EchoStar Europe announced the launch of what it considers to be the slimmest digital video recorder (DVR) in the world. The state-of-the-art nickel-plated case houses all the technology you'd expect from a high-end DVR including solid state recording and conditional access, and while measuring just 9mm in height, it is a fraction of the size of other DVRs found in the market today.
“We challenged our engineering team to use all their technical know-how to deliver a groundbreaking product that has the potential to be the star of IBC and demonstrate our technical leadership”, commented Rick Smith, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at EchoStar Europe. “Mercury is our concept car that is cosmetically innovative yet fully functional, offering all the features that a pay TV operator requires”.
EchoStar engineers worked at length, scanning the micro electronics industry for the latest low profile components including video connectors, card reader and a solid state memory chip to support the DVR function. The current platform is configured for satellite reception; however, cable and IPTV are also supported as well as optional Wi-Fi — either on board or via a USB dongle — to provide Internet connectivity for delivering high-speed, two-way services such as Video-on-Demand.
“Designing a truly micro, yet fully featured digital video recorder provided an exciting engineering challenge”, commented Vice President of Engineering and Operations at EchoStar Europe Bob Wadey. “We had to radically change the way we do things in order to achieve the ultra slimline design. For example, we had to replace a standard Ethernet port with optional Wi-Fi as the connector breached our 9mm height target”.
The slimline product meets the latest European guidelines for reduced power consumption and uses a dedicated power management processor to switch areas of the box off that are not in use. There is 32GB of solid state memory available for DVR features such as live pause, and the company has provisioned for memory upgrades in the future to provide more recording time.
An OLED dot matrix display with touch-sensitive buttons ensures that the user has complete control over what he/she is watching, and as an exciting optional extra, the unit has a build option for SlingLoaded® technology enabling operators to launch TV Anywhere services and ensuring that broadband-connected consumers can watch TV anytime, anywhere on Mac®, PC or a number of mobile devices including iPhone®, BlackBerry® and Android®-based smart phones.
About EchoStar Europe:
EchoStar Europe is dedicated to enabling cable, IPTV, satellite and terrestrial operators to optimise network revenues by delivering added-value connected device solutions, services and applications. Through a comprehensive product range, including STBs, DVRs, home networking and place-shifting technology, our solutions enable the provision of state-of-the-art and cost effective entertainment services.
EchoStar Europe combines best-in-class engineering, VIP account management, supply chain, manufacturing and customer service into one dedicated and experienced team to provide customers with innovative technology solutions that enable new revenue opportunities and reduce operational costs. EchoStar Europe is headquartered in Steeton, UK, with European-based operations in Almelo, The Netherlands, Kharkov, Ukraine, and Madrid, Spain.
Comprising of a number of business units, EchoStar Europe is affiliated with EchoStar Technologies L.L.C. (www.echostar.com), a subsidiary of the publicly traded EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS). EchoStar has shipped over 70m+ connected devices to digital TV operators around the world and secured a number of industry awards and market firsts for its technology.
