Pace Secures Brazilian HD Set-Top Box Deal

Pace is to provide an HD-capable set-top box to Latin America's largest multi-service cable provider.

Brazil's cable operator NET Serviços de Comunicação is buying the UK firms's new HD-capable set-top unit as part of its drive to establish a fully HD, digitised customer base.

Márcio Carvalho, products and services director at NET said the Brazilian pay-TV market is developing rapidly.

He said the provision of high-definition content is increasingly becoming a service expectation in the region as the market matures.

"This new deployment will dramatically increase our HD content reach and provides us with a platform to introduce additional entertainment services for subscribers," he said.

The low environmental impact (LEI) box uses Nagra and Open TV middleware to deliver content securely over the cable network.

NET Serviços' integrated services include Pay TV (NET), Digital Video (NET Digital), High Definition Digital Video (NET Digital HD), high definition DVR (NET Digital HD Max), bi-directional broadband internet access (NET Vírtua) and voice (NET Fone).

Hervé Matthieu, vice president of sales at Pace said the deployment of its HD-capable set-top box is a step forward in driving HD penetration in the region.