Mediaset makes its broadband and broadcast services available on non-connected televisions thanks to Wi-Fi CAM

Mediaset has launched a CI Plus Wi-Fi CAM that provides access to both Mediaset Premium broadcast services and Mediaset Premium Play broadband services in the same conditional access module. It means non-connected televisions (CI Plus and certified DVB-CI televisions) to be connected to the Internet and therefore to Mediaset’s online video offerings using the embedded wireless connection in the CAM. 

Users first have to download the SMART CAM Control Application suite from the Apple App Store and Android Google Play but they then get access to 2,500 titles on Premium Play and can use a smartphone or a tablet to select their favorite titles to watch on their integrated TVs. The SMART CAM with embedded Wi-Fi is provided by SmarDTV.

The SMART CAM has been on sale in Mediaset Premium approved outlets for several months. User feedback and uptake of Premium Play services is highly positive, the Mediaset reports. More details about the initiative can be found here (in Italian). Mediaset Premium will begin certification and then labeling of new integrated digital televisions as SMART CAM compatible from Q2 this year.

“This [SMART CAM for Mediaset] is a highly compact and elegant solution to enable interactive services on any digital TV in the market, including those lacking in-built connectivity,” SmarDTV explains. “No extra set-top box or additional cables are needed because the CAM slots neatly into the CI interface that exists on all European televisions with a screen size greater than 30cm.”

Franco Ricci, CEO at Mediaset Premium, says, “We are rightfully proud of this new generation of conditional access module that we have developed in collaboration with SmarDTV. We have a highly successful history of deploying our Premium Broadcast services using conditional access modules and iDTVs that began in 2009 with the launch of our first products, and we see this evolution as the logical next step for users to now access our Premium Play services via OTT.”

Eric Chaubert, CEO of SmarDTV, comments: “The addition of wireless connectivity to our CAM product line opens new horizons for service providers. This is fully in line with the vision of DVB to extend CI Plus to the broadband world and is a great example of how we see the future of CI Plus products. Wireless CAMs really offer service providers a uniform Smart TV platform and we are honoured to launch this product with Mediaset Premium, who have been a main driver of CAM innovation over the past decade.”