Hungarian DTT: trends and challenges

Hungarian national commercial TV stations lost audience share following the first stage of the country’s two-step transition to digital broadcasting.

On the other hand, in a scenario that was also seen in Ireland, public service broadcasters gained viewers, according to Csilla Vörös, MD Nielsen.

Quoting preliminary data, she added that amongst the most needy viewers 83% had switched from analogue to DTT, with 6% opting for analogue cable, 10% DTH and only 1% IPTV.

Vörös also said that there are 102 local language channels currently available, of which 96 are monitored. Of these channels, around 50% are present in the average household.

Some 13.2% of homes receive 1-7 channels and around a fifth over 70 channels.

Gergely Kis from Enet meanwhile said that 1.5 million DVB-T devices had already been sold as of this May, with the final figure eventually expected to rise to over 2 million.

He also said that 350,000 Hungarians living outside Hungary wanted to watch Hungarian DTT services and had in some cases bought receivers.

Ferenc Kéry, the president of the cable association MKSZ, said that there hadn’t been a migration from cable to DTT.

SMiT and Verimatrix develop cardless CI+

A cardless version of the CI+ conditional access module is under development by SMiT in partnership with Verimatrix.

The two companies plan to integrate SMiT’s Advanced Security CI+ 1.3 CAM with the Verimatrix ViewRight client library.

The CI+ 1.3 CAM will eliminate the need for a smart card, allowing operators to minimise costs by skipping the  CAM-smart card pairing process without compromising security.

”SMiT was the first to introduce the Verimatrix CAM to the market, and today, we are happy to be the first again to deploy the Verimatrix ViewRight client security technology in our CAM products,” said Mr. Stephen He, executive vice president, SMiT. ”The seamless cooperation guarantees SMiT’s highly secure product strategy for operators and compelling interactive experience for subscribers. I believe that this innovative and consumer-oriented product will be a great success in the market.”

“Cardless security solutions are gaining significant momentum in the market due to their flexibility and robust security techniques,” said Steve Oetegenn, chief sales and marketing officer, Verimatrix. “We are happy to extend our partnership with SMiT to continue to enable a new class of revenue security solutions.”

The product will be available later this year.

Digital pay TV subscribers up 12.3% year-on-year in Lithuania in Q2

The Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (ryšių reguliavimo tarnyba – RRT) has released statistics for the Lithuanian Communications Sector in the second quarter of 2013.

At the end of the second quarter Lithuania had 731.9 thousand subscribers to the pay TV services offered by cable and MMDS, digital terrestrial, satellite, and IPTV networks, representing 59.4% of all households. During the quarter, the number of subscribers remained virtually unchanged (down 0.1 percent).

At the end of June the number of subscribers to digital television services totalled 408.1 thousand. The figure was made up of 125.4 thousand subscribers to cable and MMDS, 109.8 thousand subscribers to IPTV, 72.0 thousand subscribers to digital terrestrial and 101.0 thousand subscribers to satellite television networks.

Digital subscribers increased by 1.1% during the quarter and by 12.3% year-on-year.

GVT TV deploys Cisco conditional access for DTH in Brazil

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced that GVT TV has adopted the Cisco® Videoscape VideoGuard® Smart Card to protect its video content transmitted via satellite in Brazil. This is a highly secure encryption system protected against Cardsharing or Control Word Sharing (a fault in the DVB – Digital Video Broadcasting system), which stops the broadcaster’s signal from being transmitted illegally.

Cisco’s VideoGuard solution is part of Videoscape Unity, Cisco’s platform for delivering and monetizing a new generation of compelling, differentiated video experiences. It helps protect content and allows GVT to reduce the bandwidth employed to transmit encryption over a multi-channel, high-definition platform, which reduces operating costs. GVT can use the Cisco solution to broadcast nationwide. GVT currently serves 146 cities in Brazil and has been gradually expanding coverage as it widens its network in the cities it now operates in and moves into new cities around the country.

“Part of the NDS acquisition, the VideoGuard offering for GVT reinforces Cisco’s investment in a globally recognized technology”, said Rodrigo Dienstmann, leader at Cisco Brazil.

UPC DTH launches CI+

The Central and East European platform operator UPC DTH has launched a CI+ service in cooperation with France’s Neotion.

The latter’s first conditional access module CI+ 1.3 includes changeable personal profiles and in combination with compatible TV sets will allow UPC DTH subscribers to enjoy, without an additional receiver freeSAT programming in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

It will later be introduced for UPC Direct subscribers in Hungary.

Commenting on the launch, Jim Helgott, VP of marketing and sales at UPC DTH, said: “In addition to our existing product line, we are pleased to see the availability of this new CI+ module for our customers. This flexible equipment will allow them to fully enjoy our services easily, as well as take advantage of the lower priced packages we make available for customers who purchase their own receivers and related equipment.

“As a customer focused company, it is our priority to come up with new ideas and innovations that improve the user experience. We could not imagine a better partner than Neotion and its teams to achieve this goal”.

Xavier Teil, head of pre sales and support director for Neotion said “This is a real accomplishment for Neotion and our teams to release our first CI+ 1.3 module with Operator Profile in UPC DTH’s markets. The launch in several countries is a great experience and we look forward to seeing the results! This project with UPC DTH was remarkable and I hope to keep working with them for the years to come”.

UPC DTH operates platforms in four CEE countries – Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania – and ended the second quarter with 731,000 subscribers.

Cubiware strikes Russian deal

Cubiware has entered into a middleware licensing agreement with Sinwatec, a Russian company specialising in electronic marketing services (EMS) and the development and production of electronic devices.

Formerly known as Promsvyaz, Sinwatec is based in Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan, and manufactures a line of set-top boxes for IPTV, cable, terrestrial, and media player applications.

Under the terms of new agreement, Sinwatec will become a reseller of Cubiware products, including CubiTV software that will run on Sinwatec manufactured hardware and offer the ability to work with the Cubiware back-office component CubiTV Portal.

Commenting on the agreement, Jakub Górski, CEO of Cubiware, said:
“We are thrilled to be working with Sinwatec to bring the full potential of advanced pay-TV to additional markets.

“Sinwatec’s reputation for value and innovation in this region will open doors for us and will provide an opportunity for pay-TV operators in this growing market to see first-hand what our CubiTV middleware and portal solutions have to offer.” Sinwatec STBs running CubiTV will be on display at IBC in booth 4.C60.

Hybrid networks presenting new challenges, says Ziggo

Hybrid networks and the ability of content providers to bypass the relationship that access network providers have with their subscribers presents a new challenge for operators, leading them to seek new forms of partnership, according to Ivar Slavenburg, business innovation manager at Dutch cable operator Ziggo.

Hybrid delivery to multiple devices has a number of disadvantages for operators, according to Slavenburg, speaking at content security provider Verimatrix’s Multi-Network Solutions in the Real World event at IBC in Amsterdam.

