Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements of Harmonic include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company’s fiscal quarters are based on 13-week periods, except for the fourth quarter which ends on December 31. Discontinued Operations On March 5, 2013, the Company completed the sale of its cable access HFC business to Aurora Networks (“Aurora”) for $46.0 million in cash. The Consolidated Statements of Operations have been retrospectively adjusted to present the cable access HFC business as discontinued operations, as described in Note 3, "Discontinued Operations”. Unless noted otherwise, all discussions herein with respect to the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements relate to the Company’s continuing operations. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Reclassifications From time to time the Company reclassifies certain period balances to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications have no material impact on previously reported total assets, total liabilities, stockholders’ equity, results of operations or cash flows. Foreign Currency The functional currency of the Company’s Israeli, Cayman and Swiss operations is the U.S. dollar. All other foreign subsidiaries use the respective local currency as the functional currency. When the local currency is the functional currency, gains and losses from translation of these foreign currency financial statements into U.S. dollars are recorded as a separate component of other comprehensive loss in stockholders’ equity. For subsidiaries where the functional currency is the U.S. dollar, monetary assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are remeasured into U.S. dollars using exchange rates prevailing on the balance sheet date. The remeasurement gains and losses are included in other income (expense), net in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company recorded remeasurement losses of $0.5 million, $0.7 million, and $0.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Fair Value of Financial Instruments The carrying value of Harmonic’s financial instruments, including cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, approximate fair value due to their short maturities. Derivative Instruments The Company enters into foreign currency forward exchange contracts to minimize the short-term impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations on cash and certain trade and inter-company receivables and payables. The Company does not enter into forward currency forward contracts for trading purposes. These derivative instruments generally have maturities between one to three months. The Company does not designate these forward currency forward exchange contracts as hedging instruments. According to the applicable accounting guidance, the assets or liabilities associated with the forward exchange contracts are recorded at fair value in prepaid expenses and other current assets or accrued liabilities in the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheet. Gains or losses resulting from changes in fair value on forward exchange contracts are recognized in earnings monthly and are included in other income (expense), net in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations. Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash and cash equivalents include all cash and highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase. The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents approximates fair value because of the short maturity of those instruments. Short-Term Investments Harmonic’s short-term investments, which are classified as available-for-sale securities are principally comprised of U.S. federal government bonds, state, municipal and local government agencies bonds, corporate bonds, commercial paper and certificates of deposit, with a final maturity of twenty-four months or less from the date of purchase. Short-term investments are stated at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses reported in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The specific identification method is used to determine the cost of securities disposed of, with realized gains and losses reflected in other income (expense), net in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Investments are anticipated to be used for current operations and are, therefore, classified as current assets even though maturities may extend beyond one year. The Company monitors its investment portfolio for impairment on a periodic basis. In the event a decline in value is determined to be other than temporary, an impairment charge is recorded. The Company considers current market conditions, as well as the likelihood that it would need to sell its investments prior to a recovery of par value, when determining if a loss is other than temporary. Concentrations of Credit Risk/Major Customers/Supplier Concentration Financial instruments which subject Harmonic to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and accounts receivable. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments are invested in short-term, highly liquid, investment-grade obligations of commercial or governmental issuers, in accordance with Harmonic’s investment policy. The investment policy limits the amount of credit exposure to any one financial institution, commercial or governmental issuer. Harmonic’s accounts receivable are derived from sales to cable, satellite, telco, broadcast and other media companies. Harmonic generally does not require collateral from its customers, and performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers and provides for expected losses. Harmonic maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts based upon the expected collectability of its accounts receivable. No customers had a balance greater than 10% of the Company’s net accounts receivable balance as of December 31, 2013 and 2012. In the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, sales to Comcast accounted for 12%, 11% and 10%, respectively, of net revenue. Certain of the components and subassemblies included in the Company’s products are obtained from a single source or a limited group of suppliers. Although the Company seeks to reduce dependence on those sole source and limited source suppliers, the partial or complete loss of certain of these sources could have at least a temporary adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations and damage customer relationships. Revenue Recognition Harmonic’s principal sources of revenue are from the sale of hardware, software, hardware and software maintenance contracts, and end-to-end solutions, encompassing design, manufacture, test, integration and installation of products. Harmonic recognizes revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or services have been provided, the sale price is fixed or determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured. Revenue from the sale of hardware and software products is recognized when risk of loss and title have transferred. For most of the Company’s product sales, these criteria are met at the time the product is shipped or delivery has occurred. Revenue from distributors and system integrators is recognized on delivery of the related products, provided all other revenue recognition criteria have been met. The Company’s agreements with these distributors and system integrators have terms which are