BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Tektronix, Inc., a leading worldwide provider of test, measurement and monitoring solutions, announced that leading independent communications holding company SureWest Communications (NasdaqGM:SURW - News), which provides advanced digital TV, high-speed Internet and telephone services to the greater Sacramento and Kansas City regions, used the award-winning Tektronix PQA500 picture quality analysis tool (www.tek.com/products/video_test/pqa500/) in its Sacramento market to provide dependable evaluation and qualification of H.264 video encoders intended for future deployment in their digital television service.

As more broadcasters move to high definition (HD) output, it is imperative that their new and existing equipment is capable of supporting the highest quality images. Broadcasters need to accurately and comprehensively assess the picture quality of encoding and decoding equipment so they can have confidence that it meets or exceeds their requirements. By using an algorithm that accurately models the human vision system, the Tektronix PQA500 provides a suite of repeatable, objective quality measurements that closely correspond with subjective human visual assessment. These measurements provide valuable information to engineers working to optimize video compression and recovery, and maintain a level of common carrier and distribution transmission service to clients and viewers.

When SureWest decided to expand its channel capacity and video recording capability by upgrading its encoding technology, the company sought and received absolute assurance that it would be utilizing the most appropriate encoders to ensure superior video quality. SureWest used the PQA500 in a real-world challenge and the perceptual-based objective picture quality measurements on the PQA500 clearly demonstrated the differences in picture quality between each of the H.264 encoders. The PQA500 identified encoder performance issues that the technical team had not detected in their initial evaluation of the products. These picture quality performance differences strongly influenced SureWest's H.264 encoder selection.

"SureWest demands excellence from our vendors so we can provide our customers with a superior experience," said Bill DeMuth, senior vice president and chief technology officer at SureWest Communications. "As we implement new encoding techniques to our existing high definition services, we need access to the finest HD video encoding test equipment to deliver best-in-class services over our network. Tektronix has always been on the leading edge for picture quality analysis, and the PQA500 met our strict requirements. It provides consistent, reliable and accurate measurements, and gives us the confidence that the equipment we select will deliver the results we need to meet our customers expectations."

Tektronix Inc. (NYSE: TEK)