| Antenna Hungaria expands MHP field trial with Sofia Digital |
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Antenna Hungaria, the Hungarian TV and radio network operator, expands
its interactive TV services trial in Budapest, Hungary. The iTV
(interactive television) services are built on the MHP, the Multimedia
Home Platform. Sofia Digital has delivered a complete service
management and application launcher solution, Sofia Backstage® Manager,
for controlling and managing the lifecycle of various MHP applications.
The iTV content can be decoded with DVB-T/MHP-capable set-top boxes or
integrated digital TV sets (IDTV's).
Cooperation between Antenna Hungaria and Sofia Digital has been active since 2001, and Antenna Hungaria already uses several products from Sofia Digital, Sofia Access® for EPG and Sofia Arena® for Superteletext Services. "For the time being, the MHP applications are broadcast via the digital terrestrial TV transmitters in two regions in Hungary. Our strategy is to extend the DVB-T coverage step-by-step to the the whole country" says Mr. Sandor Hegedus, deputy CEO of Antenna Hungaria. "The experiences of the present trial should provide us the necessary technical basis for the commercial launch of the enhanced and interactive digital television. We expect that the responsible authorities can settle the regulatory issues in a short time so that our customers can enjoy all services that the interactive TV can deliver, including e. g. EPG, superteletext, home shopping, tele-banking, tele-voting and even Internet access through the TV set. The launcher solution which we are introducing now with Sofia makes the navigation among the various iTV applications quite easy." "We see the expansion of the service level in this MHP trial very important. We are also looking forward to cooperate with Antenna Hungaria in developing new innovative interactive services in the area of e-Government, T-Commerce, Gaming and Betting", states Petri Martikainen, CEO of Sofia Digital. |