generally consistent with the standard terms and conditions for the sale of the Company’s equipment to end users, and do not provide for product rotation or pricing allowances, as are typically found in agreements with stocking distributors. The Company accrues for sales returns and other allowances based on its historical experience. Deferred revenue includes billings in excess of revenue recognized, net of deferred cost of revenue, and invoiced amounts remain deferred until applicable revenue recognition criteria are met. Shipping and handling costs incurred for inventory purchases and product shipments are recorded in cost of revenue in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Costs associated with services are generally recognized as incurred. The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of hardware products and software bundled with hardware that is essential to the functionality of the hardware in accordance with applicable revenue recognition accounting guidance. For the sale of stand-alone software products, bundled with hardware but not essential to the functionality of the hardware, revenue is allocated between the hardware, including essential software and related elements, and the non-essential software and related elements. Revenue for the hardware and essential software elements are recognized under the relative allocation method. Revenue for the non-essential software and related elements are recognized under the residual method in accordance with software accounting guidance. Revenue associated with service and maintenance agreements is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period in which the services are performed, generally one year. The Company recognizes revenue associated with solution sales using the percentage of completion or completed contract methods of accounting. Further details of these accounting policies are described below. Multiple Element Arrangements. The Company has revenue arrangements that include hardware and software essential to the hardware product’s functionality, and non-essential software, services and support. For transactions originating or materially modified, beginning January 1, 2011, the Company has applied the accounting guidance that requires the Company to allocate revenue to all deliverables based on their relative selling prices. For transactions originating prior to January 1, 2011, the Company applied software revenue recognition accounting guidance, as described in the “Software” section below. The Company determines the relative selling prices by first considering vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value (“VSOE”), if it exists; otherwise third-party evidence (“TPE”) of the selling price is used. If neither VSOE nor TPE exists for a deliverable, the Company uses a best estimate of the selling price (“BESP”) for that deliverable. Once revenue is allocated to all deliverables based on their relative selling prices, revenue related to hardware elements (hardware, essential software and related services) are recognized using a relative selling price allocation and non-essential software and related services are recognized under the residual method. Harmonic has established VSOE for certain elements of its arrangements based on either historical stand-alone sales to third parties or stated renewal rates for maintenance. The Company has VSOE of fair value for maintenance, training and certain professional services. TPE is determined based on competitor prices for similar deliverables when sold separately. The Company is typically not able to determine TPE for competitors’ products or services. Generally, the Company’s go-to-market strategy differs from that of its competitors’ and the Company’s offerings contain a significant level of differentiation, such that the comparable pricing of products with similar functionality cannot be obtained. Furthermore, the Company is unable to reliably determine what competitor similar products’ selling prices are on a stand-alone basis. When the Company is unable to establish fair value of non-software deliverables using VSOE or TPE, the Company uses BESP in its allocation of arrangement consideration. The objective of using BESP is to determine the price at which the Company would transact a sale if the product or service were sold on a stand-alone basis. The Company determines BESP for a product or service by considering multiple factors, including, but not limited to, pricing practices, market conditions, competitive landscape, internal costs, geographies and gross margin. The determination of BESP is made through consultation with Company’s management, taking into consideration the Company’s go-to-market strategy. Software. Sales of stand-alone software that are not considered essential to the functionality of the hardware continue to be subject to the software revenue recognition guidance. Further, the Company also applied the software revenue recognition guidance to its multiple element arrangements for transactions originating prior to January 1, 2011. In accordance with the software revenue recognition guidance, the Company applies the residual method to recognize revenue for the delivered elements in stand-alone software transactions. Under the residual method, the amount of revenue allocated to delivered elements equals the total arrangement consideration, less the aggregate fair value of any undelivered elements, typically maintenance, provided that vendor specific objective evidence ("VSOE") of fair value exists for all undelivered elements. VSOE of fair value is based on the price charged when the element is sold separately or, in the case of maintenance, substantive renewal rates for maintenance. Solution Sales. Solution sales for the design, manufacture, test, integration and installation of products, including equipment acquired from third parties to be integrated with Harmonic’s products, that are customized to meet the customer’s specifications are accounted for in accordance with applicable guidance on accounting for performance of construction/production contracts. Accordingly, for each arrangement that the Company enters into that includes both products and services, the Company performs a detailed evaluation to determine whether the arrangement should be accounted for under guidance for construction/production contracts or, alternatively, for arrangements that do not involve significant production, modification or customization, under other applicable accounting guidance. The Company has a long-standing history of entering into contractual arrangements to deliver the solution sales described. At the outset of each arrangement accounted for as a single arrangement, the Company develops a detailed project plan and associated labor hour estimates for each project. The Company believes that, based on its historical experience, it has the ability to make labor cost estimates that are sufficiently dependable to justify the use of the percentage-of-completion method of accounting and, accordingly, utilizes percentage-of-completion accounting for most arrangements that are determined to be single arrangements. Under the percentage-of-completion method, revenue recognized reflects the portion of the anticipated contract revenue that has been earned, equal to the ratio of actual labor hours expended to total estimated labor hours to complete the project. Costs are recognized proportionally to the labor hours incurred. For