Slavenburg said that until now Ziggo has created value through four main activities – its network, access services, media services – transcoding and ingestion – and media sales to its customers.

Increasingly, however, cable operators see content providers creating their own apps for multi-device access, including the likes of HBO, in whose Dutch operation Ziggo has a stake. On the delivery of OTT content over Ziggo’s network, Slavenburg said that the company was now seeing OTT players deliver content that Ziggo was also trying to sell direct to its customers, leading to a potential conflict of interest.

Slavenburg said that Ziggo’s focus was on upselling subscribers to take additional content. However, content providers were focusing on creating experences and enriching them with additional information and content around different screens. “This is now possible in the hybrid model,” said Slavenburg. “There is a broader range of ways in which content is disclosed to our subscribers.”

“There is a benefit for the consumer but there is a disadvantage for us because we don’t record exactly what the customer is doing any more,” said Slavenburg.

In the future, device manufacturers such as games consoles makers will build branded services, said Slavenburg. “It would be difficult for us to make the jump to become a gaming company but why shouldn’t we cooperate on one of the [four] layers…and still have our customer addressable for other services. We have to start thinking in layers. It is a different discussion than in the past, all because of hybrid network technology.”

Ziggo will roll out 4G in the next year. The company also has over one million WiFi slots in its network area.
“We have to be capable of running different technologies over our network,” said Slavenburg.

Telekom Austria launches white label DTH platform with Eutelsat

Telekom Austria is to use Eutelsat’s platform at 16° East to launch a white label DTH platform to deliver services to central and eastern Europe.

Telekom Austria Group has teamed up with Eutelsat to launch a satellite TV platform The solution involves a new B2B DTH platform, uplinking TV signals via Telekom Austria’s earth station in Aflenz/Styria to the Eutelsat satellite at the 16° East position for broadcasting to Central and Eastern Europe as well as wider regions of Western Europe.

Croatia’s Vipnet, backed by Telekom Austria, is the first customer for the platform. Adrian Jezina, member of the board at Vipnet, said his company expected strong growth in DTH following its acquisition of Digi in the Croatian market. Jezina said that satellite enabled Vipnet to fill in gaps in its fixed line coverage in the major cities as well as deliver services to rural areas.

“We find that in our fixed networks about 70% of customers are taking bundles,” he said. Vipnet is planning to launch a full suite of services over LTE in the near future. “Vipnet is a a national company and it really has national brand and marketing but that is not utilised across the whole country,” said Jezina. He said that in additional to delivering coverage, the satellite platform would enable it deliver various synergies. The launch of the Telekom Austria paltform enabled Vipnet to manage DTH economically wihtout making too risky an  investment on its own, said Jezina.

Apostolos Triantafyllou, Senior VP of Sales, Centra and Eastern Europe, Caucasus & Central Asia at Eutelsat, said that the satellite allowed reception via small antennas. He said that Eutelsat had grown its pay TV business at this position, with 10 pay operators, giving Eutelsat over 50% of the CEE pay TV market.

Conax launches cardless solution

Conax has revealed the details of its new Cardless CA solution at a press briefing at IBC.

On a roll, senior executives from the content security provider also introduced a new comprehensive global partner programme, called Conax Connect. According to Conax CEO Morten Solbakken, the company “is continuing to step up the pace of the company’s new direction with an exciting portfolio of new solutions and global initiatives.”

These include deployment of security solutions Conax Xtend Multiscreen, Conax Contego, Conax Secure Clients, and now with the further expansion of the Conax Contego client portfolio with Cardless CA for STBs. Further, with the introduction of the Conax Connect professional partner program, Conax invites partners to connect to the Conax ecosystem.
Introducing Conax Cardless to the global market.

The new Cardless CA solution from Conax is expanding the Conax Contego client portfolio, meaning that smart cards and cardless can seamlessly co-exist in an operator’s ecosystem. Now operators can utilise a mix of clients to easily differentiate between the security demands for various types of content and consumers in diverse and growing business models.

“This is a key market differentiator between Conax and competing security solutions which may require deployment of separate back-ends,” according to the company.

The first chipsets to support the new cardless solution for STBs is a family of chipsets from ALi Corporation. To enable rapid development of Cardless STBs, Conax and ALi offer a reference design where the Conax Cardless security core is embedded. Conax will add support for other chipsets and continuously add functionality on an ongoing basis.

“Why launch Cardless CA now?” said Tom Jahr, EVP products and partners, Conax. “Conax security solutions have always been software-based. We have chosen smart cards as a means to distribute and protect our software. This is the most secure way, and Conax has been and will always be extremely focused on security. Recent development in chipset technology has introduced STB chipsets with increased security to a level where we as Conax are comfortable. This has now enabled us to launch a Cardless solution inside a purpose built secure area of the chipset – and under the Conax brand.”

“Sales of Conax Cardless will in start November 2013. The product will be ready for mass production by Q1 2014 and we also have an exciting pilot planned from January 2014. Stay tuned for more information.”

Durin g IBC, the company also introduced its Conax Connect partner programme, which is is designed to take the Conax open partnering strategy to the next level by providing closer cooperation with a broad range of both local and global strategic partners. “

As a security specialist, we strongly believe that a close cooperation with best of breed partners creates flexible and future proof solutions for tomorrow’s media consumption.

“Conax Connect is targeted at both new and existing strategic Conax partners and will facilitate further expansion of the Conax security ecosystem; providing operators with a continually growing selection of end-to-end, secure solutions for growing their business.”

Sky Deutschland backs Ultra HD

Sky Deutschland’s Senior Vice President of Technology has described the importance of the new Ultra HD technology to the pay-TV platform’s armoury.

Gerard Duffy told a Cisco press lunch that the ability of Ultra HD to screen multiple views in high resolution, alongside a main high definition screen, was as important as the picture resolution itself.

“4K is central, being able to do that offers another potential, it’s not just the picture quality but the other things the platform can do,” said Duffy. He explained how the launch of an Ultra HD service might be used to renew the set-top box inventory that in turn offered a whole new opportunity that could be used to bring extra value to the customer proposition.

However, he cautioned that there needed to be a strong element of backwards compatibility. “You can’t just rip up the platform every three years and start again”.

Sky Deutschland has used technology, much of it from Cisco and its predecessor NDS, to make its mark after years of pay-TV stagnation. 40% of new subscribers come from recommendations with total subscriber numbers now standing at 3.5 million.

13.8% of Portugal's TV subscribers on optical fibre---digitaltvnews.net

According to the Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM), in Portugal, at the end of 2nd quarter 2013 (2Q2013), there were 3.14 million subscription TV service (TVS) subscribers, 14 thousand (0.4 per cent) more than in the previous quarter and 63 thousand (2.0 percent) more than in the same period of 2012.

The growth reported in the service stems from the optical fibre (FTTH/B) and xDSL offers, where the number of customers increased by 4.8 and 3.4 percent, respectively, compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the number of subscribers to cable TV distribution and DTH services fell, respectively, by 0.9 and 2.1 percent this quarter.

