iWorld
NDS joins Anytime Technology partner programme
MUMBAI: Anytime, Asia Pacific’s leading Video on-Demand (VoD) channel, today announced that NDS, the leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, is the newest member of the Anytime Technology Partner Program.
The Anytime Technology Partner Program is a collaboration between Anytime and the world’s leading VoD technology vendors. It aims to reduce the time to deploy secure, quality, VoD services in Asia Pacific. The Program allows technology vendors to come together to ensure process compliance and data flow compatibility from publishing, to billing API’s and royalty reporting. NDS Group is a NASDAQ-listed company; the largest shareholder in NDS is News Corporation.
NDS solutions enable broadcasters, network TV operators and content providers to profit from the deployment of digital TV technologies including innovative solutions for digital video recorders, interactivity, secure broadband, home networks and content on the go. NDS boasts an impressive customer list, featuring some of the world’s leading pay-TV operators, such as BSkyB, DIRECTV, SkyLife and FOXTEL, informs an official release.
“NDS is pleased to join the Anytime Technology Partner Program. We regard this as an important technology alliance to enable our customers to implement VoD services in a timely and seamless fashion,” said Sue Taylor, VP & GM of NDS Asia Pacific.
“With their in-house expertise, ANYTIME will help us test and review a complete range of IPTV products and solutions and develop reference architectures for our customers. The Anytime Technology Partner Program is the answer to fast-tracking VoD deployments in Asia Pacific.”
“NDS’s end-to-end deployments demonstrate the company’s ability to offer unparalleled expertise in content delivery and protection. Conditional access is a vital component in any VoD delivery model and NDS has the capabilities to bring content security to a new level,” said Anytime CTO Craig Ginsberg.
NDS joins a rapidly growing number of the world’s leading technology vendors including Verimatrix, SecureMedia, Concurrent and Tatung as members of the Anytime Technology Partner Program.
The Anytime Technology Partner Program has two levels of agreement – Technology compliance, and Cooperation & Co-marketing. If accepted into the Program, vendors can work with Anytime to ensure their products, services or solutions, comply with the highest industry standards for VoD content delivery.
The Program is open to STB manufacturers, middleware vendors, Conditional Access and DRM hardware and software makers, VoD server manufacturers, and Systems Integrators. It is vendor-agnostic, ensuring that Telcos, ISPs and Digital Cable providers receive impartial advice and information on VoD delivery technology, the release adds.
iWorld
Instagram rolls out Valentine’s Day features for posts and chats
Limited-edition fonts, stickers and chat themes add a playful romantic touch
MUMBAI: As Valentine’s Day nears, Instagram and its companion app Edits are sprinkling a little extra romance across timelines, Stories and chats. The platforms have unveiled a limited set of creative features designed to make posts, reels and messages feel more heartfelt, more playful and a touch more dramatic.
From themed fonts and animated text to love-soaked sticker frames, the updates aim to help users turn everyday moments into something more expressive. Whether it is a romantic snapshot, a galentine’s shout-out or a cheeky DM, the tools are built to add colour, personality and a festive glow.
On Instagram, users can experiment with new fonts and text effects for Stories and Reels, wrap photos in Valentine’s-themed frames and tag loved ones with custom mention stickers. Even the comments section is joining the fun, with certain phrases unlocking hidden themes and animations. Notes are getting a seasonal twist too, with hint text and secret phrases designed to keep conversations light and interactive. Meanwhile, chats can switch to a Valentine’s theme in both dark and light modes, giving DMs a cosy, love-letter feel.
Over on Edits, creators get a few extra tricks. The app now offers themed fonts, romantic sound effects such as harp music and heartbeat tones, and dramatic speed controls that can push reels up to 100 times faster for comic or cinematic flair.
The Valentine’s features on Instagram will be available from 12 to 16 February, while the creative additions on Edits are here to stay. Together, the updates turn the season of love into a small digital festival, where a simple post can feel like a card, a chat like a note passed across the room, and a reel like a miniature love story.
