Irdeto Access

Irdeto provides solutions for digital content protection in digital TV, IPTV and mobile environments. The company's dual headquarters are located in Hoofddorp near Amsterdam and in Beijing. Irdeto provides both smart card and software-based conditional access systems for pay TV, supporting cable, satellite, terrestrial, MMDS and IPTV operators. In addition, the company offers chip- and software-based solutions for mobile media and TV based on the following standards: S-DMB, T-DMB, DVB-H, OMA 1, OMA 2.

Irdeto is a subsidiary of media group Naspers (jse|NPN), which also includes a group of pay TV sister companies in Africa, Europe and Asia. As a primary supplier to these companies since the early days of digital TV, Irdeto plays a vital role within this group. Nevertheless, more than 75% of Irdeto's revenue comes from companies outside the group since the 1990s.

History

The company was founded in 1969 by "Pieter den Toonder", a radio engineer, in Dordrecht, The Netherlands. The company name is a contraction of "Ir."—the Dutch abbreviation for a university-educated engineer— and the founder's surname.

In 2006, Irdeto acquired the assets, customers and employees of competitor Philips CryptoTec (makers of the Cryptoworks product line). CryptoTec had over 100 customers and more than 50 employees. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Customers

Australia

* Austar
* Foxtel (Pre-"Foxtel Digital" legacy service only)
* Optus (Optus Aurora service)
* SelecTV
* Jadeworld (ABS-8776 decoders only)

Europe

* Ziggo, Dutch cable television provider
* [http://www.teliasonera.com Telia Sweden]
* [http://www.isatbv.com/ Isat BV, The Netherlands]
* [http://www.olisat.com Olisat]
* [http://www.nova.gr Nova Hellas (Satellite Platform)]
* [http://www.rtvpink.com Pink International Company Serbia (Satellite Platform)]
* [http://www.canaldigitaal.nl Canal Digitaal, The Netherlands]
* [http://www.indi.be iN-Di, Belgium]
* [http://www.bulsat.com Bulsatcom, Bulgarian DTH Operator]
* [http://www.orf.at ORF, Austrian Television Corp.]
* [http://www.orion-express.ru Orion-Express, Russia (Satellite Platform)]
* [http://www.digiturk.gen.tr Digiturk, Turkey (Satellite Platform)]

Middle East, North Africa, and the Levant territories

* Showtime Arabia ( [http://www.showtimearabia.com Corporate website] )
* [http://www.adduniverse.com/ Arab Digital Distribution Co.]
* [http://www.aljazeerasport.net/HomePage Al Jazeera Sport] - Part of Al Jazeera Network
* Taj Television Limited - Ten Sports
* ARY Digital Network

outh Africa

* DStv [http://www.dstv.com DStv Corporate Website]

ri Lanka

* Dialog TV ( [http://www.dialog.lk/en/tv/ www.dialog.lk] )
* [http://www.lbn.lk LBN]

North America

* [http://www.sesamericom.com SES Americom]
* [http://www.globecast.com GlobeCast]
* [http://www.cornell.edu Cornell University]
* [http://www.citizens.coop Citizens Cablevision]
* [http://www.home2usa.com Home2US Communications]

outh Korea

* [http://www.tu4u.com TU Media Corp.]

China

* Xinjiang Broadcast & Television Transmission Network Corp. Ltd.
* Yancheng Broadcasting Television and Information Development
* Yi Wu Broadcasting & Television Bureau
* Taiyuan Cable TV Network Center
* Foshan Broadcasting & TV Network Company
* Jinan CATV
* Guangzhou Broadcasting and Television Network Co., Ltd.
* Jiangsu Telecommunication & Broadcasting Media Digital TV Co., Ltd.
* Shanghai Media Group New Media Co., Ltd.
* Lin Hai Broadcasting & Television Bureau
* Taizhou Tongda Cable Digital Network Co., Ltd
* Zhenjiang City Broadcasting and Television Station
* Fujian Radio & TV Broadcasting Co., Ltd
* The State Administration of Radio Film & Television Center of Transmission
* Jiaxing Broadcasting and TV Network Co.
* Shanghai Stock Communication Co, Ltd.
* Shaanxi Provincial Network
* SkyWave TV Company Ltd
* Huzhou Broadcast & TV Network Company Ltd.
* Radio & TV New Technology Development Co. of Guangdong Province
* Harbin Yuanshen BTV Network Co., Ltd
* Pacific Century Matrix
* Shanghai Interactive TV
* Jilin Broadcasting & TV Network Co., Ltd
* Liaoning Broadcasting & TV Information Network Co., Ltd
* Hunan Broadcasting and Television Mobil TV Co., Ltd
* Gansu Provincial Network (Gansu Cable)
* China Broadcasting Film Television Satellite Co. Ltd
* Central Satellite Television Transmission Center
* Zhengzhou Broadcasting and Television Information Network Co., Ltd.
* Shenyang CATV Station
* Nanning CATV Station
* Jiangxi Provincial Cable Network
* Kunming Broadcasting TV Network Centre
* Quingdao CATV
* Guangdong Cable TV and Broadcasting Station
* Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting Ltd
* Macau Cable TV
* Wuhan Broadcasting & TV Network Company
* Changsha Guoan Broadcasting and Television Broadband Network Co., Ltd
* Zhuhai Broadcast & TV Station
* Shunde Station of Guangdong Foshan Broadcasting and TV Networks
* Ningbo Digital Television Co. Ltd
* Guangdong Zhuhai TV Transmission Co., Ltd

outh America

* Montecable Video S.A. (Uruguay)
* Nuevo Siglo (Uruguay)
* TCC (Uruguay) (HD)

Preventing security breaches

All Pay TV conditional access vendors are confronted with piracy and it is part of their business to prevent it from happening.

In the late 1990s, the original encoding system Irdeto 1 appeared to be vulnerable. Therefore a new version called Irdeto 2 was introduced. The first new smart cards with Irdeto 2 were brought to market in October 2000 and implemented at Multichoice in the Middle East. A phased swap out of old cards took place between October 2000 and end 2001. There are no reports that broadcasters applying Irdeto 2 had to swap cards again.

External links

* [http://www.irdeto.com Irdeto website]