At the end of 2Q2013, the cable TV distribution service accounted for 45.6 percent of total subscribers, xDSL 20.5 percent and DTH 20.1 percent. Optical fibre (FTTH/B) represented 13.8 percent of total subscribers.

Three out of every four subscription TV subscribers received their service as part of a bundle. About 15.4 percent were double-play customers and 59.7 were triple / quadruple / quintuple-play customers. The growth rate in the number of bundles with TVS was 1.7 percent in 2Q2013.

Grupo ZON/TV Cabo continues to have the largest market share in terms of subscription TV subscribers (49.0 percent), followed by PTC and Cabovisão, with about 40.4 percent and 7.4 percent respectively.

Total revenues from the subscription TV service (stand-alone and packages that include this service) totalled 640.4 million euros in the first half of 2013 (increasing 3.6 percent compared to the same period of 2012).

Average monthly revenue related to bundles of services that include the subscription TV service fell 0.8 euros/month (-2.2 percent) compared to 2Q2012. Average monthly revenue relating to the separable TV service increased by 2.7 euros (8.9 percent).

At the end of 2Q2013, about half of households with subscription TV had over 80 channels and about 18.8 percent had access to premium channels, 5.4 percentage points less than in 2Q2012.

Subscription television service subscribers by technology (Units: 1000 subscribers; %)

                                                                   Quarterly     Annual
                                 12Q2   12Q3   12Q4   13Q1   13Q2  variation  variation
                                -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  ---------  ---------
Cable                           1,471  1,459  1,456  1,446  1,433      -0.9%      -2.6%
DTH                               668    671    660    646    633      -2.1%      -5.3%
FTTH/B                            341    370    394    414    434       4.8%      27.0%
Other technologies (xDSL, FWA)    599    607    612    623    644       3.4%       7.4%
Total                           3,080  3,108  3,122  3,129  3,143       0.4%       2.0%

Source: ICP-ANACOM

The ZON/TV Cabo Group continues to have the largest share of subscription TV subscribers (50.2 percent). PT Comunicações (PTC) and Cabovisão follow with shares of 39.2 percent and 7.84 percent, respectively.

Shares of subscription TV subscribers (Units: %)

                             12Q2    12Q3    12Q4   13Q1   13Q2
                           ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
Grupo ZON/TV Cabo           51.4%   50.6%   50.2%   49.7%   49.0%
  ZON TV Cabo Portugal      47.9%   47.1%   46.8%   46.3%   45.6%
  ZON TV Cabo Açoreana       1.5%    1.5%    1.5%    1.4%    1.4%
  ZON TV Cabo Madeirense     2.0%    2.0%    2.0%    2.0%    2.0%
PT Comunicações             37.6%   38.6%   39.2%   39.9%   40.4%
Cabovisão                    8.3%    8.1%    7.8%    7.6%    7.4%
Vodafone                     1.3%    1.4%    1.4%    1.4%    1.8%
Optimus (ex-Sonaecom)        1.2%    1.2%    1.2%    1.2%    1.2%
Other providers              0.2%    0.2%    0.2%    0.2%    0.2%

Source: ICP-ANACOM

Viasat boost Russian HD offer

Viasat Russia will launch two sports channels in HD this October.

The two channels – Viasat Sport HD and Viasat Golf HD – will compose a sports included in the Viasat Premium HD package, the cost of which will not be increased.

Viasat Sport is already one of the top 10 most popular sports channels in Russia, reaching over 10 million viewers, while Viasat Golf is dedicated solely to golf.

Viasat Russia is part of Modern Times Group (MTG) and distributes 15 cable and satellite channels in Russia and the CIS.

Viasat Premium HD was launched in November 2012 and is available in major cable networks, including Rostelecom, ER Telecom, MTS, Beeline and Omline, for R400 (€9.3) a month.

Fox strengthens distribution and sales

Fox International Channels (FIC) is reinforcing its affiliate distribution and sales in Europe and Africa.

Part of the company’s global strategy to increase TV channel and premium TV content distribution in all linear and non-linear platforms, it sees Roberto Soto appointed as SVP commercial & product development, Peter J Taylor as VP affiliate focused on Western Europe and Viera Cervenakova Ekhdahl as VP affiliate focused on Nordic and Eastern Europe.

They come under the leadership of Georgina Twiss, who joined FIC as SVP of affiliate distribution Europe & Africa in 2011.

Altech Multimedia's hybrid HD STB for Digiturk

IBC 2013 — Digiturk, the leading satellite operator in Turkey, has commercially launched the next generation hybrid set-top box aimed at the evolving markets in Turkey and beyond. The hybrid set-top box was developed by its partner Altech Multimedia, a provider of innovative products and services to the Global Multimedia market.

Access Premium Content: Smartware, Irdeto CA and MS Playready

The new line of interactive and hybrid set-top boxes (DT-7103HD) developed by Altech Multimedia integrates TeleIDEA’s Smartware with the Irdeto Conditional Access system to secure Digiturk’s broadcast content. Microsoft Playready with Smooth streaming technology allow Digiturk customers to access Video on Demand content over IP. Furthermore the platform supports HD PVR functionality through the use of external USB connected storage media.

Combining two worlds: DVB Broadcast, HTML5, IP-VOD, Apps and HbbTV

Thanks to Altech Multimedia and the latest generation of software by TeleIDEA digiturk customers are now able to access DVB broadcasted content, combined with HTML5 and broadband services offering IP-VOD, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Picasa, and much more. Through its HbbTV extensions this solution is allowing additional flexibility as an open business and neutral technology platform. Once in the field, the set-top-box can easily be updated to fully support this wide range of OTT features by OTA software update allowing platform and customer flexibility through upgrade business models.

“For Digiturk it is essential to meet and continuously over exceed our customers’ expectations in order to secure their satisfaction, improve the user experience and grow our overall business. By connecting the two worlds of Broadcast and Broadband on content side and with innovative hybrid technology products we are on the right track to exactly achieve those goals.” explains Taylan Özsipahi, director of the set top box and conditional access department at Digiturk.

“In our opinion it is and has always been the synergic cooperation between content and technology companies that drives the entertainment markets and we are thrilled about Digiturk choosing Altech Multimedia with its partner TeleIDEA to further enhance the Digiturk success story by launching the next level consumer product category.” explains Bartolomeo Caputo, Managing Director of Altech Multimedia Europe.

MTS to sell Ukrainian fixed line asset

Russia’s MTS has decided to dispose of its fixed line business Comstar Ukraine.

Local reports say that the latter, which currently has around 18,000 subscribers, some 7,000 of who receive an IPTV service, now accounts for less than 0.5% of MTS’ total turnover in Ukraine.

MTS has held a majority (50.91%) stake in Comstar Ukraine since October 2009 and the company is now believed to be worth in the region of UAH32 million (€2.9 million).

Volia enters the cloud

Ukraine’s leading cable operator Volia has launched an innovative cloud service.

