In August 2015, the GS Group holding company released a new twin-tuner server set-top box under the General Satellite brand, designed for the Russian market – GS E502. The latest-generation digital set-top box allows watching satellite TV simultaneously on two screens: TV and tablet or smartphone. Tricolor TV, the leading Russian digital TV operator, has already confirmed its interest in this equipment.
The GS E502 server STB is aimed at providing a greater number of users with the opportunity to watch TV on mobile devices. Design of the new set-top box includes two DVB-S/DVB-S2 tuners for receiving and transmitting the satellite signal simultaneously on a TV screen and a “second screen”: tablet or smartphone. User is able to watch TV content on a mobile device subject to availability of a valid satellite TV subscription and a special mobile application installed. Advanced TV viewing is available within the household where the server set-top box is connected by wire to the Wi-Fi router of the in-home network.
GS E502 has an internal 500GB hard drive and is also equipped with USB, SCART, HDMI and Ethernet connectors and S/PDIF digital audio output. A remote IR-sensor can be connected for convenient control of the set-top box using a remote control board. Stingray TV software platform developed by GS Labs which is installed on the GS E502 STB supports a number of useful services such as teletext, subtitles, electronic program guide (EPG), “Reminder” and “Games” functions.
The new General Satellite server set-top box has two key smart functions – PVR and TimeShift. The PVR service allows recording digital broadcasting on the embedded HDD and setting timers for record. The TimeShift function provides control over broadcasting for convenient TV viewing: while watching TV the subscriber has the option to put the broadcast on pause, fast-forward the recording or return to an interesting episode. Availability of these functions is determined by the copyright holder of the TV content.
At the heart of the GS E502 – a technological solution based on MStar K2 CPU and GS Lanthanum coprocessor that was developed and manufactured by GS Nanotech, a part of the Technopolis GS innovative cluster. A set of microchips provides speed of response and enhanced content security. The GS Lanthanum coprocessor is responsible for protecting the transmitted signal from pirates using a card-sharing scheme for illegally watching the operator’s TV channels. All currently known hacking methods are completely excluded due to the standalone operation of the crypto unit embedded in GS Lanthanum, which contains unique keys for signal decoding, as well as the impossibility of accessing the data from outside.
“Consumer devices that elaborate the possibility of mobile TV viewing are now more than ever in demand in the Russian telecommunication market. For our part, we see an intense interest of our subscribers in the “Play. Tricolor” application launched last year for viewing satellite TV on tablets and smartphones. For us it is especially important that GS Group, being a long-term technology partner of Tricolor TV, is able to provide relevant solutions to cater the users’ growing demand”, comments Evgeny Mikheichev, head of the technology marketing department of Tricolor TV.
The new GS E502 server STB is now available from the General Satellite authorized dealers. By the end of 2015, over 11,000 units of the new model will hit the market.