Watermarking Technology an Essential Tool to Fight Broadcast Piracy
LAS VEGAS, NV -- (MARKET WIRE) -- April 16, 2007 -- NAB 2007 -- Irdeto, the proven expert in content security for digital TV, IPTV and mobile, today announced that it has integrated its conditional access solution with Thomson's NexGuard(TM) Forensic Marking Solution. The integration allows operators to secure content against piracy and deter illegal copying and distribution of broadcast content.

A sophisticated tool to protect content owner's premium products and revenue streams, NexGuard for STBs can watermark all forms of broadcast content delivered via IPTV, satellite, cable or terrestrial broadcast and viewed with a digital STB. It is the first watermarking tool available that supports both standard and next generation compression in digital STBs formatted for MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) and VC-1 and it is currently demonstrated with STBs based on the STx7100 family of System-on-Chips (SoC).

Thomson's NexGuard watermarking solution embeds invisible information identifying the source of television broadcast content into the video image. When this information is extracted from pirated materials with NexGuard's detection and recovery system, it pinpoints the exact source of the pirated video.

"The combined power of Irdeto's renowned conditional access and Thomson's video watermarking solutions significantly raises the bar for piracy of valuable content," said Jean-Luc Moullet, Thomson vice president and head of the Software & Technology Solutions business unit, a part of Thomson's Technology division. "Watermarking perfectly complements conditional access and extends content security beyond the set-top box."

The Thomson watermarking solution is integrated with Irdeto's state-of-the-art content security technology for digital TV, IPTV and mobile TV, used by more than 300 operators worldwide. Irdeto encryption technology ensures content is protected up to the point of decryption and/or storage in the set-top box or mobile device, while Thomson's watermarking technology protects content that has been recorded on third-party devices like DVDs or external hard drives after decryption has already taken place.

"Thomson has unveiled a watermarking solution that is an excellent fit with our expertise in content protection and our mission to provide innovative, secure and reliable content protection systems for broadcast operators," said Graham Kill, CEO for Irdeto. "With this integration Irdeto customers can deploy a powerful additional deterrent against illicit redistribution."

Please visit the Irdeto booth #SU2627 at NAB 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, April 16-19th for a live forensic watermarking demonstration or to learn more about Irdeto's content security solutions for digital TV, IPTV and mobile.

About Irdeto
Irdeto, the proven expert in content security, provides comprehensive solutions for content protection in digital TV, IPTV and mobile environments. Irdeto is a subsidiary of multinational media group Naspers (NASDAQ: NPSN) and (JSE: NPN). The company's support, sales and R&D offices are located worldwide with corporate headquarters near Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Irdeto offers both hardware- and software-based solutions. The company works with an impressive list of leading industry partners to create end-to-end solutions for any pay media business. Irdeto's goal is to help operators increase content revenue by offering best-of-class security solutions supporting a wide range of revenue models. With the acquisition of competitor CryptoWorks in spring 2006, Irdeto now has more than 300 customers around the world. To contact your regional office or retrieve further information on the company, please visit www.irdetocom.

For further information about Irdeto please contact:
Irdeto
Ellie Sanchez
Marketing - Americas
Tel: +1 425 497 2800 x228
E-mail: esanchez@irdeto.com