Appear TV, a global provider of nexgen head-ends for broadcast and IP television, has launched their MPEG-2/4 SD and HD decoder at IBC2009 (stand 1.A59). The high density solution enables the decoding of as many as 30 channels in one 4RU chassis, in either MPEG-2 SD/HD 4:2:0 or MPEG-4 AVC SD/HD format, and also allows SD/HD-SDI output with embedded audio. As the take-up of HD increases, it is likely that some operators will want to move to an ‘HD only’ approach in the contribution backbone, but at the same time they will need to continue to provide SD and analog services for those viewers who have yet to make the transition. By allowing HD to SD down-conversion, the new Appear TV decoder allows operators to fulfil all their customers’ service requirements, as well as future-proofing for the HD experience.