Pace Introduces 'Whole Home' High Definition Solution at IBC

September 8, 2006 - With the deadline to analogue switch off counting down across Europe and growing demand for high definition (HD) television, Pace Micro Technology, independent developer of digital TV technologies for the global payTV industry, demonstrates how operators can deliver a digital `whole home` HD solution to customers at this year’s IBC.

Analogue countdown
By 2012, the majority of countries throughout Europe and Australasia will have had analogue switch off.  During this process, tens of millions of households will be making the change to digital.  For those with more than one TV per household, this causes a dilemma.  Do they opt for disparate pieces of equipment or do they take this opportunity to network their devices for a full entertainment solution?

Growing demand for high definition
Since the launch of H.264 high definition television in Europe in 2005, most major payTV operators have either launched a service or have HD in their product roadmaps.  Meanwhile, there has been a huge upsurge in sales of HD-Ready displays as consumers see the quality of picture and sound that is available to them.  As demand grows, so do consumers who want HD in every room, not just the living room.  With the display technology in place, operators will need a way to offer HD around the home with one seamless service.

The Solution
Pace Multiroom claims to offer operators a `whole home` HD solution where all TVs in the home are connected to a Mediaserving Gateway.  According to Pace, through this Gateway operators can offer a full suite of advanced digital services - from high definition TV to PVR functionality to VOD and VoIP - to every room in the home. 

To enable this, the Mediaserving Gateway in Pace`s Multiroom comes with  four DVB-S2 satellite tuners, which claims to be able to support up to four separate TV displays (the main server and three `thin client` units).  These units are networked together to enable users to `shift` their viewing from one room to another (the `Follow Me` function) without missing any content.

H.264 decoding is supported in the main server unit to deliver high definition to a locally connected HDTV.  The main server can also "serve" HD content, across the home network, to the thin client units allowing HDTV to be shown throughout the home.

The main server holds a 300GB hard drive, with separated content areas for parental control, which can be accessed independently by any of the connected units in the home, at any time.  This provides full PVR functionality for each user, including live pause, fast forward, rewind, instant replay and easy recording at the touch of a button

Paul Entwistle, Chief Technologist at Pace Micro Technology commented:  "Our multiroom solution opens up a broad range of revenue options for operators looking to extend their reach throughout a customer`s home.  Centralising these services though a Mediaserving Gateway enables operators to offer a full and seamless service to any room in the house - a genuine benefit for the customer."

Paul added, "With the proliferation of digital devices on the market - from MP3 players and digital cameras to Mediacentre PCs and portable media players - interconnecting devices will become commonplace.  Users will want to enjoy video, music and pictures on whichever device is appropriate at that moment.  They will also want to share content, which will require the rights of the media owners and the need for privacy in personal content to be properly managed.”

www.the-connected-home.co.uk - The Connected Home Show 2007