German cable goes for NDS’ XTV

Jörn Krieger and Chris Forrester

Two giant German cable operators, TeleColumbus and PrimaCom, have chosen NDS’ XTV digital video recording system. The deal is the first in German cable which covers a HD DVR service. The deals were announced at the ANGA show in Cologne.

Last year TeleColumbus and PrimaCom, which serve a total of 3.5 million households, bought into NDS’ VideoGuard conditional access technology. In February, the companies opted for the middleware MediaHighway provided by NDS through which they can offer their customers value-added services such as a digital movie library and interactive multimedia applications.

“We are gratified to announce with Tele Columbus and PrimaCom the first deployment for our XTV DVR technology in Germany”, said Yves Padrines, vice president, business development at NDS and general manager of NDS’ German subsidiary. “This extension of our existing relationship gives Tele Columbus and PrimaCom the ability to introduce a world-class DVR service for their subscribers now, and to launch other innovative TV viewing options. We look forward to the introduction of this exciting new DVR service and supporting Tele Columbus and PrimaCom in their upcoming initiatives.”

Markus Schmid, CEO of Tele Columbus and PrimaCom, said: “Having deployed VideoGuard content protection and MediaHighway middleware, we decided to also select NDS’ XTV DVR technology as the logical complement, maximising the capability of our infrastructure and service options for our subscribers.”