[April 05, 2013] ABI Research Reports Cardless CAS in Cable Networks Grows 300% from 5M Units in 2012 to 21.5 Million in 2017 Tweet Apr 05, 2013 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- According to ABI Research, Cardless Conditional Access Systems (CAS) leverage a combination of hardware security protections built into the System on Chip (SoC) video processor; software mechanisms that protect secrets and software / hardware that detects and responds to tampering attempts. Many operators see software security as catching up to hardware security in terms of ability to cost-effectively protect content, especially in markets with low content value (measured by monthly average revenue per user, ARPU, for Pay TV services). "Cisco (NDS) has shipped the most units of cardless security to Cablevision based on its K-LAD system," according to Sam Rosen, practice director at ABI Research. "However, Nagra and Irdeto are leading this wave of shipments in low ARPU regions, while Verimatrix's cardless technology is robust and gaining market attention." Cardless CAS has been used for a number of years in two-way IPTV systems, where the set-top box can exchange information continuously with the CAS server. However, these systems provide many opportunities to offer security that differ from traditional broadcast (one-way) networks. We are entering a wave of cardless CAS delivered over one-way cable or satellite networks, which cannot rely on exchange of information from the set-top box to the CAS server, except perhaps during device installation. ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. Report information: http://www.abiresearch.com/research/service/video-sw-middleware-and-drm/ http://www.abiresearch.com ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]