As expected, the Dutch cable operator Delta Kabelcomfort has joined the majority of cablers in the country backing the CI Plus standard. All TV sets certified by the operator are capable of receiving both SD and HD signals.
Delta has started selling CI Plus CAMs from SMiT at a retail price of €69.00, in line with the other operators. The package includes a free Delta Digital starter package (normally retailing at €14.95) and two months free access to the full HD package, which costs €9.95 a month. The HD line-up consists of Nederland 1 HD, Nederland 2 HD, Nederland 3 HD, Discovery Showcase HD, Animal Planet HD, Eurosport HD, MTV HD, Myzen.tv HD, History HD and National Geographic HD. This week, Delta will also add RTL4 HD to the line-up, to be followed by 5 more channels in September including RTL5 HD, RTL7 HD and RTL8 HD.
At the moment, sets from three manufacturers (Sony Bravia, Samsung and LG) have been approved (see this list available for download from the Delta website). Philips sets have not yet been approved, but Delta said these could be compatible with the cabler’s signal, without any guarantee.
With Delta joining the other Dutch operators in using CI Plus, all major cablers, with the exception of UPC, now back the standard. Ziggo was the first cable system in the world to adopt CI Plus with other Dutch operators following suit; including Caiway, Kabel Noord, Kabeltex and CAI Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht. With Delta being the third largest MSO in the country, CI Plus is now the De Facto standard in the country.
