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NDS’s new MTV hybrid breaks cover

NDS demonstrated the world's first hybrid rights and business management platform for mobile TV at the World Mobile Congress. The hybrid platform, which combines content protection and business management for both the DVB-H IPDC and OMA BCAST broadcast profiles in a single system, was shown in conjunction with technologies from NDS partners Thomson, Gemalto and LG, writes Andy Stout.

NDS demonstrated the world’s first hybrid rights and business management platform for mobile TV at the World Mobile Congress. The hybrid platform, which combines content protection and business management for both the DVB-H IPDC and OMA BCAST broadcast profiles in a single system, was shown in conjunction with technologies from NDS partners Thomson, Gemalto and LG, writes Andy Stout.

The MWC demonstration features a single NDS mobile TV platform, providing encrypted streams conforming to both the DVB-H Open Security Framework and the OMA BCAST Smart Card Profile. The NDS system is integrated with the Thomson SmartVision service platform and Electronic Service Guide and is rendered on separate OSF and SCP handsets from LG using SIM cards provided by Gemalto. All four companies contributed significantly to the success of the joint project.

At the heart of the new platform is NDS’ Unified Headend (UHE) architecture, which provides a single point of business management for all video broadcasts, irrespective of the delivery networks or the rendering devices. The UHE convergence platform enables operators and broadcasters to centralise the administration of subscriptions, purchasing, transactions, promotions and a wide range of other business functions.

As a result, NDS and Thomson now offer a fully integrated end-to-end DVB-H system for OMA BCAST SCP and OSF. This platform – combining content security from NDS with Thomson DVB-H headend and ESG (Electronic Service Guide) server technology – is now fully available as an off-the-shelf solution.

“The new platform will enable an operator to support multiple mobile broadcast profiles and multiple handsets simultaneously and cost-effectively,” said Nigel Smith, NDS chief marketing officer. “It makes possible the coexistence of connected and unconnected devices and opens up a market which has been compartmentalised into standards until now. Both the savings for the operator and the new revenue opportunities are likely to be huge.”

“Gemalto has successfully developed a complete range of mobile TV products which are used in this end-to-end demonstration: a SIM card that supports both DVB-H Open Security Framework and OMA BCAST Smart Card Profile, and a micro SD card for unconnected devices,” said Gabrielle Bugat, senior vice president, Mobile TV Business Group at Gemalto. She continued: “These products will help our customers to simplify their SIM logistics by supporting two standards on a single card and open the door to additional revenue streams with mobile TV unconnected devices.”

The company has also announced the integration of NDS VideoGuard Mobile CA technology with Expway’s FastESG Electronic Service Guide (ESG).

The integration supports both the Open Security Framework and the OMA BCAST Smart Card Profile, with additional profiles on the roadmap, and provides the necessary security for monetising mobile TV content while ensuring that users enjoy a personalised mobile TV experience.

“The integration of the NDS CA system with the Expway ESG means that European operators need not be concerned about launching with a specific profile. NDS’ ability to support multiple standards concurrently means that our mutual customers are able to migrate to a new standard seamlessly, with no service disruption to customers, while maintaining key vendor relationships,” said Nicolas Choquart, NDS director of mobile and new business, EMEA.