ADB & Latens Combine to Make High Quality HD PVR a Reality with Ultimate Secured STB Solution for IPTV

Advanced Digital Broadcast and Latens CA integration provides first secured IPTV HD PVR capable of viewing and recording simultaneous 20Mb/s streams

ATLANTA, Ga. – Latens Systems, the leading provider of software security solutions for Pay-TV & IPTV, and Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB), a leading supplier of digital TV systems and software solutions for interactive television, announce today that Latens CA has been integrated with ADB’s IPTV HD / PVR technology to provide a CA security and set-top box combination. The main advantage of this solution is that it enables US IPTV operators, for the first time, to offer the simultaneous recording and viewing of HD streams at up to 20 Mb/s.

Being able to view and record high quality, high bit-rate HD content is particularly important in the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) IPTV market. The ADB and Latens combination also provides ‘future proofing’ to any IPTV operators that may want to increase the bandwidth allocated to HD streams at some point in the future.

The solution uses no additional hardware in the set-top box and is compliant with all IPTV middleware solutions. This joint solution is commercially available now, through Latens FCAS and Latens IPCAS IPTV security and the ADB-5810WX PVR. Latens’ cost-effective CA solution protects 100% of packets, in live viewing and in record and playback PVR mode.

Visitors to the TelcoTV conference and exhibition (Atlanta, Georgia, October 23-25, 2007) will be able to see a working demonstration of the solution at Latens stand (#144) and ADB’s stand (#642).

“There are two developments taking place right now that make this joint solution particularly attractive to IPTV operators,” says Andy Mathieson, Director, Latens. “Firstly, the move towards higher bandwidth HD programming means that IPTV PVRs must be capable of handling high bit-rates. Secondly, VOD release windows are getting closer and closer to theater release dates, which means that the content industry is looking at PVR and VOD security much more closely. In turn this means that our 100% packet encryption at all times for VOD and PVR could well be critical for the future content strategies of IPTV operators.”

“We are delighted to have worked alongside Latens to develop this innovative PVR system, which is the first of its kind on the market,” said Michael Hawkey, Regional President, ADB Americas. “The close relationship between the engineering teams of both companies has been key to enabling this industry first. The joint solution draws upon both ADB’s and Latens’ wide experience of the Pay-TV sector. This solution makes the IPTV PVR an extremely attractive platform for high value content delivery. Hence, we look forward to the joint solution enjoying a high degree of success.”

The capability to offer the highest security standards is vitally important to IPTV operators, irrespective of the technology or application, and an area in which this solution offers competitive advantage. ADB’s ADB-5810WX is a state-of-the-art IPTV PVR incorporating standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) television reception and is based on MPEG-2 and H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC). The platform enables access to a powerful range value added IP services such as Video-On-Demand and video conferencing and can act as a ‘home server’ at the heart of a home entertainment network.

Latens provides broadband operators with Conditional Access/DRM solutions, end-to-end management systems, and value added components that integrate with Latens security solutions to make life simpler and more profitable. Latens Foundation CAS (FCAS) is an entry level IPTV Conditional Access System for smaller operators and start-ups that is upgradeable as the IPTV operation grows in terms of size and complexity. Latens IPCAS is a software-based CA system that has been specifically tailored for the unique demands of larger IP network operators. The system has been built using knowledge gained from the Pay-TV industry combined with new possibilities enabled by technical improvements in software security, STB design and the architecture of two-way networks and uniquely, has been designed to scale to protect operators with millions of subscribers.