France's Numericable to Deploy Nagravision's Interactive TV Widget Platform
Submitted by tracyswedlow on September 27, 2009 - 11:44pm
in
* iptv
* OTT
* Over-the-Top
* set-top boxes
* stb
* Technology
* widgets
--Nagravision Licenses NOCS Security Tech to Intel for Hybrid and IPTV Set-Top Boxes
Kudelski-owned Nagravision announced last week that French cable operator, Numericable, has selected its recently announced (see the article published on itvt.com, September 13th) widget platform to power its new "Widget TV" service, and that Numericable also plans to deploy its SDV technology next year. According to Nagravision, widgets will allow Numericable's customers to "interact with their TV and build a genuine social network as part of their TV experience." Numericable plans to initially launch a widget called "MyTV," that will allow its customers to send program alerts to their friends. Subsequently, Nagravision says, Numericable customers will be able to select widgets from a large gallery, including live and on-demand recommendation widgets, as well as widgets that allow them to share videos and keep track of updates from their online social networks.
Nagravision claims that its widget platform will allow Numericable to work with content providers and software application developers in order to develop new programming-related services or standalone consumer services. It says that the platform "will be open and will encourage external developments as does the Apple (App) Store." According to the company, its deal with Numericable will see it supporting the latter with a complete software suite based on its Nagra Media Widget platform, that includes a set of widgets organized into a store controlled by the cable operator. It says the platform also includes the Nagra Media Widget Studio, a service publishing tool which it bills as giving operators and their partners the ability to create custom libraries of widget services that leverage their established pay-TV offering. The system is a Web-based frontend to the Nagra Media CMS (content management system), the Nagra Media SDP (service delivery platform), and OpenTV's Core 2.0 client middleware and its associated HTML browser.
Nagravision says that Numericable's deployment of switched digital video, meanwhile, will be powered by its Nagra Media SDP solution, and will allow the operator to offer new on-demand services. The deployment will see SDV used alongside broadcast and VOD, Nagravision says, and will "allow the creation of new offerings designed for specific communities and the transmission of Web TV programs which [until now] could not justify the use of...dedicated network bandwidth." The company claims that the deployment's mix of broadcast, simulcast and unicast (VOD) technologies on the same network is unique. "Strengthening our relationship with the Kudelski Group allows us to make a great step forward in our TV 2.0 project," Numericable president and CEO, Pierre Danon, said in a prepared statement. "Not only are we going to introduce widget technology, which was initially reserved for PC's, to a wide audience, but we are also launching SDV technology, which will enable us to multiply the number of channels available to our subscribers without having to compromise over quality."
In other Nagravision news: The company said last week that it has signed a strategic license agreement with Intel, that will see the latter integrating its Nagravision On-Chip Security (NOCS) technology onto its Intel CE media processors. According to the company, the integration will enable Intel's CE manufacturer customers to design hybrid and IPTV set-top boxes and "secure digital video home products for service operators using Nagra Media Access technology to secure content on their pay-TV networks." It will "open up large potential markets for Intel's CE customers, while allowing Nagravision's service operator customers to select groundbreaking products incorporating Intel's line of Intel CE media processors," Nagravision claims.
According to Nagravision, the agreement will give Intel customers access to a market of over 100 million homes on five contents that use Nagra Media Access conditional access systems to secure programming content. The company says that the process of enabling NOCS technology on Intel CE media processors is "ongoing," and that Nagravision-certified Intel CE media processors are expected to be available to Nagravision licensees during the first half of 2010. "Content protection is essential for today's designs," Keith Wehmeyer, general manager of the Intel Digital Home Group's IPTV Segment, said in a prepared statement. "NOCS technology combined with Intel CE media processors provides the security and processing power necessary to deliver rich media applications such as 3D graphics to the television. The incorporation of Nagravision's NOCS technology will provide CE customers with a comprehensive solution for advanced set-top boxes."
met dank aan Fred van ErikErik