Irdeto and Humax have announced the launch of the first HD set top box for the Middle East region. The Humax HD STB directly targets content piracy in the region, where businesses lose $50 billion (€34.9 billion) annually as a result of hackers.
Tae-Hun Kim, senior VP, head of marketing division at Humax, commented in a statement: “In response to the rapidly growing piracy problem across the Middle East, Irdeto and Humax are committed to providing secure protection for high-value content including, giving operators the opportunity to make HD channels available on secure chipset receivers exclusively. This is an important step for the Middle East market, as Humax has developed the STBs so operators in the region can offer maximum flexibility for consumers.”
“Together, Irdeto and Humax have developed a business model that strictly enforces security and protects operators” said David Canellos, senior VP, sales and marketing for Irdeto. “It is critical to protect the revenue streams of content producers and operators, especially in a region like the Middle East where piracy is such a growing problem. With the latest Humax set-top box, consumers and operators alike can be sure their premium content is fully protected against hacker attacks.”
The HD STBs will be sold by Humax early in 2010 and distributed throughout the Middle East via Humax’s distribution networks.