Known as VoliaCloud, it allows SMEs to place their IT infrastructure in what is the country’s largest data centre for less than UAH1,000 (€90.7) a month.

According to a study by IDC, the volume share of cloud services in commercial data centres in Ukraine will more than double by 2017.

Volia currently has over 1.5 million TV and broadband internet subscribers in 29 cities throughout the country.

Vodafone takes over 75% of KDG

Vodafone has reached an acceptance rate of  76.48% in its voluntary public tender offer for Kabel Deutschland Holding AG, the telco has confirmed.

Kabel Deutschland (KDG) shareholders that have yet to accept the offer have until midnight CET on September 30th. Vodafone’s offer values Kabel Deutschland at €87 per share.

With the mobile operator only just making it over the required 75% acceptance rate there remains uncertainty as to what the next move of the minority group might be.

One school of thought is that they take advantage of German laws designed to protect minority interests in the expectation that Vodafone pays a premium on the €87 to buy them out.

Only days before the offer closed hedge fund Elliott Asset Management doubled his stake to 10.9%.

Russian cable deal talks extended

The Russian cable operator ER Telecom has agreed to extend exclusive talks to buy the Moscow-based cableco Akado until the middle of October.

Quoting an unnamed source, Kommersantreports that the move was made largely on the initiative of ER Telecom, though Akado’s shareholders are also in favour of a period of reflection.

Akado has been on the market for some time and as recently as this summer was attracting the interest of MTS. Akado ended the second quarter 2013 with 1,110,000 pay-TV subscribers, or 1% more than when it started the year.

ER Telecom, on the other hand, grew its pay-TV subscriber base by 23% to 2.469 million over the same period.

Securing Akado, which is currently backed by Renova, would be a major boost for ER Telecom, giving its access to the lucrative Moscow market. Akado is understood to be currently valued at around $1-1.1 billion (€749-823 million).

Russia eyes audience monitoring change

Russia’s TV industry is likely to see a major change in monitoring audiences from 2017 onwards, with leading broadcasters such as Channel One, Rossiya and NTV the main beneficiaries.

Kommersant reports that broadcasters, advertisers and agencies have effectively agreed that in four years time audience shares, as compiled by TNS Russia, will be monitored in all cities.

At present, they are only measured in the 74 cities throughout the country with a population of over 100,000 people.

Official Russian statistics say that at the beginning of this year there were 1097 cities in the country with a total population of 98.8 million.

A final decision on the change is expected in October.

Mixed fortunes for Skylink

The leading Czech and Slovak DTH platform Skylink currently has 2.1 million customers, a total little changed on this time last year.

However, speaking to Digizone, Jaromir Glisnik, a member of the board at M7, added that within that period the number receiving Skylink Kombi package increased by 30%.

At the same time, the total receiving HD and paid services currently stands at over 100,000 and 300,000 respectively.

Skylink has been criticised for decreasing the total number of HD channels it offers. This, said Glisnik, has been down to the collapse of the Bulgarian DTH platform Satellite BG, with which it shared capacity.

The overall impact on Skylink’s customer base has nevertheless been minimal.

Bulgarian DTT row reignites

The European Commission has been strongly criticised by Bulgaria’s government for taking the country to the EU’s Court of Justice over controversial DTT licence awards.

According to Novinite, it argues that the arguments used by Brussels are “unclear, incorrect and inconsistent” and adds that Bulgaria will insist that the court rules in its favour.

The row between Bulgaria and the European authorities dates back to 2009, when then country awarded multiplex licences without, in the Commission’s view, doing so “under open, transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate criteria”.

The EU Court of Justice effectively began legal proceedings last month and should it rule against Bulgaria could impose fines of €8,448 a day.

3-screen usage grows in Europe

Over a quarter (27%) of affluent Europeans are now established 3-screen users, according to EMS Deep dive, a new study just published by Ipsos.

Yet significantly, these users are not consuming less traditional media but more media overall on smartphones and tablets.

The study, which looked at 1,074 of the top 13 earners in four European countries, also found that 94% of TV viewing still takes place on a traditional TV traditional screen; a significant part of the audience of international media is consumed via digital platforms; and that while international TV brands still reach their audience mainly via the TV set, large parts of the audience are also reached by other devices such as the laptop or PC.

Furthermore, the UK leads in the adoption and usage of digital devices, with four out of five using smartphones and just under half tablets.

Interestingly, the study also found that the take-up of connected TVs is still quite low (12%), with most using them to watch more TV rather than access the internet.

Heavy social media users (21%), defined as using 1+ hours per day, are also heavy internet users.

IPTV without the box in CI Plus upgrade

A new version of the DVB Common Interface platform has been launched by the DVB at IBC 2013. In a demonstration the standard setting organisation showed at SmarDTV CI Plus 1.4 Conditional Access Module and a Phillips television set, running an IPTV application developed by Accenture.

Once the module is inserted an automatic discovery process starts to find the location, any available IPTV channels, and retrieves the operator’s virtual STB application. CI Plus 1.4 can be used for the delivery of linear and VOD channels, significantly it can also access a network PVR.

Although there have been proprietary solutions, most notably Samsung’s implementation with TeliaSonera, the DVB said there had been a call for standardisation. However, the new module does require a compatible television set, so the existing product will remain in place for some time to come. European operators have launched CI Plus as an alternative to the set-top box in a number of markets.

Host middleware includes HbbTV – the format used in the DVB on-stand demo, MHP and MHEG-5.

Official publication of the specification as a DVB BlueBook is expected later this month, while the required OIPF specifications are expected for publication in early 2014.

Development of CI Plus 2.0 is underway including a new form factor.

It is expected that new television sets supporting the new specification will appear on the market around 2015/16.

IPTV defies drop in US pay TV market to gain subscribers in Q2

Amid a plunge in subscribers for cable and satellite providers, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) was the only segment of the U.S. pay-TV market to achieve growth in the second quarter, according to a new Television Intelligence report from IHS Inc., a leading global source of critical information and insight.

The U.S. IPTV providers—represented by AT&T Uverse and Verizon FiOS—boasted a net addition of 398,000 during the April to June period, up from 304,000 in the second quarter of 2012. Nonetheless, the overall U.S. pay-TV market also shed 352,000 subscribers during this time.

The main culprit for the pay-TV market’s nosedive was the cable segment’s loss of 588,000 subscribers. While that was slightly better than the 598,000 customers that cable shed during the same time last year, the decrease still represented a major plunge for the embattled business. Meanwhile, satellite’s decline widened to 162,000 subscribers, up sharply from 62,000 a year ago.

Based on the number of total subscribers at the end of the period, cable clung to 55 percent of the U.S. pay-TV market, satellite held 34 percent and IPTV had an upwardly mobile share of 11 percent.

