Vodafone has followed up its launch of its hybrid TV system in Germany with one planned for Spain referred to simply as Vodafone Internet TV. We think the hybrid system is almost sure to rely on at least some of the same infrastructure and client devices as the German operation, which used a suit of NDS products in its MediaHighway middleware, Videoguard conditional access and the XTV DVR designs, though no-one has confirmed that as yet.
The new service will go up against strong competition from Telefonica’s IPTV service Imagenio and France Telecom’s Orange TV as well local cable companies. Vodafone acquired the Tele2 broadband lines in Spain and Italy back in October 2007, but at the time Tele2 Spain only had 550,000 customers with just 240,000 on broadband. It has grown substantially since then and reached 700,000 last quarter.
Vodafone has already launched Casa TV in neighboring Portugal, using Microsoft Mediaroom technology, so all regions of Vodafone tend to be autonomous and can use totally different technologies. The only reason to think the German and Spanish system could be related is because of a throwaway comment at IBC, when NDS said not to be surprised if this relationship extended to other Vodafone operations in Europe.
Earlier reports suggested that the system uses the Huawei HG533 as a set top, but this is really a DSL wireless home gateway, and although it does offer DLNA support, it is really just a Broadcom chip handling broadband. It is quite clear that this is used on the Vodafone Spain web site, but looks to us to be just one part of the jigsaw. In order to run applications on the TV set, a proper CPU will be needed and most Broadcom SoCs which use MIPs CPUs, aren’t powerful enough to run Apps.
In Germany NDS talked about service delivery not only being to TV sets through a set top, but also PCs, mobile phones, the Sony PlayStation and Tablets. And the Spanish announcement talks about ‘Touch at Home’ an initiative coincides with the launch of the Samsung Tab by Vodafone.
What those two statements appear to be pointing at is using DLNA to transfer video streams to the Samsung Tablet (and perhaps other devices) while in the home, an application that we have already seen the iPad used for at IBC. In that case it was achieved by creating a software based DTCP-IP client in a Tablet application, which is a form of link protection DLNA has designed for streaming. We know that Samsung has been a long term supporter of the NDS XTV DVR technology and that there are multiple ways in which a TV operator can secure TV streams sent to a tablet, especially if they work with a Conditional Access specialist like NDS, but the Vodafone announcements specifically mentions DLNA so we suspect that this is how this is done.
The new Vodafone services will offer digital terrestrial TV which is widespread in Spain using DVB-T, and it will also allow for additional DVR function, as well as Internet access on the TV and shared digital content stored on PCs and mobile phones.
In Germany the service was called the ‘Vodafone Connected Home’ which replaced an ageing IPTV system there. NDS at the time gave very little in the way of details away, but talked about service delivery not only being to TV sets and set tops, but also through PCs, mobile phones, the Sony PlayStation and Tablets, which sounds similar to the Spanish services claims.
Vodafone Spain also issued its Touch at Home strategy on the same day, which routes calls using WiFi connections for the mobile phones, which go through the Huawei router and are treated as fixed line calls and switched over the broadband line. The router also has a 3G chip and can use HSDPA for broadband connection in the absence of broadband. The Huawei device uses the BCM6358 ADSL chip and the BCM5325 Ethernet switch, so has no CPU for running apps.
The Touch at Home software has been installed on a range of devices which now includes the Samsung Tab, the iPhone, the HTC Incredible, the Nokia N8 and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. Given this, it could be that there is more to come in this Touch as Home strategy.
Using DLNA it could easily enable ALL of these devices to be part and parcel of the pay TV service ‘ either for video playout on portable devices, or for feeding images across WiFi from the phones to the TV or for remote control of the TV screen or the transfer of handheld music to the TV speakers. If this were all set up, it would make a great cross selling strategy for Vodafone.
The company says that Vodafone Internet Television includes paid for HD DVB-T channels, which it says is down to a new device called the Vodafone Internet TV Center, which simultaneously decodes DTT Full HD and conditional access. It looks to us that this is a separate box from the Huawei home gateway which is called the Vodafone Station because it runs apps and needs a CPU, either an ARM based one or one from Intel. So far only the Huawei device has been mentioned, although both devices might be from Huawei.
TV contents which are in the clear will can be stored on any USB storage device, Vodafone says, which can also offer DVR function. Apps will include news viewing widgets that can stay permanently over the screen and Vodafone appears to have cut deals with all the major Spanish national media.
Online content includes lainformacion.com, movie listings from decine21.com as well as children’s content including Pocoyo, Powerpuff Girls Z, Ben 10 Alien Force and National Geographic, the History and Canal Cocina.
The new Vodafone at Home Software for phones will offer
voice calls, Internet access digital photo frame function, local weather forecasting and the ability to send and receive SMS even though they are connected over Wifi and the Galaxy Tab is singled out for calendar management, e-mail, a media player and access to TV information on its 7-inch touch screen. The Tab is on sale to Vodafone customers for €199
An announcement of the service was made on the Vodafone web site and Isaac Hernandez, MD, Vodafone Broadband, also announced it at the SIMO Network fair in Madrid.