NDS Partners with Kaonmedia to Support ASTER to Launch Advanced TV Services in Poland

ASTER has chosen Kaonmedia set-top boxes (STBs) alongside NDS XTV™ technology for high definition digital video recorder (HD DVR)


LONDON . – NDS, the leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, today announced that it has joined forces with Kaonmedia (Kaon) to deliver digital set-top boxes (STB) and DVRs, including a DVR for viewing in High Definition, to ASTER, a leading provider of media and communication services in Poland.

ASTER is upgrading its existing digital television platform and plans to offer subscribers different types of Kaon STBs, including a high definition DVR embedded with NDS DVR technology, XTV™. Advanced technology from NDS currently protects and powers over 8.8 million DVRs worldwide. All models will include NDS MediaHighway® middleware and the NDS Electronic Program Guide, enabling ASTER to introduce future enhancements including interactive applications. In parallel, ASTER has chosen market-leading VideoGuard® conditional access from NDS to secure the new platform.

“The Kaon STBs and DVRs all support MPEG4/MPEG2 and include embedded EuroDOCSIS allowing a return path for interactive applications. Kaon is setting new standards in STB design with a form factor that is ready for wall mounting underneath flat screen TVs. Each model includes a universal remote control allowing subscribers to control their TV, STB and DVD player from a single device,” said Tom Buhl, Executive Vice President of Kaonmedia.

“Kaon STBs and DVRs provide the best of both worlds – they are proven in the marketplace, yet they also offer innovative technology and features to ensure that we can differentiate our service,” said Marek Bury, Strategy and Development Director of ASTER.

ASTER is the largest cable TV provider in Warsaw, Poland’s capital, and the fourth largest operator in the country. The NDS portfolio will allow ASTER to migrate analog subscribers faster to digital TV. Its subscriber base includes 370,000 pay-TV subscribers, of whom 55,000 have digital services. ASTER also provides services to 130,000 internet subscribers and over 50,000 telephony subscribers.

“Kaon is a strategic STB partner for us and we have worked together to successfully deploy solutions for both cable and satellite customers around the world, including Get in Norway,” said Jeremy Maddocks, NDS Business Development Director for Central and Eastern Europe. “Kaon has proven to be a flexible business partner as well as one that offers a strong product portfolio.”