Of the three segments in the U.S. pay-TV market, the IPTV sector is enjoying the strongest growth, especially in urban areas where it is luring subscribers away from satellite. In particular, satellite’s lack of a true high-speed Internet service or a triple-play bundling option puts it at a disadvantage when competing against IPTV and cable. Cable, meanwhile, has its own problems, including disagreements between operators and content providers over rising programming costs that squeeze cable customers in the middle.

The recent tiff between CBS and Time Warner over carriage fees—with CBS going black on Time Warner and the cable giant’s subscriber base then getting locked out of CBS programming—demonstrates the kind of difficulties that cable could endure in the future.

US subscribers tune out pay-TV

The internecine fight among the three rival segments is particularly acute because the overall base of potential new subscribers is diminishing over time. The decline in the second quarter means that the total number of U.S. pay-TV subscribers will contract by 146,000 during the initial six month of the year, the first time ever that the industry began the first half of a year with a net loss in pay-TV customers.

More significantly, 2013 is set to mark the first year that there will be an annual decline in total U.S. pay-TV subscriptions, IHS projects. Subscribers are forecast to decline to 66 million, down from 67 million last year.

The market’s downshifting can be traced in part to the growing number of so-called “cord-nevers”—i.e., those who object to ever having a pay-TV subscription, and instead get their TV programming exclusively via over-the-top services like Netflix or through other sources. Equally as important, the price of a typical pay-TV subscription remains high, staying well out of reach for a large number of consumers. Confronted with economic choices, consumers prefer to keep their cellular and high-speed data service rather than a pay-TV subscription.

IPTV becomes must-see TV

Both AT&T and Verizon, however, appear to be bucking the trend of a shrinking customer base. AT&T’s Uverse attracted 233,000 new subscribers in the second quarter, its second-largest sequential increase since 2009. Verizon’s FiOS, meanwhile, showed it had plenty of room for growth by gaining 140,000 new subscribers. Already, Verizon has achieved a 50 percent penetration rate in the pay-TV market of Dallas, Texas, its first area of launch.

Diversify or die

For their part, both cable and satellite—bleeding from customer defections or non-renewals—are exploring opportunities to diversify services, including new paradigms to deliver content to the home and even completely new fields like home-monitoring services.

For instance, DirecTV, which lost 84,000 customers in the second quarter, will be the latest pay-TV provider to offer services related to home security via a recent acquisition engaged in that market. Home security ostensibly will provide a new revenue stream, offering significant upselling opportunities that come in the presence of a video installation.

Other potential revenue boosters for cable and satellite providers include the “TV Everywhere” solution that allows content to also be accessed on computers, smartphones and tablets; and initiatives like Cox Communications’ flarewatch, the first pay-TV-owned broadcast-delivered IPTV service.

MegaFon Acquired Scartel

Shareholders of MegaFon approved acquisition of Scartel (Yota brand) with which the company has been collaborating more than a year in LTE through the MVNO service.

The acquirer hasn’t yet decided on how exactly Scartel will be integrated into MegaFon, so some particular
networks owned by Scartel may be acquired even before the deal is closed, communicated to the media MegaFon CEO Ivan Tavrin.

As ComNews reported earlier, in the beginning of August MegaFon’s Management Board approved acquisition of 100% shares of Scartel from Garsdale Services Investments holding (controlled by tycoon Alisher Usmanov) which both companies make part of, for US $1.18 billion. Rostec and TeliaSonera also stood for this merger as a result of which MegaFon will undertake Scartel’s US $600 million indebtedness.

MegaFon will be paying for Scartel’s assets by instalment. “Half of the amount in question – US $590 million plus a 6% annual interest from the moment the deal is closed until the date of the payment will be paid one
year after the deal closure, and the remaining US $590 million plus a 6% annual interest will be paid up in two years”, said a release from MegaFon. Ivan Tavrin also mentioned that the volume of assets and
liabilities wouldn’t change compared with the fi gures as of the date of deal closure.

Next Year Wi-Fi Will Come Into Moscow Metro

All coaches of the Moscow metro will be equipped with Wi-Fi Internet in the middle of next year, communicated Head of the capital’s Transport Department Maxim Liksutov.

 However, in view of possible overloads in the networks, the wireless hotspots will be installed in cars only, but not at the stations.
In the end of June the Moscow Metro operator announced the winner of the auction bidding for construction and operation of Wi-Fi network in the underground – Maxima Telecom company, where one of the co-owners is Sergey Aslanyan – former President of Sitronix.

 Maxima Telecom was actually the only service provider to submit a bid, as other operators declined
participation in the auction due to its disadvantageous conditions. Wi-Fi access will be provided by Maxima Telecom free of charge, but users will have to view a few short advertising clips, which will be the main source of income for the company.

 The construction will cost Maxima Telecom more than US $30 million of proprietary and borrowed funds which the investors expect to pay off in seven years. The network will be built by system
integrator NVision Group

Free WIFI by Russian Railways

Russian Railways JSC (RZD) has launched free Wi-Fi at 64 railway stations. By the end of the year the company will increase the number of stations offering free Internet access to 100, while expanding the Wi-Fi
coverage area.

“As we expand the coverage on our stations’ landside areas, daily connections have reached 6,000. Moscow and Saint Petersburg account for a better part of connections”, says a release from Russian Railways. It took the rail operator six months to reach this level of connections, specifi ed a company’s spokesperson in an interview for ComNews. The amount of traffi c and Wi-Fi data rate will depend on the passenger load at a facility.

The service is carried out by a subsidiary of Russian Railways – Vokzal Infocom.
The company is currently preparing the trial launch of WiFi offl oad technology which enables automatic offl oading of mobile data to Wi-Fi at  Moscow Kursk railway station and stations in Yekaterinburg and Perm.
The cost of the project for free Wi-Fi at railway stations was not disclosed. ◊

NEC To Supply LTE To Scartel

NEC Corporation has supplied low-power LTE base stations to Scartel operator on try-and-buy terms. The parties haven’t yet revealed their plans for further collaboration, if any. LTE micro stations are
designed to enhance network capacity and coverage. The press-release issued by NEC emphasizes that this project saw the first roll out of commercial service LTE micro stations in Russia. “We are talking
about 10 base stations”, specifi ed a spokesperson for NEC Neva Communication Systems CJSC.

The parties wouldn’t disclose the price of the contract. “Depending on the terms of supply and the configuration, I believe it’s about $200,000”, commented Denis Kusov, head of Telecom Daily agency.
The companies are also negotiating on further collaboration.

Dish TV adds more content

In a bid to provide its subscribers with more choices for content, Dish TV, one of the six DTH players in India has added an exclusive channel dedicated to just movies called the Cinema TV, a 24 hour broadcast channel from Naatpol.

Of the 56.5 million DTH subscribers in the country, Dish TV commands almost 10.9 million subscribers on the whole. Hitesh Sabharwal, CEO of Cinema TV said, “We´re seeing a robust demand for movie content channel across various regions of India and in an effort to meet the customers´ needs, Cinema TV was specifically designed for the movie buffs, bringing out high quality catalogue of feature films directly to viewers.”

