State of the art PVR Set Top Box to go live for 2010 World Cup

IPTV World Forum, London. March 22nd, 2010. Netgem (http://www.netgem.com), a leading provider of IPTV technology and services to Telecom operators worldwide, today announced it has been chosen by Melita, a leading quad play telecom provider in Malta to provide its next generation Set Top Box (STB) based on the latest technologies to power the operator’s High Definition (HD) and Personal Video Recorder (PVR) services ahead of the 2010 World Cup.

With over 180,000 subscribers, Melita offers a combination of Television, broadband internet, fixed line, cable and mobile services and a rich, fast growing content offering – including this year’s Football World Cup in South Africa.

“Netgem’s Hybrid cable digital TV solution and Netbox devices are a great investment. Their smart technology cleverly combines broadband and broadcast delivered content into one, seamless and very attractive user experience that can scale as we create new services and add subscribers.” Explains Joe Gasan, Melita’s Chairman.

The ability to scale plus ensure a fully branded and customisable product offering was essential in Melita’s choice of provider. “We are delighted to be working with Melita to enable their customers to have a truly immersive and personalised TV experience – during the World Cup and beyond.” said Christophe Aulnette, Managing Director at Netgem.

The concurrent availability of the HD Netgem PVR Netbox will enable Melita subscribers to personalise their Football World Cup 2010 viewing by recording, pausing, rewinding matches and other programmes. Moreover, Melita is promising to offer multiple language commentary throughout the tournament and to almost double its TV line up to 150 channels by June this year. The company has also made a commitment to create a number of niche channels to cater to Malta’s increasingly international population.  Subscribers are already registering their interest in an early bird HD offering at http://www.melita.com/