Kaonmedia Licenses ANT Galio Client for New Range of Set-Top Boxes

UK-based digital TV software provider, ANT (note: the company recently said that it had surpassed 10 million units deployed worldwide--see the ANT round-up article published on itvt.com, April 13th), announced Tuesday that it has licensed its ANT Galio Client to South Korea's Kaonmedia for inclusion in the latter's latest range of set-top boxes. The boxes, which will be targeted at both the retail and the operator markets, are slated to launch in the fourth quarter.

According to the companies, their agreement will allow Kaonmedia to develop visually rich interactive multimedia services based on the ANT Galio Platform. The agreement builds on an existing relationship between the companies, under which Kaonmedia licenses the ANT Galio Browser (provides the presentation and control of interactive TV services and other applications on its set-top boxes). The companies say that the addition of the ANT Galio Client will provide an advanced control and management framework that will enable Kaonmedia to develop a range of DVB-S/S2, DVB-T/T2, IP and hybrid configurations supporting both SD and HD services. "We made the decision to build our new set-top boxes based on the ANT Galio platform because of ANT's focus on encouraging market collaboration to accelerate innovation and its ongoing commitment to open standards," Konan Jeong, Kaonmedia's project and sales director for worldwide broadcasting and IPTV operation projects, said in a prepared statement. "This approach gives us access to a community of content developers building new applications and services that can add value to the retailers and operators we engage with." Added Sean Kim, ANT's VP and general manager for the Asia and Russia markets: "This agreement equips Kaonmedia with the next generation of innovation for its new set-top box range and supports its continued strong footing across the global market. Kaonmedia is an innovative company, driven by meeting retail and operator needs. ANT Galio Platform will help this leading device manufacturer to remain responsive to the changing market demands and ensure it remains at the forefront of the industry in providing new applications and services to consumers and service providers."