CJ HELLOVISION COMPLETES LARGEST REMOTE DEPLOYMENT OF ALTIPROTECT CAS

Alticast today announced that CJ Hellovision, the largest cable operator in the Korean market, has completed the largest seamless overhaul of a content security system using Alticast’s AltiProtect download and replace conditional access solution.

CJ Hellovision installed the cardless, software-only AltiProtect system remotely and transparently to more than 4 million subscribers, using Alticast’s patented remote switching technology.  The deployment has enabled migration to AltiProtect CAS on all of CJ Hellovision’s legacy set-top-boxes, allowed unification of CJ Hellovision security across legacy and new devices and provided a long-term solution for UHD content protection – all while reducing system maintenance costs.

"We selected Alticast because their solution was backed by a patent for remote switching technology, and the service was completely transparent to subscribers during the conversion process," said Dr. Hong-Ik Kim, Head of Engineering for CJ Hellovision.  "Thanks to Alticast’s security team, we were able to successfully commercialize the software platform without any customer calls. The superiority of Alticast's patented technology gave us confidence for success, which was solidly proven during the implementation. Also, the service quality has been much improved with AltiProtect.”

Working together with Alticast, CJ Hellovision created an action plan for migrating CAS security over 22 individual business areas and 13 different set-top box types, including bi-directional and uni-directional models. During a 28-month period, the system was remotely installed and provisioned specifically for each customer without costly truck rolls or the interruption of subscriber services. 

As the provider of the core STB software for CJ Hellovision, Alticast was uniquely positioned to facilitate any necessary integrations between AltiProtect CAS and the CJ Hellovision deployed devices. In addition, Alticast leveraged its expertise in content security to manage the project closely, allowing flexibility as needed for meeting CJ Hellovision’s infrastructure and service delivery needs. 

Studio-approved and highly rated by Telcordia, AltiProtect uses well-defined industry standards to ensure reliable content protection for broadcast and VOD, and can easily adapt to unique network infrastructures. Alticast now has converted more than 90 percent of Korean domestic cable operators’ legacy conditional access systems to AltiProtect CAS.

“Our industry-leading know-how in content security and our prioritization of client needs were key to the successful and seamless completion of this project,” said Dr. Mi-Sung Cho, Executive Director of Security Division.  “We look forward to helping other pay-TV operators replicate CJ Hellovision’s success of migrating efficiently and without schedule delays to stable, highly-secure content protection systems.”

How Pay-TV Can Spur 4K UHD Growth

From industry chatter, sometimes it’s hard to tell if Ultra High Definition television is coming like an express train or a stop-and-go city bus, but one thing is universally acknowledged: pay-TV operators need a plan as 4K video, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and ultimately 8K transform the quality of video delivered to the home.

While IHS points out that the 4KTV market will total 55 million units and more than 100 million units by 2019, a panel at SCTE/ISBE Cable-Tec Expo last month pointed out that operators still are wrestling with how to support 4K with HDR on legacy systems, as well as competing formats such as HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

Here are some of the things that need to be on pay-TV’s front burner as the 4K/UHD transition moves forward:

·      Set-Top Box Capabilities – Operators need to aggressively follow the lead of innovation leaders such as Videotron, whose illico 4K Ultra HD PVR deployment has become a blueprint for market-wide 4K UHD STB penetration.

·      Content Security – Given the higher value placed on 4K UHD content, operators and their content partners need to step up their security games to include more specialized content protection techniques, including use of the Advanced Encryption Standard with 128 bit keys.

·      Content Availability – Operators such as Rogers and Comcast have shown the value of 4K UHD with HDR, but production and distribution need to be ramped up if pay-TV is going to help subscribers gain full value from their 4K UHD television investments.

It’s clear that manufacturers are moving quickly to integrate 4K compatibility and even 4K capability into displays coming to market.  No matter what obstacles there might be to the new technology, it’s clear that addressing the market quickly and comprehensively will spur market growth that will benefit consumers and the television industry.

Look who’s a finalist for an award at IBC

We’ve talked in the past about how more valuable 4K content and the diversity of consumer viewing devices is causing operators to rethink existing content security paradigms, but what’s important to note is how we’ve put our money where our mouth is.

We’ve taken the lead in providing operators with new security solutions that have the flexibility to protect both 4K and existing HD and SD content across multiple devices, including set-top boxes, streaming sticks and boxes, tablets and smartphones.  When CJ Hellovision launched the world’s first deployment of UHD to more than 4.3 million homes in South Korea, they turned to Alticast for their security needs.

This week, we notched another highlight: Notification that we’ve earned a spot on the short list of finalists for a Best Content Protection Technology award at IBC. The experts who judged Cable & Satellite International’s CSI Awards singled out our AltiProtect UHD for recognition as one of the most outstanding solutions for helping the industry protect the integrity of content delivery.

We can’t say for sure what the judges liked about AltiProtect UHD, but we’d like to think we caught their eyes for our ability to use market-proven cryptographic technology to maximize content security and operational efficiency via three key elements:

•  AltiProtect UHD CAS, which uses AES 128 or better encryption algorithms to ensure optimal content protection;
•  AltiProtect UHD DRM, which supports the multi-device environments that are prevalent in today’s television ecosystem; and
• AltiProtect Downloadable & Exchangeable Framework (AltiProtect D&E), which allows operators seamlessly to swap content protection systems to eliminate service calls and to accelerate the introduction of new devices.

If you’ll be at IBC, we’d be delighted to discuss AltiProtect UHD – or any of the other Alticast products or solutions that are driving value for the industry.  You can find us at Stand 1F.36 throughout the show and at the CSI Awards September 9 – where we’ll hopefully be on stage accepting the Best Content Protection Technology trophy.

Ready or not, 4K’s on its way

It hasn’t gotten to the point where you’re going to be shunned by the neighbors if you’re not watching 4K UHD TV, but there’s no question that the new, improved viewing technology is taking big steps toward becoming part of the home entertainment mainstream.

While obstacles to mass adoption exist – among them a lack of content ubiquity and perceptions of incompatibility between 4K UHD and High Dynamic Range (HDR) – there are plenty of indications that 4K is poised for take-off. Service providers in Canada and South Korea have been particularly ambitious in leveraging 4K as a product differentiator.

Charles Meubus, senior director of video technology at Videotron, talked recently about how deploying 4K set-top boxes “future proofs our installed base.” Said Meubus at Light Reading’s Big Communications Event: “These set-tops” – which leverage Alticast’s expertise in middleware and UI enablement – “provide an exceptional end-user experience.”

Our own Jae Park added that deployment of 4K STBs in the South Korean market has exceeded expectations, and has spurred competition among multiple service providers.  Importantly, Park said that the South Korean experience was showing that – despite industry concerns – “we find 4K and HDR to complement each other.”

In this report on the Big Communications Event panel, Light Reading’s Brian Santo convey the panelists’ opinion that “little is going to impede the growth of the 4K market for long.”