Earlier this July Dish TV hiked the prices for SD STBs as well as its Dish+ recorders to USD 36.98 and USD 38.62 respectively. In order to decrease the prices for its subscribers as well as combat the problem of weakening Rupee, the service also announced it would source STBs from domestic vendors.

Bangalore MSOs complete 40% data collection

Bangalore now joins the list of cities in India that is struggling with successfully completing digitisation under its given deadline. So far Bangalore MSOs have only completed about 30%-40% of the total data collection necessary. The deadline for the collection has been set at September 20 which means several thousands of households might be facing cable blackouts if the procedure is not completed as mandated by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

With cable TV entering an era of digitisation, millions of television viewers currently are able to view hundreds of channels free of cost. R Narasimha Swamy of Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) said, “The most important aspect of digitisation was collection of consumer application forms (CAF) from each of the Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS) subscribers.”

Bangalore now joins Hyderabad and Kolkata, two other cities struggling to conform with their own deadlines. While both Bangalore and Hyderabad come under Phase II of digitisation, Kolkata where close to 0.18 million households experienced cable blackouts in August, was covered under Phase I of digitisation. In fact the government has already started preparing MSOs for Phase III of digitisation expected to begin in September.v

Astro chooses Pace for HD PVR

Malaysia´s digital satellite operator Astro has chosen to use the technologies provided by Pace, a technology developer for pay TV and broadband services, to supply the next generation of its HD PVR. This would the first time in its history that Pace would be developing this HD PVR.

Astro has recently added 43,000 subscribers bringing its total numbers 3.36 million subscribers for the second quarter ending in July. It has also announced that it will be aggressively courting its subscribers to move towards its HD platform. The next generation HD PVR which will be rolled out officially starting next month, will feature upgraded technologies such as dual-band concurrent Wi-Fi solution and comes with 1GM RAM as well as an internal hard drive.

Astro Spokesperson Kong Futt Fong, SVP Strategic Contracts, said,  “Pace´s new HD PVR allows us to improve the customer experience and provide our customers with the very latest technologies and services.” Astro has also been trying to boost its IPTV offerings to its subscribers as it has recently signed a new content deal with IPTV service, Hypp TV.

India´s top DTH player says digitisation will level the playing field

If DTH players in India are to compete with the fragmented cable operators in the country, then successful digitisation is the key. Harit Nagpal, the CEO of Tata Sky, of the six DTH services available in the country said at the recent IBC conference that with the onset of digitisation, both DTH and cable will have a chance to head to head with competitive packaging and pricing.

Harit Nagpal said, “Prices have been kept low by analogue cable which does not allow tiered packages so premium offers that are priced higher for the discerning customer are not possible. No one has ever sold caviar in a buffet.” India is in the midst of cable digitisation with the government stating that all regions in the country will be digitised by end of 2014 and as of right now the DTH market has about 56.5 million subscribers.

Tata Sky is already trying to woo more subscribers away from the cable sector by slashing the cost of STBs by 18%. The SD STB now costs approximately USD 28. In order to woo the premium subscribers, the player has also started upgrading its technology wherein it’s spending USD 142 million to switch from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 formats.

2013 4K TV panel shipments reach one million units in August

According to the large-sized panel shipment survey by WitsView, the display research division of the global market intelligence provider TrendForce, the large-sized panel shipment for August 2013 attained 70.11 million units, rising 11% MoM.

The promotional restocking demand for Oct 1st holidays in China emerged and some brands prepared for the 2H’13 peak season in Europe and the U.S., supporting the TV panel shipment, and the August LCD TV panel shipment grew 5.8% to 19.31 million units. The monitor panel shipment climbed 5.3% MoM to 14.10 million units as the downstream SI makers saw rising shipment demands.

The 10.1”-and-above NB panel shipment reached 16.56 million units, growing 13.4% MoM, as the shipment was supported by brand’ demand for new models carrying Haswell chips and the basis period in July was low. The tablet panel shipment reached 20.12 million units, rising 19% MoM, as the demands for Apple, Google’s Nexus 7, and Samsung’s tablets remained strong, and white-box makers launched new higher-resolution models.

In the 2013 Germany IFA that has just ended, besides the curved OLED TV that attracts the market’s eye, the 4K TVs are hot products intensively displayed by all brands, and medias’ massive coverage and reports become the best publicity for the upcoming 4K TV campaign war during the Oct. 1st holidays in China. In H1’13, Japanese brands such as Sony and Toshiba led to showcase the 4K TVs of 55”, 65”, and 84”, while Korean and Chinese brands revealed the 4K TVs of 55”and above. The 39” 4K TV priced at only RMB 3,333 by KONKA has sparked talks in the industry, and other five major Chinese brands will also sell 4K TVs of 39”, 42”, and 50”, suggesting Chinese brands are touting a 4K TV lineup of large, medium, and small sizes to fully boost the Oct. 1st sales.

WitsView’s research manager Jeffy Chen indicates that as Chinese brands held a strongly growing demand for 4K TVs, the 4K TV panel shipment jumped to 0.38 million units in one single month, rising 47% from the previous month. As a result, through the end of August, the 4K2K TV panel shipment accumulated to 1.22 million units, officially surpassing the benchmark of one million units. Among the panel makers, Innolux had an aggressive strategic deployment on 4K TV panel products, enjoying a 55% market share, and when combined with AUO, Taiwanese panel makers have successfully gained nearly 80% of the market.

The Oct 1st promotional period will be a crucial moment to see how Chinese consumers accept the 4K TVs. Looking ahead to 2014, the three Gen 8.5 fabs of BOE, Samsung, and LGD will be operational in Hefei, Suzhou, and Guangzhou, and how to secure a place in the world’s largest LCD TV market will be the key to efficiently digest the new capacity. If the 4K TV segment is successfully expanded in China, in 2014, Korean and Chinese panel makers will inevitably attack the under-55”4K TV panel market, including 48”/49” and 40”/42”. The war for the entire series of 4K panels will be formally declared in 2014.

Chart 1: TFT-LCD Panel Shipment in Aug-13 (K units)

Telekom Austria enters satellite TV business with Eutelsat

Telekom Austria Group to extend multimedia business in CEE to Satellite with Eutelsat

• New ‘direct2home’ B2B platform for satellite Pay TV
• Extension to Satellite TV as the next step to convergence
• Central and Eastern Europe as a profitable target area due to digitalization of TV signals
• Croatian subsidiary Vipnet as first showcase
• EUTELSAT 16A satellite selected to host new platform

Telekom Austria Group today announced with Eutelsat its entry into a new business field of Satellite TV. The announcement was made at a joint press conference at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam. The solution involves a new B2B Direct-to-Home platform uplinking TV signals via Telekom Austria’s earth station in Aflenz/Styria to the EUTELSAT 16A satellite at the 16° East position for broadcasting to Central and Eastern Europe as well as wider regions of Western Europe. The term DTH (Direct To Home) stands for the reception of TV signals via an antenna installed at the home of the customers. DTH as a reception technology can be used for Pay TV as well as for free-to-air channels.

