Irdeto and Humax develop HD secure chipset box for the Middle East

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
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The new HD receivers combats piracy and offer flexibility to view secure content in the region

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands — Irdeto (JSE: NPN), a leading expert in content and business model protection solutions and services, today announced that it has partnered with global set-top box manufacturer Humax, to develop the first secure high definition set top box (HD STB) for the Middle East region. The STB will feature Irdeto’s market-leading conditional access system (CAS) offering a state-of-the-art hardware platform, software technology and cryptography, secure chipset, and SIM cards for the control of operator subscriptions. The Humax HD STBs directly target content piracy in the region where businesses lose $50 billion annually as a result of hackers.

By incorporating Irdeto’s cutting-edge CAS within the HD STBs operators can protect their content against theft or control word sharing piracy via the Irdeto Premium smart card, capable of rapid software updates over the air and featuring built-in mechanisms for prevention against card attacks. This unique anti-piracy method is especially critical in regions with an extreme number of hackers as it enables Irdeto to effectively thwart pirate attempts quickly in all susceptible markets.

Tae-Hun Kim, Senior VP, Head of Marketing Division at Humax, comments; “In response to the rapidly growing piracy problem across the Middle East, Irdeto and Humax are committed to providing secure protection for high-value content including, giving operators the opportunity to make HD channels available on secure chipset receivers exclusively. This is an important step for the Middle East market, as Humax has developed the STBs so operators in the region can offer maximum flexibility for consumers.”

“Together, Irdeto and Humax have developed a business model that strictly enforces security and protects operators” said David Canellos, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Irdeto. “It is critical to protect the revenue streams of content producers and operators, especially in a region like the Middle East where piracy is such a growing problem. With the latest Humax set-top box, consumers and operators alike can be sure their premium content is fully protected against hacker attacks.”

The HD STBs protected by Irdeto will be sold by Humax early in 2010 and distributed throughout the Middle East via Humax’s distribution networks.