Pace demonstrates IP connectivity leadership at IPTV World Forum

Pace showcasing convergence capabilities based around the set-top box

Pace plc (LSE:PIC), the leading developer of digital TV technologies for the pay TV industry, will demonstrate its IP connectivity expertise during the IPTV World Forum show in London this week. Based around the themes of ‘hybridity’ and ‘connected home’, Pace will showcase both future technological innovation and real-world customer deployments of its converged pay TV technologies. Pace will be on Stand 89 in the Olympia National Hall.

Pace is now the world’s second largest set-top box supplier to pay TV operators, developing market-leading technology and ensuring customer successes in HD, PVR and hybrid (combining broadband and broadcast) solutions. At IPTV World Forum, Pace will demonstrate how it enables operators to build upon the set-top box cornerstone using Pace’s IP connectivity know-how to deliver compelling content across all platforms around the home.

Pace has firmly established its leadership in IP connectivity. Pace’s advanced hybrid set-top boxes include the ground-breaking Le Cube, designed for France’s CANAL+, which was Europe’s first satellite / IP hybrid set-top box to use the Ethernet port for video-on-demand (VOD) services. In the UK, Pace has developed both set-top boxes for BT Vision, including the new, low-energy Vision+ PVR. The recent acquisition of residential gateway specialist, Bewan, added additional IPTV expertise and products to Pace’s already comprehensive digital TV offering. Bewan will be exhibiting on the Pace stand at IPTV World Forum, showcasing its next-generation converged residential gateways, software and ecosystem to enrich and monetise broadband services.

At the Forum, Pace will demonstrate:

• The recently launched Vision+ box for BT, using the Microsoft Mediaroom software
• High-end game streaming to a set-top box (part of the Games@Large project)
• A set-top box and gateway solution built on the innovative SoftatHome platform
• 3D graphics running on the STMicroelectronics’ STi7108 3D chipset
• Internet browsing and video streaming from a set-top box onto a web tablet
• Bewan technologies including the Bewan iBox A5100, an innovative multiplay DSL residential gateway; and the Bewan Ecosystem, a comprehensive set of ‘connected home’ accessories including video surveillance IP cameras and sensors to remotely control and monitor the home from anywhere

Mathias Hautefort, President, Pace France, commented: “The set-top box will be at the heart of digital TV convergence, and as the world’s best set-top box company, we are perfectly placed to deliver on the connected home reality. Our combined set-top box and gateway offering is the cornerstone to enabling the delivery of compelling pay TV content to a variety of devices around the home.

“Pace’s complete product set, unrivalled technological knowledge and IP connectivity experience mean we can enable operators to deepen their customer relationships by providing advanced, proven solutions to support their delivery of innovative entertainment services.”