Satellite TV as the next step to convergence

In 2007, the Telekom Austria Group introduced its first convergent offers to the Austrian market comprising fixed line, mobile and broadband. Since then, different product combinations such as A1 TV, the IPTV offer of the Group, have been successfully commercialised. Following acquisitions concluded in Bulgaria in 2010 and Croatia in 2011, convergent product bundles have been launched in both countries. The existing TV offers based on IPTV and cable can now be extended by satellite technology, taking convergence to a new level.

“The Telekom Austria Group has a long international tradition and expertise as provider of satellite services. We are active as a TV provider for IPTV as well as cable. In order to leverage further potential, we are combining the available infrastructure and in-house know-how built up in the fields of satellite and TV content to a new business field”, explained Reinhard Zuba, Group Chief Marketing Officer of the Telekom Austria Group.

For example, A1, the Austrian subsidiary of the Group was responsible for the worldwide distribution of TV signals during the European Football Championship UEFA EURO 2008 and was also a subcontractor of the Skiing World Championship in Schladming, Austria, earlier this year. The technical basis for the distribution of TV signals and data is the Group’s high performance backbone in Central and Eastern Europe (as well as in Western Europe via the partnership with KPN) and the Aflenz/Styria earth station which is embedded into its infrastructure. The Aflenz earth station hosts more than 50 antennas, uplinking signals to satellites for broadcasting to target regions.

Broadcasting as a new B2B business field

“Whereas Western Europe has virtually completed analogue switch-off, more and more Central and Eastern European countries are in the process of transitioning into digital. This trend represents significant growth potential for us as DTH providers in a market of approximately 75 million households,” said Stefan Amon, Director of Wholesale, Telekom Austria Group. DTH is the preferred route to digitalisation because the consumer transition can be implemented easily, quickly and cost-efficiently. Stefan Amon added that the Central and Eastern European Pay TV market is also evolving as a result of consolidation. However, the technical incompatibility of platforms often prevents end-customers from accessing premium TV entertainment.

In response, the Telekom Austria Group has designed and implemented an open broadcasting solution seamlessly combining one earth station, one encryption system and set-top boxes from multiple suppliers. Its B2B “direct2home” solution is aimed at two target groups:

• Broadcasting companies: Via Telekom Austria’s DTH solution, broadcasters can extend their footprint in the CEE, taking advantage of the reach of EUTELSAT 16A. The solution consists of a seamless connection via Aflenz as well as various Pay TV programme packages and EPGs (Electronic Programme Guides)
• Telecommunication operators: The Telekom Austria Group is offering other telecommunication companies (IPTV, cable TV and network operators) a “White Label Solution”. Providers can offer their own content to customers with their own branding and use the technical service of Telekom Austria Group. The advantage of this offer is that providers can rapidly extend their market penetration, use cross-selling potential and benefit from a wide range of channels and services without upfront investment.

To support this new direction, Telekom Austria Group has selected capacity on the EUTELSAT 16A satellite located at 16° East, the key neighbourhood for broadcasting in Central and Eastern Europe. Apostolos Triantafyllou, Eutelsat Sales Director for the region said: “Telekom Austria Group’s choice of our satellite underscores the key role played by the 16° East neighbourhood and our ambition to further develop this orbital position. The excellent content already aggregated on EUTELSAT 16A and its established audience can benefit telecom operators who are seeking to quickly and efficiently bundle digital broadcasting with traditional telecom services.”

Vipnet multimedia company is the first DTH showcase

In 2011, Vipnet, the Croatian subsidiary of the Telekom Austria Group has entered the TV and fixed line business through its acquisition of B.net, a leading cable operator in Croatia. Through the successful integration of B.net, Vipnet has transformed into a convergent provider on the Croatian market. Since then, Vipnet has closed three more acquisitions in the fixed line business, further strengthening its position as a convergent player. In March 2013 Vipnet also acquired Digi Croatia, a provider of DTH services.

Vipnet will now use the new direct2home platform of the Telekom Austria Group in order to migrate Digi Croatia subscribers to the new platform and to the EUTELSAT 16A satellite. The new offer will be significantly improved in terms of range of services and image quality. Vipnet uses MPEG4 hybrid boxes which also enable a return channel via broadband (fixed line or mobile).

“With the direct2home platform, migration is easy and quick for subscribers. Using Telekom Austria’s new product portfolio, we are not only able to reach areas where we have our own fixed line infrastructure but we can also offer satellite TV across Croatia in one go. This is particularly valuable for rural areas and is a huge strength in the traditionally strong Pay TV market in Croatia,” said Adrian Jezina, former Director of B.net and now Member of the Board at Vipnet. Adrian Jezina also stressed the importance of product bundles which lead to a lower churn rate, meaning a lower rate of changing the provider. By leveraging other Telekom Austria Group technologies like Bitstream or LTE other synergy effects are also possible. Using DTH instead of traditional cable TV, product bundles and upselling possibilities are available, economies of scale became possible due to the larger, nationwide customer potential and costs for new customer acquisition are lowered.

International Datacasting teams with Irdeto for MDU market

International Datacasting Teams With Irdeto To Deliver End-to-End Solution For Pay TV Operators

As global demand for satellite and digital cable services surges, International Datacasting (TSX: IDC) and Irdeto (JSE: NPN) have joined forces to provide a seamless solution for overcoming the hurdles facing pay TV operators in fast-growing markets. The two companies will demonstrate their offerings at the IBC 2013 show, September 13-17 at the RAI Amsterdam.

The partnership, which leverages Irdeto Media Protection, enables pay TV operators to launch new IP-based services and add subscribers within Multi-Dwelling Units (MDUs) while providing industry-leading content protection and revenue security. As a result, pay TV operators can significantly increase their subscriber base and revenue. Irdeto and IDC plan to complete integration and testing of these solutions before the end of this year.

Whether it’s via cable, satellite, terrestrial, IP, mobile or hybrid networks, Irdeto’s flexible family of media protection Multiscreen and revenue assurance solutions enable broadcasters to easily deploy new TV services and support new devices without interrupting existing subscriber services or compromising their digital assets. The company’s Media Protection suite ensures content is protected whether on managed or unmanaged devices, including STBs, mobile phones, tablets, computers, connected TVs or game consoles. Irdeto’s Revenue Assurance offering mitigates piracy on multiple platforms, preventing revenue loss and generating business intelligence. Irdeto’s Multiscreen solution increases customer loyalty by providing a personalized user experience that allows consumers to easily find and enjoy content on any device or network. With this full breadth of solutions for pay media available, the Irdeto and IDC partnership is poised for future collaboration and growth.

