NDS Technology Powers New Anytime VOD Service for Sky Deutschland
11 October 2011
NDS announced that its technology is powering the new Sky Anytime push video-on-demand (VOD) service for Sky Deutschland, the largest pay-TV operator in Germany and Austria. The new service was launched in August for satellite subscribers with Sky+ and will be available for all Sky+ subscribers later this year.
Enabled by NDS’ MediaHighway™ set-top box software, Sky Anytime provides Sky+ customers with a wide range of on-demand content, including selected movies from their subscribed film packages as well as high quality entertainment and sport programmes. A wide selection of content is ‘pushed’ onto the Sky+ hard disc overnight in a way that makes efficient use of broadcast bandwidth, the majority of which is available in HD. Accordingly each day a new selection of content is available through the Sky Anytime service for instant playback, including the latest blockbuster releases from “Sky Select”.
In the context of the launch, NDS and Sky Deutschland have enhanced the look and feel of the Sky Guide, the electronic programme guide (EPG) for all Sky Deutschland set-top boxes. The design upgrade enables an even more intuitive user experience and provides access to advanced features such as the new push VOD service.
Gerard Duffy, Senior Vice President Technology at Sky Deutschland, said: “With Sky Anytime we will be providing flexible, real-time access to a great selection of on-demand content for our subscribers – in addition to what they are currently able to view, this value added service will enable them to get more from their subscription.” He added “NDS’ technology and expertise are once again enabling us to take Sky’s premium service to the next level.”
Yves Padrines, NDS VP Sales Europe & General Manager NDS GmbH, commented: “We are proud to be supporting Sky Deutschland with the latest enhancement to their service. As a platform they continue to enhance the subscriber experience and add value with services that highlight quality content.”
