HD+ exceeds 1 million smartcards

Satellite operator SES Astra has delivered more than 1 million smartcards for reception of its German HDTV platform HD+ to the hardware industry. The smartcards are bundled by the manufacturers with their HD+ compliant reception devices and then sent to retail stores.
Since the platform‘s launch on November 1 2009, a total of around 220,000 HD+ receivers have been sold by retailers. In May 2010, almost every third satellite HD box sold was an HD+ box. The figures were announced by SES Astra subsidiary HD Plus in Munich.

Additionally, 100,000 HD+ modules for reception devices containing the CI+ common interface slot have been delivered to the industry. With the modules, which have been available since the end of April for €79 including the smartcard, existing TV sets and set-top-boxes can be upgraded for HD+ reception. “The development of HD+ exceeds our expectations,“ Wilfried Urner, head of HD Plus, said in Munich.

The platform, which is encrypted in Nagravision, contains the HD versions of Germany‘s largest free-to-air commercial general interest channels RTL, Sat.1, ProSieben, VOX and kabel eins. With the smartcard, the package can be received for one year at no additional charge. Afterwards, viewers will have to pay €50 per year if they want to continue receiving the channels.


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