Pace wins new business with Sky Deutschland for HD rollout

Subscribers to benefit from access to a wider universe of content

German pay TV operator Sky has selected Pace plc’s high definition (HD) technology for its set-top box deployments in Germany and Austria. This deployment of Pace (LSE:PIC) set-top boxes, rolling out from August 2009, will support Sky’s HD expansion plans across its territories.

Pace has been a set-top box technology partner of Sky Deutschland, formerly Premiere AG (PRE.XE), for a number of years and the new DS830 gives Sky the full flexibility to roll-out HD services with support for both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4.

“The DS830 is a classic example of Paces ability to design best in class set-top boxes” said Richard Slee, President, Pace. “As it is rolled out, this box is set to become an important part of Sky’s pay TV offering and will be the launch-pad for a universe of HD content. We look forward to the success of this product in the market and to the positive effects that its introduction will have on pay TV market across German-speaking Europe.”

Gerard Duffy, Senior Vice President Technology at Sky said, “Sky offers the first comprehensive HD package in Germany and Austria, providing a much wider range of programming in outstanding quality for our viewers. We are convinced that high definition TV is a huge market opportunity. To exploit the potential, Sky requires best-in-class technology that is both proven and scalable to future requirements. This set top box from Pace provides these reassurances, by helping us to map a clear path to HD.”

Designed by the Pace Industrial Design team to reflect today’s trends in consumer electronics equipment, the DS830 was built to meet Sky’s requirements and to deliver maximum functionality.

At the front-end, the fully DVB compliant DS830NP includes one DVB-S2 tuner and one demodulator. It incorporates NDS Group conditional access and Fusion middleware and has an external power supply unit to reduce box size. It also meets the criteria outlined in Pace’s own low environmental impact (LEI) initiative.