Strategy & Technology Ltd, the UK-based interactive television specialists, has built on its established Bastion security system to develop Bastion Pro. It is currently the only security offering for Freeview HD TVs that provides hardware authentication, thus enabling protection of premium content.
This technology evolves the existing capability to deliver streamed content over IP; its focus is on protecting premium content, to manage piracy risks and to maximise revenues. S&T has been active in this field for some time, developing the standards-based Bastion security solution, which is already used by VuTV, an over-the-top (OTT) Pay TV service accessed via channel 238 on Freeview.
S&T has now developed Bastion Pro, an extension of the established Bastion system, that incorporates hardware-based authentication via a low-cost CI Plus module paired with the host receiver.
By building on the existing Bastion and using the widely deployed CI Plus technology, S&T has created a neat, cost-effective content security solution requiring very little additional hardware that can be supplied directly to subscribers or pre-installed. The solution delivers a seamless experience for consumers as they access Bastion Pro protected services via the standard Freeview EPG and their existing remote control.
“We see the market for connected devices on Freeview in the UK growing to around four million receivers in 2015,” said David Cutts, managing director of S&T. “This figure includes all the new generation of connected televisions which now incorporate the connected technology required in the UK and the majority of these also include CI Plus, which is widely deployed across all of Europe. Where those devices are used to receive Freeview directly, we can provide security at a relatively low cost that, we believe, can reduce the need to spend money on additional receiver hardware.”
“The UK is a terrific market for premium OTT services like video on demand and catch-up TV, which consumers want to access simply and intuitively,” Cutts continued. “That, in turn, needs content protection which meets high standards for the producers, but which is easy for the consumer. Bastion Pro is a solution designed to meet this need.”
Please note S&T is launching and demonstrating Bastion Pro at the DTG Summit 2014 on the 20th May.