contracts that include customized services for which labor costs are not reasonably estimable, the Company uses the completed contract method of accounting. Under the completed contract method, 100% of the contract’s revenue and cost is recognized upon the completion of all services under the contract. If the estimated costs to complete a project exceed the total contract amount, indicating a loss, the entire anticipated loss is recognized. Inventories Inventories are stated at the lower of cost, using the weighted average method (which approximates the first-in, first-out basis), or market. The cost of inventories is comprised of material, labor and manufacturing overhead. The Company's manufacturing overhead standards for product costs are calculated assuming full absorption of forecasted spending over projected volumes. Harmonic establishes provisions for excess and obsolete inventories to reduce such inventories to their estimated net realizable value after evaluation of historical sales, future demand and market conditions, expected product life cycles and current inventory levels. Such provisions are charged to cost of revenue in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Capitalized Software Development Costs Costs related to research and development are generally charged to expense as incurred. Capitalization of material software development costs begins when a product’s technological feasibility has been established. To date, the time period between achieving technological feasibility, which the Company has defined as the establishment of a working model, which typically occurs when beta testing commences, and the general availability of such software has been short, and, as such, software development costs qualifying for capitalization have been insignificant. The Company incurs costs associated with developing software for internal use and for which no plan exists to market the software externally. The Company capitalizes the costs as part of property and equipment and recognizes the associated depreciation over a useful life of generally three years. In the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, the Company capitalized $1.4 million, $0.8 million and $1.1 million, respectively, in internal use software development costs. Property and Equipment Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation and amortization are computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Estimated useful lives are five years for furniture and fixtures, three years for software developed for internal use and typically four years for machinery and equipment. Depreciation and amortization for leasehold improvements are computed using the shorter of the remaining useful lives of the assets, up to ten years, or the lease term of the respective assets. Goodwill Goodwill represents the difference between the purchase price and the estimated fair value of the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The Company tests for impairment of goodwill on an annual basis in the fourth quarter of each of its fiscal years at the Company level, which is the sole reporting unit, and at any other time at which events occur or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of goodwill may exceed its fair value. When assessing the goodwill for impairment, the Company considers its market capitalization adjusted for a control premium and, if necessary, the Company’s discounted cash flow model, which involves significant assumptions and estimates, including the Company’s future financial performance, the Company’s weighted average cost of capital and the Company’s interpretation of currently enacted tax laws. Circumstances that could indicate impairment and require the Company to perform an impairment test include: a significant decline in the financial results of the Company’s operations; the Company’s market capitalization relative to net book value; unanticipated changes in competition and the Company’s market share; significant changes in the Company’s strategic plans; or adverse actions by regulators. There was no impairment of goodwill resulting from the Company’s annual impairment testing in the fourth quarter of 2013. See Note 4, “Goodwill and Identified Intangible Assets” for additional information. Long-lived Assets Long-lived assets represent property and equipment and purchased intangible assets. Purchased intangible assets from business combinations and asset acquisitions include customer contracts, trademarks and tradenames, and maintenance agreements and related relationships, the amortization of which is charged to general and administrative expenses, and core technology and developed technology, the amortization of which is charged to cost of revenue. The Company evaluates the recoverability of intangible assets and other long-lived assets when indicators of impairment are present. When impairment indicators are present, the Company evaluates the recoverability of intangible assets and other long-lived assets on the basis of undiscounted cash flows from each asset group. If impairment is indicated, provisions for impairment are determined based on fair value, principally using discounted cash flows. This evaluation involves significant assumptions and estimates, including the Company’s future financial performance, the Company’s weighted average cost of capital and the Company’s interpretation of currently enacted tax laws. Circumstances that could indicate impairment and require the Company to perform an impairment test include: a significant decline in the cash flows of such asset or asset group; unanticipated changes in competition and the Company’s market share; significant changes in the Company’s strategic plans; or exiting an activity resulting from a restructuring of operations. See Note 4, “Goodwill and Identified Intangible Assets” for additional information. Restructuring and Related Charges The Company's restructuring charges consist of employee severance, one-time termination benefits related to the reduction of its workforce, lease exit costs, and other costs. Liabilities for costs associated with a restructuring activity are recognized when the liability is incurred and are measured at fair value. One-time termination benefits are expensed at the date the entity notifies the employee, unless the employee must provide future service, in which case the benefits are expensed ratably over the future service period. Termination benefits are calculated based on regional benefit practices and local statutory requirements. Costs to terminate a lease before the end of its term are recognized when the entity terminates the contract in accordance with the contract terms. The Company determines the excess facilities accrual based on expected cash payments, under the applicable facility lease, reduced by any estimated sublease rental income for such facility. Other costs primarily consist of costs to write down the values of inventories and leasehold improvement write-down as a result of restructuring activities. See Note 9, “Restructuring Charges” for additional information. Warranty The Company accrues for estimated warranty costs at the time of revenue recognition and records such accrued liabilities as part of cost of revenue. Management periodically reviews its warranty liability and adjusts the accrued liability based on the terms of warranties provided to customers, historical and anticipated warranty claims experience, and estimates of the timing and cost of warranty claims. Advertising Expenses The Company expenses all advertising costs as incurred. Advertising expense was $0.4 million, $0.5 million and $0.