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NDS partners with VBox to deliver HD pay-TV content to PCs
If you're the type who digs HD, but would rather catch it on one of your two (or more) HD-capable displays connected to your computer, NDS has struck a deal with VBox to bring HD pay-TV content to your PC -- without the need for potentially costly upgrades. The agreement allows PC users to receive "broadcast content on VBox's Cat's Eye PC-TV receiver," which would store / playback footage like any typical DVR, while NDS' VideoGuard PC would provide the obligatory DRM kick to keep content owners pacified. VBox's Cat's Eye Premium is a newly unveiled receiver designed to deliver content optimized for IP distribution, which essentially provides "digital set-top box functionality in a PC environment" by interfacing with the computer's USB port or PCI slot. Content is received in the same way as typical TV owners, but is channeled into your PC via USB / PCI instead of component of HDMI, and it's strapped down by NDS' USB encryption key which is required for the whole rig to operate correctly; in addition, VBox also offers routers and gateways in case you're interested in slinging that content to various machines via Ethernet. Neither NDS nor VBox made mention of just how much this snazzy sounding setup would run PC users, but hopefully we'll be seeing the deal yield some forward progress soon after CES concludes.
