ADB And Grundig Enable The Launch Of First Norwegian Push-VOD Offering By RiksTV

Thursday, October 30th, 2008
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GENEVA, Switzerland — Advanced Digital Broadcast (SWX:ADBN), a leading supplier of technology to the global digital television industry, announced today that it will supply its latest DVB-T digital video recorder platform for the Norwegian market under its agreement with Grundig. The DTR 8860 VOD is the first-to-market to fully support RiksTV’s push-VOD service, which is using the pVOD solution from Osmosys. ADB and Grundig have already been successful in the Norwegian market since they announced their partnership in 2007 with two non-DVR products: the DTR 8720, and the DTR 8740, which provides pause live TV features.

RiksTV plans to launch its new push-VOD service in early 2009. Those DVR’s already in customer homes by then will be upgraded via a simple software download. All products shipped in 2009 will come fully integrated with the push-VOD applications.

“With our technology partnership with ADB, Grundig has continually proved its ability to deliver superior quality high definition set-top boxes to the market in a timely manner and at the right price point” says I. Tolga Akar, Chief Marketing Officer at Grundig. “We are very happy to work together with ADB for this latest product launch that will see the first deployment of push-VOD ready digital video recorders in the Norwegian marketplace. Furthermore the availability of two additional HD products will give RiksTV’s subscribers a wide choice of TV viewing options”.

RiksTV is a Norwegian DTT network operator owned by a consortium consisting of Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), the TV 2 Group and Telenor Broadcast Holding. Its service offering went live in September 2007, with three free-to-air TV channels and 21 pay-TV channels packaged in RiksPakken and RiksExtra, which provide a mix of local and international programming. Within a year of its services going live, RiksTV has attracted close to 280,000 customers. RiksTV’s offering will be pushed to new levels with the digital video recorder DTR 8860 VOD coupled with Osmosys’ push-VOD solution and embedded enhanced graphics engine known as EGG™.

“We strongly believe that the high quality STB from ADB/Grundig together with Push-VOD service from Osmosys will strengthen our position in a competitive market. We hope the service will be a great success” said Espen Thorsby, CEO, RiksTV.

The DTR 8860 VOD is an advanced, interactive digital video recorder optimised for digital terrestrial networks. The product supports high quality recording and playback. It is push-VOD ready, enabling operators to download premium, pay-TV content onto the hard disk drive for consumers to retrieve at their convenience. It is equipped with a 500GB hard disk drive, enough to store more than 500 hours of SD content or up to 180 hours of HD-ready content. The product includes state-of-the-art hardware features such as a single-chip microprocessor, dual tuner, and double USB, fast Ethernet and HDMI™ interfaces. ADB’s unique operating software ensures enhanced system and product performance including fast channel decoding and swift rendering of on-screen graphics and applications.

“We are delighted to work with Grundig and RiksTV to develop and supply this new and innovative product. It is one of the world’s first introduction of a push-VOD ready, HD, MPEG-4 terrestrial platform, and ADB with its partners have delivered it,” states Jim Lomax, Executive VP Worldwide Sales & Marketing at ADB. “We believe that the availability of ADB’s products under Grundig’s strong brand combined with RiksTV’s offer provides consumers with a second-to-none entertainment experience. The digital terrestrial pay TV market is growing in Europe and ADB is perfectly positioned to deliver innovative products to support its customers’ ambitions in this segment”.

Osmosys Push VOD offers a bandwidth independent means of distributing any form of digital content. A wealth of content such as movies, trailers or any other TV programming can be made available to the viewer in the form of customised catalogues via different payment methods like pay per view or subscription. Furthermore, the embedded EGG™ enhanced graphics engine is a revolutionary graphics library that marks a radical enhancement in the viewer’s experience, making traditional STB user interfaces history. It allows video content creators and designers alike the freedom to provide interactive TV graphics, with fluid motion, 3D effects and a full suite of animation effects on platforms that were previously limited to a 2D world only.

“Push-VOD will make it possible for the consumer to have an exciting TV experience whilst discovering a new way of consuming digital content” commented David McElhatten, Managing Director of Osmosys. “The winning combination of these products developed in collaboration with ADB, Osmosys and Grundig will help deliver the right solution and services for the operator to be successful”.

Shipments of the products have already commenced.