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Stock-based Compensation Expense Harmonic measures and recognizes compensation expense for all stock-based compensation awards made to employees and directors, including stock options, restricted stock units and awards related to our Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”), based upon the grant-date fair value of those awards. Applicable accounting guidance requires companies to estimate the fair value of stock-based compensation awards on the date of grant. The value of the portion of the award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as expense over the requisite service period in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. The fair value of stock options is estimated at grant date using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The Company’s determination of fair value of stock options on the date of grant, using an option pricing model, is affected by the Company’s stock price, as well as the assumptions regarding a number of highly complex and subjective variables. These variables include, but are not limited to, the Company’s expected stock price volatility over the term of the awards and projected employee stock option exercise behaviors. The fair value of each restricted stock unit grant is based on the underlying value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. Income Taxes In preparing the Company’s financial statements, the Company estimates the income taxes for each of the jurisdictions in which the Company operates. This involves estimating the Company’s actual current tax exposures and assessing temporary and permanent differences resulting from differing treatment of items, such as reserves and accruals, for tax and accounting purposes. The Company’s income tax policy is to record the estimated future tax effects of temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and amounts reported in the Company’s accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets, as well as operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The Company follows the guidelines set forth in the applicable accounting guidance regarding the recoverability of any tax assets recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheet and provides any necessary allowances as required. Determining necessary allowances requires the Company to make assessments about the timing of future events, including the probability of expected future taxable income and available tax planning opportunities. The Company is subject to examination of its income tax returns by various tax authorities on a periodic basis. The Company regularly assesses the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from such examinations to determine the adequacy of its provision for income taxes. The Company has applied the provisions of the applicable accounting guidance on accounting for uncertainty in income taxes, which requires application of a more-likely-than-not threshold to the recognition and de-recognition of uncertain tax positions. If the recognition threshold is met, the applicable accounting guidance permits the Company to recognize a tax benefit measured at the largest amount of tax benefit that, in the Company’s judgment, is more than 50 percent likely to be realized upon settlement. It further requires that a change in judgment related to the expected ultimate resolution of uncertain tax positions be recognized in earnings in the period of such change. The Company files annual income tax returns in multiple taxing jurisdictions around the world. A number of years may elapse before an uncertain tax position is audited and finally resolved. While it is often difficult to predict the final outcome or the timing of resolution of any particular uncertain tax position, the Company believes that its reserves for income taxes reflect the most likely outcome. The Company adjusts these reserves and penalties, as well as the related interest, in light of changing facts and circumstances. Changes in the Company’s assessment of its uncertain tax positions or settlement of any particular position could materially and adversely impact the Company’s income tax rate, operating results, financial position and cash flows. Comprehensive Income (Loss) Comprehensive income (loss) includes net income (loss) and other comprehensive income (loss). Other comprehensive income (loss) includes cumulative translation adjustments and unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In December 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) 2011-11, “Disclosures about offsetting assets and liabilities”. This guidance enhances disclosure requirements about the nature of an entity’s right to offset. The new guidance requires the disclosure of the gross amounts subject to rights of offset, amounts offset in accordance with the accounting standards followed, and the related net exposure. The new guidance became effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and it did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-2, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other”, which allows an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived asset is impaired for determining whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test. This accounting standard update became effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and did not have any impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-2, “Comprehensive Income”, which requires reclassification adjustments from other comprehensive income to be presented either in the financial statements or in the notes to the financial statements. The Company adopted this new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and included the required disclosures. In March 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-5, “Parent’s Accounting for the Cumulative Translation Adjustment upon Derecognition of Certain Subsidiaries or Groups of Assets within a Foreign Entity or of an Investment in a Foreign Entity”. The ASU addresses accounting for a cumulative translation adjustment when a parent either sells a part or all of its investment in a foreign entity or no longer holds a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary or group of assets that is a nonprofit activity or a business within a foreign entity. The guidance is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of its 2014 fiscal year and should be applied prospectively. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2013-05 will have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In July 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-11, “Presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward exists”. Under certain circumstances, unrecognized tax benefits should be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2013-11 will have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The guidance is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of its 2014 fiscal year and will be applied prospectively.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements of Harmonic include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company’s fiscal quarters are based on 13-week periods, except for the fourth quarter which ends on December 31.

