NDS MediaHighway Middleware to be integrated into Canal Digital STBs

[BGonaSTICK]

• NDS MediaHighway middleware will be part of new set-top boxes (STB) to be deployed by the leading Nordic TV distributor in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.

• Digital video recorder (DVR) technology gives Canal Digital customers a richer viewing experience.

• This new deal with Canal Digital further strengthens NDS’s leading position in the international middleware market.

• First deployment of new STBs anticipated to begin in 2007.

NDS, the leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, today announced that Canal Digital, the leading distributor of digital TV channels and services and applications to the Nordic market, will integrate its MediaHighway middleware into STBs across Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. The delivery reinforces NDS’s position as one of the leading middleware solution providers in the industry, bolstering the 42 million cumulative STBs that have already been activated with NDS middleware as of September, 2006.

NDS MediaHighway includes a number of features that will augment the viewing experience of Canal Digital’s customers. These features include NDS’s leading DVR technology, which will enable Canal Digital customers to record and watch programs at a time most convenient to them. The STBs will be capable of receiving High Definition (HD) content, with MPEG4 technology enabling Canal Digital to offer high-quality content onto consumers’ hard drives. This STB solution will be also capable of offering advanced interactive services like push-VOD in the future.

NDS’s middleware is being integrated with Conax’s conditional access technology for the deployment. The solution employs DVB-S2 on the ST - 7100 chipset, allowing for rapid and high quality operation. Due to the easy portability of MediaHighway, the integration will allow Canal Digital to benefit from the seamless deployment of NDS’s middleware across different STB hardware and multiple network platforms.

Caroline Le Bigot, Vice President and General Manager of NDS France, commented, “We are very pleased that Canal Digital has chosen NDS MediaHighway for their middleware needs. We are confident that MediaHighway will add value to Canal Digital’s offering, as well as its customers’ experience. This new deal continues NDS’s momentum in the middleware space, with Canal Digital being one of a number of important TV distributors and operators to choose MediaHighway solutions in recent months.”

Terje Storhaug, CTO of Canal Digital, said, “We concluded that NDS had the best offering. Their MediaHighway solution suits our needs, providing up-to-date features for our customers and portability across all of our operating countries. We are happy to have NDS on board as a technology provider.”