NDS News:

--Teams with Blockbuster, BitBand, ADB on Demo of "xSpace" VOD Solution
--Teams with Philips on New Line of MHP-Enabled DTT Set-Tops
--Extends its Relationship with Nickelodeon UK
--Teams with Tandberg, Pace, MGt on End-to-End Cable DTV Solution

News Corp.-subsidiary, NDS, unveiled several new products and announced a new customer contract at the IBC show in Amsterdam last week:

• The company teamed with Blockbuster Digital Entertainment (the new media arm of the US-based Blockbuster video store chain; the latter has long been expected to make a play for the VOD market as its primary business becomes obsolete), set-top box vendor ADB, and VOD technology provider BitBand, on a demo of its new xSpace system, which allows satellite TV and digital terrestrial operators to offer VOD, using hybrid broadcast/IP broadband set-top boxes. The system--which NDS describes as extending an operator's conditional access system and middleware into the VOD arena--uses NDS's VideoGuard conditional access system to provide business packaging of on-demand content and ensure secure delivery of that content over an IP connection, and uses the company's XTV PVR technology to enable the recording of IP-delivered content to a hard drive in the set-top box. NDS says that the new solution extends the operator's backoffice, eliminating the need for separate billing and content management systems; enables new business models and allows the creation of bundles that tie together broadcast channels with on-demand content; and provides a scalable EPG that offers easy navigation and advanced search capabilities while integrating with the operator's legacy branded look-and-feel. The IBC demo showcased xSpace working in tandem with a Blockbuster-branded VOD application that can be integrated into an operator's EPG; with BitBand's Vision distributed IP streaming platform; and with an ADB 3100S hybrid set-top box equipped with an Ethernet port integrated into a broadband access network. According to NDS, Israeli satellite-TV operator, YES, will be the first to deploy a VOD solution based on the xSpace system; that deployment is scheduled to take place next year.
• The company has partnered with Royal Philips Electronics on a new line of MHP-enabled digital terrestrial receivers which are now in production. The new boxes--dubbed the DTR4610/28 and the DTR2610/28 respectively--run NDS's Java-based MediaHighway middleware, which the company says is fully compliant with the MHP 1.0.3 interactive TV standard. NDS says that it also plans to issue a special version of its MHP development tool, the MediaHighway Development Kit (MHDK), for use with the new boxes. "Philips has a very strong, worldwide reputation and NDS is delighted to extend its existing partnership with such a key player in the digital TV world to address the MHP market," Caroline le Bigot, VP and general manager of NDS France, said in a prepared statement. "MHP is still in the early stages of deployment and NDS is taking a leading role in the development of this standard."
• The company has signed an agreement with Nickelodeon UK for ongoing development of interactive TV games. The new agreement builds on a six-year relationship between NDS and Nickelodeon, in the course of which NDS has provided the latter with an array of ITV applications for the Sky platform: among other things, NDS created Nickelodeon's games menu (launched in 2004), which consists of a simple overlay that illustrates and describes each game, and which provides a "ticker" line that provides information on games offerings, on TV shows coming up on the channel, and on services available on Nickelodeon's Web site; the company has also created a range of games for the broadcaster, all of which are designed to allow children to watch Nickelodeon channels while playing them (just this year, for example, it developed Nick Racer 2005, a game that allows children to build a race track which they can then enter into a "Track of the Week" competition, as well as Bin-O-Lympics, Minigolf, Scumm Blaster and several other games).
• It teamed with Tandberg Television, Pace Micro and MGt on a demo of a joint end-to-end digital pay-TV solution targeted at small and mid-sized cable operators that are looking to transition from analog to digital. According to the partners, the new solution's "standard configuration option," which is fully integrated with NDS's new VideoGuard Express solution, can be installed and operational within three months of signing a contract. The option includes: 1) an entire conditional access system based on VideoGuard Express (note: the system can be managed remotely by NDS if required); 2) a digital TV headend from Tandberg Television that is fully integrated with VideoGuard Express; 3) Pace's new, entry-level set-top box, the DC235, integrated with NDS's MediaHighway middleware and its NDS Guide EPG; and 4) MGt's Profile CRM system (which supports subscription management and pay-per-view services), offered as a managed service that includes a call-center operation. According to the partners, each of the components of the new solution offers different levels of multichannel access, automation and integration with the client's existing systems, as well as different levels of local and remote support. The partners also say that the solution provides a roadmap for launching advanced functionality, such as interactive TV, PVR, NVOD, and impulse pay-per-view.