Discontinued Operations

On March 5, 2013, the Company completed the sale of its cable access HFC business to Aurora Networks (“Aurora”) for $46.0 million in cash. The Consolidated Statements of Operations have been retrospectively adjusted to present the cable access HFC business as discontinued operations, as described in Note 3, "Discontinued Operations”. Unless noted otherwise, all discussions herein with respect to the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements relate to the Company’s continuing operations.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Reclassifications

From time to time the Company reclassifies certain period balances to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications have no material impact on previously reported total assets, total liabilities, stockholders’ equity, results of operations or cash flows.

Foreign Currency

The functional currency of the Company’s Israeli, Cayman and Swiss operations is the U.S. dollar. All other foreign subsidiaries use the respective local currency as the functional currency. When the local currency is the functional currency, gains and losses from translation of these foreign currency financial statements into U.S. dollars are recorded as a separate component of other comprehensive loss in stockholders’ equity.

For subsidiaries where the functional currency is the U.S. dollar, monetary assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are remeasured into U.S. dollars using exchange rates prevailing on the balance sheet date. The remeasurement gains and losses are included in other income (expense), net in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company recorded remeasurement losses of $0.5 million, $0.7 million, and $0.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying value of Harmonic’s financial instruments, including cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, approximate fair value due to their short maturities.

Derivative Instruments

The Company enters into foreign currency forward exchange contracts to minimize the short-term impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations on cash and certain trade and inter-company receivables and payables. The Company does not enter into forward currency forward contracts for trading purposes. These derivative instruments generally have maturities between one to three months. The Company does not designate these forward currency forward exchange contracts as hedging instruments.

According to the applicable accounting guidance, the assets or liabilities associated with the forward exchange contracts are recorded at fair value in prepaid expenses and other current assets or accrued liabilities in the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheet. Gains or losses resulting from changes in fair value on forward exchange contracts are recognized in earnings monthly and are included in other income (expense), net in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include all cash and highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase. The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents approximates fair value because of the short maturity of those instruments.

Short-Term Investments

Harmonic’s short-term investments, which are classified as available-for-sale securities are principally comprised of U.S. federal government bonds, state, municipal and local government agencies bonds, corporate bonds, commercial paper and certificates of deposit, with a final maturity of twenty-four months or less from the date of purchase. Short-term investments are stated at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses reported in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The specific identification method is used to determine the cost of securities disposed of, with realized gains and losses reflected in other income (expense), net in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Investments are anticipated to be used for current operations and are, therefore, classified as current assets even though maturities may extend beyond one year. The Company monitors its investment portfolio for impairment on a periodic basis. In the event a decline in value is determined to be other than temporary, an impairment charge is recorded. The Company considers current market conditions, as well as the likelihood that it would need to sell its investments prior to a recovery of par value, when determining if a loss is other than temporary.

Concentrations of Credit Risk/Major Customers/Supplier Concentration

Financial instruments which subject Harmonic to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and accounts receivable. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments are invested in short-term, highly liquid, investment-grade obligations of commercial or governmental issuers, in accordance with Harmonic’s investment policy. The investment policy limits the amount of credit exposure to any one financial institution, commercial or governmental issuer. Harmonic’s accounts receivable are derived from sales to cable, satellite, telco, broadcast and other media companies. Harmonic generally does not require collateral from its customers, and performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers and provides for expected losses. Harmonic maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts based upon the expected collectability of its accounts receivable. No customers had a balance greater than 10% of the Company’s net accounts receivable balance as of December 31, 2013 and 2012. In the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, sales to Comcast accounted for 12%, 11% and 10%, respectively, of net revenue.

Certain of the components and subassemblies included in the Company’s products are obtained from a single source or a limited group of suppliers. Although the Company seeks to reduce dependence on those sole source and limited source suppliers, the partial or complete loss of certain of these sources could have at least a temporary adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations and damage customer relationships.

Revenue Recognition

Harmonic’s principal sources of revenue are from the sale of hardware, software, hardware and software maintenance contracts, and end-to-end solutions, encompassing design, manufacture, test, integration and installation of products. Harmonic recognizes revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or services have been provided, the sale price is fixed or determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured.

Revenue from the sale of hardware and software products is recognized when risk of loss and title have transferred. For most of the Company’s product sales, these criteria are met at the time the product is shipped or delivery has occurred. Revenue from distributors and system integrators is recognized on delivery of the related products, provided all other revenue recognition criteria have been met. The Company’s agreements with these distributors and system integrators have terms which are generally consistent with the standard terms and conditions for the sale of the Company’s equipment to end users, and do not provide for product rotation or pricing allowances, as are typically found in agreements with stocking distributors. The Company accrues for sales returns and other allowances based on its historical experience.

