September 13, 1999 12:48
SCM Microsystems Announces Secure USB Satellite Receiver for PCs, NetCast Streamer
High Speed Multimedia Access Enables Wide Range of New E-Commerce Applications
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- SCM Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: SCMM), a leading OEM supplier of digital access control and connectivity solutions, today demonstrated the first universal PC satellite receiver, NetCast Streamer. Based on open standards, NetCast Streamer attaches to a PC's Universal Serial Bus (USB) port and allows users to receive data from satellite transmissions. NetCast Streamer enables high speed Internet access, file delivery, high-quality audio, full-motion video and digital TV reception that can be used for a variety of uses in commerce, banking, education, and medicine as well as a number of corporate broadcast applications. The product is being demonstrated in Hall 1, Booth 498 of the IBC conference in Amsterdam. First samples will be delivered in October and volume orders will begin shipping by the end of 1999.
NetCast Streamer is the first satellite receiver for PCs that supports the removable broadcast security standards for both Europe and the US and also includes a smart card interface that can be used for additional data security and e-commerce functions. With data transfer rates of up to 6 Mb per second, the NetCast Streamer is suited to a number of high-growth applications, in particular, secure Internet e-commerce. The product combines: a digital satellite tuner, a crypto processor for secure conditional access, a universal smart card interface for user authentication and e-commerce functions, a common interface slot for the use of standard satellite TV security systems through DVB-CI or OpenCable Point of Deployment (POD) modules and a USB interface to provide high speed, plug and play connectivity to a PC. SCM Microsystems can also deliver products tailored for specific OEM customer requirements.
During the design and development, SCM Microsystems worked closely with Telenor Satellite Services AS and Telenor Conax AS with regard to optimization and security of data broadcast services. "Telenor has enjoyed a close and successful relationship with SCM Microsystems over many years in the security business and we recognized the exciting opportunity for the NetCast Streamer concept when it was presented to us over a year ago," said Oystein Larsen, General Manager of Telenor Conax, "as an expert in conditional access, broadcast and Internet services, we anticipate that the NetCast Streamer will provide our customers with access to a range of new services that are affordable and easy to use."
SCM Microsystems recently announced the first customer for the NetCast Streamer. A contract valued at $18 million USD over the next 18 months was signed by the Electronic Food and Drink Exchange (efdex). In the efdex project, SCM Microsystems is closely cooperating with EUTELSAT, a leading European satellite system provider, who is providing the satellite infrastructure including transponders and head-ends for efdex. EUTELSAT and SCM will jointly market the system of high speed multimedia access combining the strength of EUTELSAT in satellite operations with the NetCast Streamer's user friendly features.
"Multimedia services via satellite is an emerging, large-scale market of the near future. Meeting the required features and the time frame for such applications, the NetCast Streamer is an ideal device to enable dedicated business-to-business and business-to-consumer services," said Jean-Yves Le Roux, senior vice president of SCM Microsystems' Digital TV Strategic Initiatives. "SCM Microsystems is able to provide this solution by leveraging technologies across our company, including the development of silicon, software, security systems, digital TV reception technologies, PC connectivity solutions and smart card interface technology."
"The NetCast Streamer, with its open and flexible design, is another example of the success of standards-based technology and we are excited about the opportunities it opens for SCM Microsystems," added Robert Schneider, founder and chief executive officer of SCM Microsystems. "The partnership with leading companies around the world, such as Telenor and EUTELSAT, will help ensure a successful market introduction of the NetCast Streamer."
About SCM Microsystems
SCM Microsystems, Inc., with headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif., European headquarters in Germany, research, development and support centers in France, India, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and production, sales and engineering facilities in Singapore and Taiwan, is a leading provider of products and technologies which enable OEMs to provide applications for endusers to control, access, and exchange digital information with digital platforms like PCs and digital TV set-top boxes. SCM Microsystems is a leading developer and supplier of plug and play OEM peripheral interfacing technology, including ASIC interfacing solutions, firmware, and software. By bridging smart cards, digital media cards and other secure devices with PCs, Workstations and digital set-top boxes, SCM Microsystems provides cost-effective solutions for conditional access to mobile, handheld and desktop computers, workstations, digital video broadcasts, virtual private networks, electronic files, and e-mail.
For additional information, contact SCM Microsystems in the United States at 408-370-4888 or in Europe at 49-8441-8960 or e-mail adapter@scmmicro.com. The company maintains a Web site at www.scmmicro.com .
For more information on SCM Microsystems at no cost, please call 1-800-PRO-INFO (U.S.) or 908-544-2850 (Int'l), ticker symbol SCMM.
SOURCE SCM Microsystems
