IPTV World Forum – London: Pace is to launch two DVB-T2 based products including a PVR for Freeview HD. The Philips branded receivers are expected to be in stores ahead of the World Cup by when it is expected the service will be available to 50% of the UK.
Mathias Hautefort, president, Pace France, told Broadband TV News the new receivers would carry the Philips name as part of the licensing agreement following the acquisition of the company’s set-top box division in December 2007. It has already been used on product for the Canal+ TNTSat, UPC Nederland, and in the Spanish premium DTT market.
“We took the licence for three years to Q2 2011, we’ll look at the option to renew, but whether we do so is too early to say,” said Hautefort.
The Philips HDT8520 HD PVR with 500 GB hard drive will be released in May, followed shortly afterwards by the DTR5520.
Pace has also announced a new IPTV set-top box platform based on Microsoft Mediaroom. It has been designed to speed the rollout of IPTV, hybrid broadcast/broadband and over-the-top services.