Deferred revenue includes billings in excess of revenue recognized, net of deferred cost of revenue, and invoiced amounts remain deferred until applicable revenue recognition criteria are met.

Shipping and handling costs incurred for inventory purchases and product shipments are recorded in cost of revenue in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Costs associated with services are generally recognized as incurred.

The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of hardware products and software bundled with hardware that is essential to the functionality of the hardware in accordance with applicable revenue recognition accounting guidance. For the sale of stand-alone software products, bundled with hardware but not essential to the functionality of the hardware, revenue is allocated between the hardware, including essential software and related elements, and the non-essential software and related elements. Revenue for the hardware and essential software elements are recognized under the relative allocation method. Revenue for the non-essential software and related elements are recognized under the residual method in accordance with software accounting guidance. Revenue associated with service and maintenance agreements is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period in which the services are performed, generally one year. The Company recognizes revenue associated with solution sales using the percentage of completion or completed contract methods of accounting. Further details of these accounting policies are described below.

Multiple Element Arrangements. The Company has revenue arrangements that include hardware and software essential to the hardware product’s functionality, and non-essential software, services and support. For transactions originating or materially modified, beginning January 1, 2011, the Company has applied the accounting guidance that requires the Company to allocate revenue to all deliverables based on their relative selling prices. For transactions originating prior to January 1, 2011, the Company applied software revenue recognition accounting guidance, as described in the “Software” section below. The Company determines the relative selling prices by first considering vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value (“VSOE”), if it exists; otherwise third-party evidence (“TPE”) of the selling price is used. If neither VSOE nor TPE exists for a deliverable, the Company uses a best estimate of the selling price (“BESP”) for that deliverable. Once revenue is allocated to all deliverables based on their relative selling prices, revenue related to hardware elements (hardware, essential software and related services) are recognized using a relative selling price allocation and non-essential software and related services are recognized under the residual method.

Harmonic has established VSOE for certain elements of its arrangements based on either historical stand-alone sales to third parties or stated renewal rates for maintenance. The Company has VSOE of fair value for maintenance, training and certain professional services.

TPE is determined based on competitor prices for similar deliverables when sold separately. The Company is typically not able to determine TPE for competitors’ products or services. Generally, the Company’s go-to-market strategy differs from that of its competitors’ and the Company’s offerings contain a significant level of differentiation, such that the comparable pricing of products with similar functionality cannot be obtained. Furthermore, the Company is unable to reliably determine what competitor similar products’ selling prices are on a stand-alone basis.

When the Company is unable to establish fair value of non-software deliverables using VSOE or TPE, the Company uses BESP in its allocation of arrangement consideration. The objective of using BESP is to determine the price at which the Company would transact a sale if the product or service were sold on a stand-alone basis. The Company determines BESP for a product or service by considering multiple factors, including, but not limited to, pricing practices, market conditions, competitive landscape, internal costs, geographies and gross margin. The determination of BESP is made through consultation with Company’s management, taking into consideration the Company’s go-to-market strategy.

Software. Sales of stand-alone software that are not considered essential to the functionality of the hardware continue to be subject to the software revenue recognition guidance. Further, the Company also applied the software revenue recognition guidance to its multiple element arrangements for transactions originating prior to January 1, 2011.

In accordance with the software revenue recognition guidance, the Company applies the residual method to recognize revenue for the delivered elements in stand-alone software transactions. Under the residual method, the amount of revenue allocated to delivered elements equals the total arrangement consideration, less the aggregate fair value of any undelivered elements, typically maintenance, provided that vendor specific objective evidence ("VSOE") of fair value exists for all undelivered elements. VSOE of fair value is based on the price charged when the element is sold separately or, in the case of maintenance, substantive renewal rates for maintenance.

Solution Sales. Solution sales for the design, manufacture, test, integration and installation of products, including equipment acquired from third parties to be integrated with Harmonic’s products, that are customized to meet the customer’s specifications are accounted for in accordance with applicable guidance on accounting for performance of construction/production contracts. Accordingly, for each arrangement that the Company enters into that includes both products and services, the Company performs a detailed evaluation to determine whether the arrangement should be accounted for under guidance for construction/production contracts or, alternatively, for arrangements that do not involve significant production, modification or customization, under other applicable accounting guidance. The Company has a long-standing history of entering into contractual arrangements to deliver the solution sales described.

