NDS, C-Cube customer, Divicom competitor. And LSI in Chinese STBs..............................
Monday May 17, 6:06 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Early Wins Fuel NDS Drive Into Digital Cable TV Sector
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 1999--NDS, the leader in broadcast systems and conditional access solutions for digital television, has set its sights on gaining market leadership in the emerging digital cable sector.
The company today announced its offering for the digital cable sector, based on its state-of-the-art digital broadcasting, security and interactive TV solutions and supported by the company's extensive knowledge of digital broadcasting business and systems integration.
''Digital cable TV will play a major role in the delivery of entertainment and information to the home. Cable is an ideal delivery mechanism for increased viewer programming choice and new services such as interactive advertising and home shopping. We believe we are in a strong position to capture a significant share of the digital cable TV market by offering cable operators and Telcos a combination of state-of-the-art broadcast technology solutions and a solid understanding of the business of digital television. Our vision of the interactive future makes us an ideal partner for cable operators and Telcos as they make the move to digital,'' said Dr. Abe Peled, CEO of NDS.
''We have a strong track record of success in digital broadcasting through our work with digital broadcasters such as DirecTV, Sky Digital and StarTV, digital terrestrial TV operators in the UK, Europe, Asia and the US and international Telcos. We are now ready to build on that success and deploy our knowledge and expertise in the cable market.''
NDS' offering for the digital cable sector is based on the company's open, scaleable, broadcast systems. NDS' digital cable solutions are designed to meet the needs of all operators, whether they are planning a new Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) network or migrating their existing analogue service to digital. NDS offers a variety of solutions for small, medium and large systems; as well us upgrade paths from one-way networks to broadband two-way systems for middleware, Electronic Program Guide (EPG) and interactive applications. NDS also provides flexible, cost-effective solutions for digital distribution of programming and channels to cable headends either via satellite using its NDS Director(TM) system and over telecom networks (PDH and SDH/SATM).
NDS has a complete line of open products including compression systems, NDS VideoGuard(TM) content and revenue protection, subscriber management systems and value-added, interactive services that can be used to create an end-to-end solution for cable operators of all sizes. The company's dedication to open systems ensures that these products are compliant with leading international standards including MPEG-2, DVB/DAVIC, OpenCable/DOCSIS, SMPTE, ATSC, and ARIB, allowing broadcasters and Telcos to choose a complete NDS solution or easily integrate with other third party products.
Major contracts secured
In the past months NDS has secured significant contracts with digital cable TV operators as well as important alliances for development of technology and solutions for this growing market.
Development Collaboration with Cable Television Laboratories, Inc
(CableLabs®)
NDS has signed an agreement to develop test tools for Cable Television Laboratories, Inc (CableLabs®) that will enable OpenCable(TM) to insure interoperability between set top boxes (STB) and of Point of Deployment (POD) security modules. This agreement will mean that the growing number of consumer electronics vendors who are manufacturing OpenCable set top boxes will be able to take advantage of these tools to ensure proper and swift integration.
Compression Equipment for Spain's Madritel
NDS has won a competitive tender to provide Sirti/Stream with an MPEG-2 Digital Platform for DVB services for Madritel, the Spanish Telecommunications Company operating in the Madrid area and specializing in digital cable TV. The contract for 12 multiplexes, using NDS' latest compression products for cable, was won from Sirti/Stream who are the systems integrators for the project, (both Sirti and Stream are controlled by the Telecom Italia Group).
Advanced Digital Broadcast System for Israel's Matav
NDS and Samsung have recently signed an agreement to supply Matav, an Israeli provider of cable television services, with an advanced digital broadcast system. This system will be the most advanced and versatile large-scale digital cable system in the world, offering future interactive services using a DVB compliant cable return path. NDS is providing Matav with a comprehensive digital broadcast system that will be applied to the existing cable infrastructure, while Samsung will provide the consumer devices for subscriber homes. NDS will act as system integrator for the whole project, the value of which is more than $11 million.
Set-top-box Development for China Digital Cable
NDS has signed an agreement with Sichuan New Tech. Digital Equipment Co Ltd (NTC) and LSI Logic Corporation to manufacture digital set-top boxes in the P.R.C. utilizing NDS conditional access technology and the LSI Logic Integra® Set-top Box Development Platform and ASICs. The partnership brings together the strengths of each organization. NDS will provide the core software, application software and conditional access software for the digital set-top boxes. LSI Logic will provide the development platform and ASIC chipsets to the local manufacturer. NTC will integrate the components and software in the local manufacturing facility in Chengdu.
About NDS
NDS, headquartered in the UK, with operations worldwide, provides end-to-end solutions for digital broadcasting through the company's research, development and manufacturing activities. NDS is a recognized leader in digital video compression and conditional access, and has proven systems integration and global support capabilities. NDS is providing its advanced technologies, products and services to many of the current and planned cable, satellite and terrestrial broadcasting systems around the world. In addition, over 12 million subscribers around the globe use NDS conditional access systems to receive Pay-TV satellite and cable services.
NDS plays a major part in developing open systems and the international standards for the digital broadcasting arena, providing the technology and market know-how to implement standards such as MPEG-2, DVB, ATSC, SMPTE and DTTV. The company continues to make a major commitment to R&D, with over 700 of its 1,500 plus employees dedicated to its pioneering development work at research centers in Israel, the U.S. and the UK. NDS is a subsidiary of News Corporation (NWS), a leading global media company. NDS has won many awards for technology including an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and three Queen's Awards, one for Technology and two for Export. NDS is on the World-Wide-Web at: ndsworld.com.
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Contact:
NDS Americas
Lisa Hobbs, 949/725-2500
lhobb@ndsamericas.com
or
NDS Ltd.
Margot Field, +44 (0)181 476 8158
mfield@ndsuk.com |
