pro cooperates with and directly represents more than 50 of the world's leading manufacturers of professional TV and broadcast equipment, as well as software developers. Notably Hannu Pro played a great role in DVB-T introduction in Latvia, and actively supported DVB-H and IPTV development. For more information, visit www.hannu-pro.com.

About Thomson Video Networks

From the very onset of digital TV broadcasting, the Thomson name has been synonymous with supplying expertise, quality, and reliability to the world’s leading broadcasters. Thomson Video Networks builds on this great heritage by providing unique and innovative video delivery solutions for a premium viewing experience. Since Thomson Video Networks delivered the world’s first large-scale direct-to-home satellite system, the company has maintained the same philosophy: to provide the best possible picture quality across any network, to any device. As a worldwide leader in compression systems for satellite, terrestrial, cable, IPTV, mobile TV, and Web streaming, Thomson Video Networks is helping its customers deliver superior quality video to anything from small handheld devices to large 3D HD screens, with the lowest bandwidth to ensure a profitable business model. A trusted supplier with more than 20 percent of the active channels deployed worldwide, a global support presence, and culture of delivering quality at every stage, Thomson Video Networks boasts the experience and range of products to supply every need, from hybrid multiformat compression systems to contribution links for content exchange networks.

For information about products from Thomson Video Networks, please visit www.thomson-networks.com.