At the outset of each arrangement accounted for as a single arrangement, the Company develops a detailed project plan and associated labor hour estimates for each project. The Company believes that, based on its historical experience, it has the ability to make labor cost estimates that are sufficiently dependable to justify the use of the percentage-of-completion method of accounting and, accordingly, utilizes percentage-of-completion accounting for most arrangements that are determined to be single arrangements. Under the percentage-of-completion method, revenue recognized reflects the portion of the anticipated contract revenue that has been earned, equal to the ratio of actual labor hours expended to total estimated labor hours to complete the project. Costs are recognized proportionally to the labor hours incurred. For contracts that include customized services for which labor costs are not reasonably estimable, the Company uses the completed contract method of accounting. Under the completed contract method, 100% of the contract’s revenue and cost is recognized upon the completion of all services under the contract. If the estimated costs to complete a project exceed the total contract amount, indicating a loss, the entire anticipated loss is recognized.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost, using the weighted average method (which approximates the first-in, first-out basis), or market. The cost of inventories is comprised of material, labor and manufacturing overhead. The Company's manufacturing overhead standards for product costs are calculated assuming full absorption of forecasted spending over projected volumes. Harmonic establishes provisions for excess and obsolete inventories to reduce such inventories to their estimated net realizable value after evaluation of historical sales, future demand and market conditions, expected product life cycles and current inventory levels. Such provisions are charged to cost of revenue in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Capitalized Software Development Costs

Costs related to research and development are generally charged to expense as incurred. Capitalization of material software development costs begins when a product’s technological feasibility has been established. To date, the time period between achieving technological feasibility, which the Company has defined as the establishment of a working model, which typically occurs when beta testing commences, and the general availability of such software has been short, and, as such, software development costs qualifying for capitalization have been insignificant.

The Company incurs costs associated with developing software for internal use and for which no plan exists to market the software externally. The Company capitalizes the costs as part of property and equipment and recognizes the associated depreciation over a useful life of generally three years. In the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, the Company capitalized $1.4 million, $0.8 million and $1.1 million, respectively, in internal use software development costs.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation and amortization are computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Estimated useful lives are five years for furniture and fixtures, three years for software developed for internal use and typically four years for machinery and equipment. Depreciation and amortization for leasehold improvements are computed using the shorter of the remaining useful lives of the assets, up to ten years, or the lease term of the respective assets.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the difference between the purchase price and the estimated fair value of the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The Company tests for impairment of goodwill on an annual basis in the fourth quarter of each of its fiscal years at the Company level, which is the sole reporting unit, and at any other time at which events occur or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of goodwill may exceed its fair value. When assessing the goodwill for impairment, the Company considers its market capitalization adjusted for a control premium and, if necessary, the Company’s discounted cash flow model, which involves significant assumptions and estimates, including the Company’s future financial performance, the Company’s weighted average cost of capital and the Company’s interpretation of currently enacted tax laws. Circumstances that could indicate impairment and require the Company to perform an impairment test include: a significant decline in the financial results of the Company’s operations; the Company’s market capitalization relative to net book value; unanticipated changes in competition and the Company’s market share; significant changes in the Company’s strategic plans; or adverse actions by regulators.

There was no impairment of goodwill resulting from the Company’s annual impairment testing in the fourth quarter of 2013. See Note 4, “Goodwill and Identified Intangible Assets” for additional information.

Long-lived Assets

Long-lived assets represent property and equipment and purchased intangible assets. Purchased intangible assets from business combinations and asset acquisitions include customer contracts, trademarks and tradenames, and maintenance agreements and related relationships, the amortization of which is charged to general and administrative expenses, and core technology and developed technology, the amortization of which is charged to cost of revenue. The Company evaluates the recoverability of intangible assets and other long-lived assets when indicators of impairment are present. When impairment indicators are present, the Company evaluates the recoverability of intangible assets and other long-lived assets on the basis of undiscounted cash flows from each asset group. If impairment is indicated, provisions for impairment are determined based on fair value, principally using discounted cash flows. This evaluation involves significant assumptions and estimates, including the Company’s future financial performance, the Company’s weighted average cost of capital and the Company’s interpretation of currently enacted tax laws. Circumstances that could indicate impairment and require the Company to perform an impairment test include: a significant decline in the cash flows of such asset or asset group; unanticipated changes in competition and the Company’s market share; significant changes in the Company’s strategic plans; or exiting an activity resulting from a restructuring of operations. See Note 4, “Goodwill and Identified Intangible Assets” for additional information.

Restructuring and Related Charges

The Company's restructuring charges consist of employee severance, one-time termination benefits related to the reduction of its workforce, lease exit costs, and other costs. Liabilities for costs associated with a restructuring activity are recognized when the liability is incurred and are measured at fair value. One-time termination benefits are expensed at the date the entity notifies the employee, unless the employee must provide future service, in which case the benefits are expensed ratably over the future service period. Termination benefits are calculated based on regional benefit practices and local statutory requirements. Costs to terminate a lease before the end of its term are recognized when the entity terminates the contract in accordance with the contract terms. The Company determines the excess facilities accrual based on expected cash payments, under the applicable facility lease, reduced by any estimated sublease rental income for such facility. Other costs primarily consist of costs to write down the values of inventories and leasehold improvement write-down as a result of restructuring activities. See Note 9, “Restructuring Charges” for additional information.

