More Content from More Sources

Your pay-TV business already has the best multi-channel, HD capable system—one that delivers outstanding content to your subscriber base. However, pay-TV operators need to face the challenges of new services including IPTV, On Demand, and user-generated content.

Pay-TV operators need NDS Hybrid solutions that optimize your delivery of both premiere and Web content, as well as advanced Internet and interactive services.

NDS Hybrid solutions let you deliver the best of both worlds:

• live linear programming over cable or satellite augmented by additional services and
• content and information delivered over an IP broadband connection.

Better still, you don’t need to invest in the IP delivery network because NDS Hybrid solutions are already tailored to deliver at different broadband connection speeds.

Using a hybrid IP set-top box helps your business gain the secure two-way network capability it needs to deliver new revenue generating services such as VOD, the best of Internet video, and advanced iTV applications.

Deliver long tail content

• With long tail content providing as much potential revenue as premium content, IP is an ideal infrastructure for supplying on-demand direct access to an unlimited library of long-tail content.
• NDS xSpace introduces long tail Internet content on Hybrid set-top boxes.

Offer community-based services

The IP infrastructure opens opportunities to deliver a range of community-based services including:

• Recommendations to share your favorite programs with others
• Chat between users
• User comments on content

Catch-up TV

If your subscribers forget to record an episode of their favorite show they can now get it from other subscribers. Your platform can enable peer-to-peer sharing of encrypted broadcast content between your subscribers’ IP connected DVR devices.

Unlike traditional Internet peer-to-peer transfers, the NDS Hybrid solution lets your pay-TV business control which content your subscribers can share within the network and the period of time during which sharing can take place. Content rights are enforced using VideoGuard® content protection technology and cannot be accessed from outside the network. NDS peer-to-peer technology lets you create a large, secure content delivery network without the associated costs.

Targeted TV Advertising

Once a set-top box is connected to the IP network, it automatically becomes personalized and lends itself to a range of applications, one of which is targeted TV advertising. With hybrid boxes enabling improved TV audience measurement and monitoring capabilities, operators can get better information about their subscribers’ viewing habits and send personalized targeted ads based on their user profile.

By sending fewer, more relevant ads to each viewer’s home, consumers get a better experience, advertisers deliver their message more efficiently and your TV operation can sell targeted air time at a higher value.

Targeted advertising can be delivered in a number of ways:

• Replace broadcast ads with personalized or well targeted ads to achieve higher hit ratio driving per ad revenue
• Enhance existing advertising or branded content by pushing interactive banners and overlays to the STB
• Access telescopic ads in long form either from the STB or the server

Remote customer care

IP connected STBs can be used to provide your Customer Service center with important information about the status of subscribers’ STBs. This includes signal strength, disk status for DVRs, and STB configurations such as language and parental ratings.

Being fully aware of the STB’s status enables your service center to act on STB technical issues before receiving a call from the subscriber.

For STBs with two-way connectivity, your Customer Service department—with your subscribers’ permission—can also view the subscriber’s TV screen remotely and take control of the STB and use a simulated remote control to send commands to the EPG. By seeing what the customer’s STB is displaying you can resolve problems with minimal subscriber involvement. This greatly reduces call times and truck rolls, to save significant cost and improve your service.

Backup DVR content

Instead of using the DVR disk to store all their content, your subscribers can securely archive it on a remote server for long-term storage. They can upload and save the content on a secure site which your platform can also make available from other devices such as mobile phones, laptops and remote PCs. Your subscribers can even perform “background archiving” which frees local disk space automatically when a pre-determined percent of the disk is full. NDS Hybrid solutions also feature progressive download which makes content available for viewing while it is being restored.

A new generation of exciting Interactive applications

IP connectivity opens up a range of new interactive applications that further enhance the viewing experience:

• Watch your favorite sports program but call up additional information on line while the game is going on.
• See a music video and buy it online, or open up the My Space page of the musicians and send them a message.
• Enter a new level of interactive games, communities and services that take advantage of IP connectivity.