IDC’s Digital Tattoo™DTH Over IP Gateway extends DTH service coverage across IP networks. It enables direct-to-home (DTH) satellite operators to offer services to residential customers over a standard Ethernet network. This approach is easy and cost-effective to implement, and allows the DTH operator to access a large and growing market while enabling the MDU owner to offer residents lucrative additional services like Internet connectivity and voice over IP, using the same infrastructure.

The second generation of IDC’s LASER™ Targeted Ad Insertion Platform makes its European debut at IBC 2013. Broadcasters and service providers face licensing, regulatory and copyright issues that cost them millions of dollars in ad revenues. The LASER platform solves these problems and allows television networks and content distributors to maximize their ad revenues by providing targeted local ad insertion, blackout management, and DVB-S/S2 satellite video reception in one cost-effective platform. Regional or local content can be inserted at the edge of the network, significantly increasing the resulting revenue. As a result, broadcasters are no longer constrained by licensing issues, which prevent specific content from being shown in a part of the viewing area.

Bengt Jonsson, VP Sales, Asia Pacific, for Irdeto, explained that the combined strengths of the two companies provide especially important benefits to customers in fast-growing emerging markets: “Irdeto offers a full suite of Media Protection solutions throughout all regions in the world, and has long supported operators in key emerging markets like Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. Now, those operators can gain a real strategic advantage thanks to the integration with IDC’s solutions.”

“By increasing addressable market size with Digital Tattoo, and opening up targeted ad insertion opportunities with LASER, DTH operators and broadcasters can increase revenues and market share,” said Doug Lowther, CEO of IDC. “In rapidly growing and competitive content markets, that can be a significant competitive advantage.”

DVB unveils features of forthcoming DVB-CI Plus specification

AMSTERDAM — At this year’s IBC, the DVB Project unveils its work incorporating the latest version of CI Plus Extensions (commonly referred to as CI Plus V1.4) into the forthcoming DVB-CI Plus specification. In a collaborative effort with CI Plus LLP, DVB is demonstrating a standards based solution that adds major new features to the CI Plus V1.3 specification. Full backwards compatibility is to be maintained in the new specification.

The new, upcoming DVB-CI Plus standard will enable IPTV to be delivered directly to the television, without the need of a set-top box. It will add a number of features to enable this capability. These new features include: the ability to route high-bandwidth IP streams through the Conditional Access Module (CAM) with the facility for the CAM to control those IP streams; a new Online Service Descriptor Table (OSDT); and support for IP Multicast.

When combining DVB-CI Plus with Open IPTV Forum (OIPF) specifications, a fully standardized solution can be built. This is made possible by taking advantage of the OIPF’s specifications for an HTML-based browser environment, discovery protocols, coding and packaging formats, as well as other elements.

CI Plus V1.4 provides cost-effective support for multi-stream operation within a single Module. This enables the handling of two or more encrypted services on different Transport Streams on a multi-tuner PVR Host. In previous versions this could only be accomplished through the use of additional Host CI Plus interfaces and Modules.

With many Pay TV broadcast and Telco operators delivering TV content over IP, Host devices are increasingly capable of being connected to broadband networks. IP-delivered content increasingly uses the file format known as ISO BMFF (ISO Base Media File Format), and V1.4 supports IP-delivered content such as ISO BMFF in addition to the more familiar Transport Stream. The MPEG-DASH protocol for adaptive bit-rate delivery is supported by Hosts with IP connectivity. The CI Plus interface also includes a mode in which the delivery protocol and content format are supported within the Module, the content being returned to the Host in one of the two supported formats.

There are also extensions for the CI Plus Browser to make use of broadband connectivity, and to enable improvements to the user experience of operator applications using the Browser, such as for VOD and EPGs. In addition, there is improved support for the launching of Applications supported by the Host middleware (e.g., MHP or HbbTV). The Usage Rules Information (URI) has also been extended to support trick-mode control. Lastly, V1.4 addresses Transcoding and Watermarking. V1.3 prohibited any manipulation of the content by the Module beyond decryption. The V1.4 specification relaxes these constraints to enable Modules to include transcoding and/or watermarking functionality.

“DVB’s collaboration with CI Plus LLP is set to provide a specification with advanced features including support for IPTV. It will also add additional security and features to the proven DVB Common Interface Standard that will allow CI Plus compatible consumer electronic devices, such as integrated digital televisions and set-top boxes, access to a wide range of Pay TV services via plug-in CI Plus Modules wherever the CI Plus technology is supported by the local Pay TV provider” commented Peter Siebert, DVB’s Executive Director.

NBTC gets 23 bidders so far

Thailand’s broadcaster, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) which is in the midst of preparing for digital terrestrial TV auction, has currently sold the application documents of broadcaster licences to 23 companies.

There may be more as the documents will be sold until end of September 12 in Thailand and according to reports there were as many as 38 various corporations who were interested in the bidding process.  Broadcast licenses are being sold for 24 channels and 34 bidding documents have been sold up until now.

NBTC had earlier pushed the dates of the actual from October to an unspecified date later this year. Once the bidding documents gets sold by the end of September 12th, the broadcaster will take an additional 45 days to announce who has qualified to take part in the auction itself.

Conax partners with Cryptography Research on additional layer of hardware security

New Conax Hardware Security Core will enable an additional level of content protection on a range of devices

AMSTERDAM — IBC 2013 — Conax, a leading global specialist in solutions for securing multi-device and digital video content revenues, today announced cooperation with Cryptography Research, Inc. (CRI) to bring a new addition to the broad Conax portfolio of content protection solutions. Conax Secure Clients are utilizing various Conax Security Cores to deliver the best security solutions. The partnership with CRI enables Conax to introduce an additional and highly sophisticated Hardware Security Core based on the market-renowned and highly secure CryptoFirewall technology from CRI. This new offering will enable pay-for-content distributors to add an unprecedented extra level of security in compatible consumer devices. The first targets for the new Conax Hardware Security Core are Connected TVs and STBs.

The CryptoFirewall core is a proven security technology featuring dedicated security hardware and best-in-industry protections against sophisticated attacks. CryptoFirewall cores are already integrated into multiple chipset platforms from leading STB chipset manufacturers and will enable wide availability of the Conax Hardware Security Core in STBs. Beyond improved security against piracy, hardened STB chipsets represent an added insurance for operators’ investment in STBs.

The new solution will complement Conax’ other Security Cores, smart cards, STB chipset solutions, as well as hardened Software Cores used in Conax DRM clients for tablets and other personal devices. Operators under high piracy pressure can for example combine the new Conax Hardware Security Core and Conax smart cards for a ‘double-hull’ effect or use it as an additional security layer in the upcoming Conax Cardless CAS.

“We are proud to take the lead in this fast progressing area of content protection technology” said Tom Jahr, EVP Products & Partners at Conax. “Hardware security cores are a necessary part of the arsenal of tools used to stay ahead of pirates, both for conventional pay TV distribution as well as multi-screen distribution of premium content to all types of devices. As they become integrated in device System-on-Chips, hardware security cores provide the foundation for robust content protection for a wide range of client devices.”