Warranty

The Company accrues for estimated warranty costs at the time of revenue recognition and records such accrued liabilities as part of cost of revenue. Management periodically reviews its warranty liability and adjusts the accrued liability based on the terms of warranties provided to customers, historical and anticipated warranty claims experience, and estimates of the timing and cost of warranty claims.

Advertising Expenses

The Company expenses all advertising costs as incurred. Advertising expense was $0.4 million, $0.5 million and $0.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Stock-based Compensation Expense

Harmonic measures and recognizes compensation expense for all stock-based compensation awards made to employees and directors, including stock options, restricted stock units and awards related to our Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”), based upon the grant-date fair value of those awards.

Applicable accounting guidance requires companies to estimate the fair value of stock-based compensation awards on the date of grant. The value of the portion of the award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as expense over the requisite service period in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The fair value of stock options is estimated at grant date using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The Company’s determination of fair value of stock options on the date of grant, using an option pricing model, is affected by the Company’s stock price, as well as the assumptions regarding a number of highly complex and subjective variables. These variables include, but are not limited to, the Company’s expected stock price volatility over the term of the awards and projected employee stock option exercise behaviors. The fair value of each restricted stock unit grant is based on the underlying value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant.

Income Taxes

In preparing the Company’s financial statements, the Company estimates the income taxes for each of the jurisdictions in which the Company operates. This involves estimating the Company’s actual current tax exposures and assessing temporary and permanent differences resulting from differing treatment of items, such as reserves and accruals, for tax and accounting purposes.

The Company’s income tax policy is to record the estimated future tax effects of temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and amounts reported in the Company’s accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets, as well as operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The Company follows the guidelines set forth in the applicable accounting guidance regarding the recoverability of any tax assets recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheet and provides any necessary allowances as required. Determining necessary allowances requires the Company to make assessments about the timing of future events, including the probability of expected future taxable income and available tax planning opportunities.

The Company is subject to examination of its income tax returns by various tax authorities on a periodic basis. The Company regularly assesses the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from such examinations to determine the adequacy of its provision for income taxes. The Company has applied the provisions of the applicable accounting guidance on accounting for uncertainty in income taxes, which requires application of a more-likely-than-not threshold to the recognition and de-recognition of uncertain tax positions. If the recognition threshold is met, the applicable accounting guidance permits the Company to recognize a tax benefit measured at the largest amount of tax benefit that, in the Company’s judgment, is more than 50 percent likely to be realized upon settlement. It further requires that a change in judgment related to the expected ultimate resolution of uncertain tax positions be recognized in earnings in the period of such change.

The Company files annual income tax returns in multiple taxing jurisdictions around the world. A number of years may elapse before an uncertain tax position is audited and finally resolved. While it is often difficult to predict the final outcome or the timing of resolution of any particular uncertain tax position, the Company believes that its reserves for income taxes reflect the most likely outcome. The Company adjusts these reserves and penalties, as well as the related interest, in light of changing facts and circumstances. Changes in the Company’s assessment of its uncertain tax positions or settlement of any particular position could materially and adversely impact the Company’s income tax rate, operating results, financial position and cash flows.

Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Comprehensive income (loss) includes net income (loss) and other comprehensive income (loss). Other comprehensive income (loss) includes cumulative translation adjustments and unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) 2011-11, “Disclosures about offsetting assets and liabilities”. This guidance enhances disclosure requirements about the nature of an entity’s right to offset. The new guidance requires the disclosure of the gross amounts subject to rights of offset, amounts offset in accordance with the accounting standards followed, and the related net exposure. The new guidance became effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and it did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-2, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other”, which allows an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived asset is impaired for determining whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test. This accounting standard update became effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and did not have any impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-2, “Comprehensive Income”, which requires reclassification adjustments from other comprehensive income to be presented either in the financial statements or in the notes to the financial statements. The Company adopted this new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and included the required disclosures.

In March 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-5, “Parent’s Accounting for the Cumulative Translation Adjustment upon Derecognition of Certain Subsidiaries or Groups of Assets within a Foreign Entity or of an Investment in a Foreign Entity”. The ASU addresses accounting for a cumulative translation adjustment when a parent either sells a part or all of its investment in a foreign entity or no longer holds a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary or group of assets that is a nonprofit activity or a business within a foreign entity. The guidance is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of its 2014 fiscal year and should be applied prospectively. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2013-05 will have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In July 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-11, “Presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward exists”. Under certain circumstances, unrecognized tax benefits should be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2013-11 will have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The guidance is effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of its 2014 fiscal year and will be applied prospectively.