The Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) deployments rely on an emerging international compression standard - H.264, also known in the industry as Advanced Video Coding (AVC) or MPEG-4 part 10. The H.264 video compression standard provides 40% to 70% bandwidth and storage savings over the MPEG-2 standard making IPTV and Interactive Video Services over commercial broadband IP networks a promising reality. However, the bandwidth and storage benefits are attained by a significant increase in complexity and computational requirements. Media Excel’s HERA 3200i is an IPTV H.264 Transcoding Appliance that addresses the next generation of video compression market needs.