Canal+ Group Unveils New Hybrid OTT / HD Broadcast Set-Top Box

Marseille, France and Geneva, Switzerland – Wyplay and STMicroelectronics disclose their contributions to the development of Canal+ Group new “Cube S” set-top-box unveiled on June 9th at a keynote event in Paris attended by the press and the top management of Vivendi, Canal+ Group parent company.

The Cube S is a hybrid Internet and DTT set-top box. 100% Wifi, it gives access to more than 150 live channels (six premium channels called Chaines CANAL+ and the themed channels offering CANALSAT), 10 000 on-demand programs and entertainment Apps like Deezer or Radioline, streamed securely over the Internet. Thanks to the small form factor, consumers can for the first time take their set-top box with them at home or “on the go” to watch all their subscription content anywhere they can access the Internet. The Cube S will be marketed in France through a national TV advertising campaign and distributed to existing and new subscribers online and through 70+ temporary points of sales in shopping malls nationwide.

This new hybrid OTT / broadcast set-top-box runs Wyplay’s open source Frog Client middleware, integrated by Wyplay’s professional services team on top of a hardened Linux™ kernel with the Conditional Access and Digital Rights Management systems used by Canal+ Group to secure its DTT pay-TV bouquets and OTT streaming services. The middleware from Wyplay also provides an advanced HTML5 user interface and applications execution environment that underlies all the key features provided by the Cube S that will make it stick with CANAL+ and / or CANALSAT subscribers: on-demand and catch-up TV services, subscription VoD, 3rd-party music streaming applications, control and casting from the MyCanal mobile application through a RESTful API, and a recommendation service called “Suggest”.

The Cube S is powered by an STMicroelectronics STiH310 dual-core multimedia processor (Dual ARM® Cortex®-A9 ARM “Cannes2”) bringing a computing power of over 7500 DMIPS, powerful graphics acceleration, and rich connectivity optimized with the Frog client, together delivering a stunning user experience.

“This is our third product collaboration with Canal+ Group,” said Jacques Bourgninaud, Wyplay CEO. “Never before had they gone so far in taking control of our open-source Frog software to develop the user interface and applications running on the Cube S device. This project also entailed a close cooperation with STMicroelectronics whose latest STiH310 chipset brings the most powerful set-top-boxes in its category.”

“Our STiH310 processor brings 10 times more processing power compared to the previous generation of Canal+ Group set-top-boxes, making the Cube S one of the most powerful and innovative hybrid devices,” said Philippe Notton, Group Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Product Division, STMicroelectronics.

“We had already successfully partnered with Wyplay for the upgrade of our installed base of set-top-boxes,” said Frédéric Vincent, Executive Vice President, Technology and Information Systems, Canal+ Group. “Our latest Cube S device is the result of the effective collaboration with STMicroelectronics and Wyplay, delivering an unrivalled user experience to enjoy our whole live programming lineup together with our group’s on-demand catalog.”

For more details on how the Frog by Wyplay solution allows pay TV operators like Canal+ Group to tame Over-the-Top technologies for their benefit, read Videonet’s “Making OTT An Equal Part Of the STB Experience” industry report at:
http://v-net.tv/making-ott-an-equal-part-of-the-stb-experience  

For more details, visit:
http://www.wyplay.com
https://frogbywyplay.com
http://www.st.com