PANELLISTS
42
May-June 2016
STB or CI Plus ?
Ateme powers 4K / UHD broadcast in France
Which is the more useful technology when it comes to conditional access ? Set-top boxes or the new CI Plus standard that does not require a box ? Millette Manalo-Burgos searches for an answer …
In partnership with the Arte channel , Fransat , the satellite bouquet of Eutelsat in France , recently broadcasted the Vienna Opera ballet Le Corsaire live in 4K / UHD . Ateme ’ s Titan transcoded the satellite signal from the Hot Bird satellite , powering a 4K / UHD DASH , over-the-top ( OTT ) real-time delivery on Arte ’ s HbbTV portal for smart TVs . Titan is a virtualised software-based encodertranscoder , designed for cable , direct-tohome and OTT . It supports HEVC / H . 265 , H . 264 and MPEG-2 codecs , with resolutions from mobile devices to 4K / UHD .
Dielectric introduces auxiliary UHF antenna
Dielectric is now offering the TFU-WB series auxiliary UHF antenna , which is designed to suit high-power UHF applications , including the ATSC 3.0 standard and 4K / UHD TV . With a streamlined design for side mounting on existing structures , the new broadband antenna reduces wind-load by 75 %, says Dielectric , who also recommends the WB antenna for broadcasters needing an offthe-shelf solution for quick installation of an auxiliary antenna while their main TV tower equipment is being modified , re-located or replaced during any TV spectrum repack .
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Network Origination Facilities ( Earth Stations )
PANELLISTS
Dr Ali R Ebadi
Senior Vice-President Space Systems Development Measat Satellite Systems
Lim Kian Soon
Head , Satellite Singtel
Martin Coleman
Executive Director Satellite Interference Reduction Group
Nagra ’ s Anthony Smith-Chaigneau says the CI + standard was designed in such a way that all the CAS functions are isolated within the CI Plus device , thus decoupling the choice of the CAS for the operator from the TVs deployed in the field — as long as they are CI + compatible — and therefore ensuring interoperability across the TV models .
Early this year , CI Plus , the licensing authority for the CI Plus standard , announced that the number of CI Plus-compatible devices has now exceeded 450 million units deployed in the market . The CI Plus standard allows subscribers to access pay-TV on their IDTVs ( integrated digital television ) without having to use an operator-supplied set-top box ( STB ).
First introduced in 2009 , CI Plus says that the standard has been an “ overwhelming ” success story , having been quickly adopted by all consumer electronic ( CE ) vendors and major pay-TV operators in Europe . Each year , approximately 50 million new devices are deployed with CI Plus credentials embedded , according to CI Plus , and by the end of last year , the total number of devices deployed reached the milestone of 450 million units including , for the large part , iDTVs and CAMs ( Conditional Access Modules ).
From a market perspective , CI Plus
The main difference between the STB and CI + interface is that there is no box below the TV , therefore offering lower Capex . Because there are no wires , reduced energy consumption is gained with only a single remote control , although the CI + may offer a lesser capable set of features and services . continues to see the standard expand outside Europe with notable recent deployments in Africa , Asia and many Eastern European countries . Because this trend is poised to continue with the proliferation of new iDTVs in these regions in the coming years , will continued adoption of this standard mean that set-top boxes will no longer be needed in the near future ?
Anthony Smith-Chaigneau , senior director , product marketing at Nagra , tells APB : “ These two technologies permit different value propositions , and both bring value depending on the business scenario and the ecosystem in place .”
Nagra is part of the Kudelski Group , as is SmarDTV , which has expertise in STB / CPE and CI + CAMs . SmarDTV ’ s products are designed to host Nagra and Conax ( a conditional access company that is also part of the Kudelski Group ) solutions .
Smith-Chaigneau explains : “ STB is usually the best approach for a pay-TV service provider who wants to offer a range of fully secured devices from a defined set of manufacturers . STBs will range from entry-level STBs or more sophisticated PVR ( personal video recorder ), VoD ( video-on-demand ) — capable hybrid boxes or even highend multi-tuner gateways offering a fully tailored pay-TV solution with a sophisticated user interface and a lot of features and functionalities .”
CI + CAMs allow broadcasters to offer access to their pay-TV services with solutions from different STB and TV suppliers in the same broadcast system , thus increasing their subscriber reach . Smith-Chaigneau adds that STBs and CI + CAMs also convey different value propositions to the end-users . Once installed inside the TV , the CI + CAM becomes invisible and does not require the use of an additional remote , whereas the STB can be considered a more complex multituner , PVR and hybrid technical device inside the living room .
“ There was always a claim that CI + would eliminate the need for STBs ,” says Smith-Chaigneau . “ However , SmarDTV has been offering both STB and CI + CAM devices to pay-TV operators for many years and has seen that these two products constitute a complementary offer for the same markets .”
The main difference between the STB and CI + interface is that there is no box below the TV , therefore offering lower Capex . Because there are no wires , reduced energy consumption is gained with only a single remote control , although the CI + may offer a lesser capable set of features and services , he adds .
CI + CAM can also be considered as a simpler offer and is a “ powerful option ” for quick time-to-market , enabling the delivery of broadcast pay-TV