digEcor

What digEcor does

digEcor is a provider of in-flight entertainment (IFE) solutions headquartered in Springville, Utah, serving commercial airlines and, to a lesser extent, healthcare and maritime operators. Founded in 2000, the company pioneered the handheld portable IFE category in 2003 with the digEplayer 5500, which won the 2004 IFE Product of the Year award from IPEC. Frost & Sullivan named digEcor the portable IFE market leader in 2008. The company's IFE business was acquired by Total Aviation Solutions in August 2013, with the digEcor brand continuing to operate.

The product portfolio centers on the digEplayer family of handheld portable media players — the 5500, XT, XLP, L7, and L10 — spanning 7-to-10-inch screens with 10-to-18+ hour battery life, capacitive touch screens, dual headphone jacks, credit card readers for pay-per-view, and DO-160 emissions compliance on flagship models. The company also offers the GLIDE dockable embedded seat-back system, a COTS solution built on ruggedized Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 tablets, supporting accessories (USB power, headphones, tape replacement), and a proprietary web-based Media Management System that handles content encoding, drag-and-drop selection, and global distribution to airline fleets.

Revenue is generated through multiple streams: IFE hardware sales and leases, content licensing and integration from major studios (Sony, Buena Vista, Warner Bros, Fox, Universal, National Geographic, Discovery, CBS Paramount), ancillary revenue programs (advertising, rental programs, and the in-flight Mill Creek Shoppe), FAA-certified maintenance and repair services, and turnkey provisioning/logistics. Pricing is quote-based with flexible options including outright purchase, multi-year lease, and revenue-share agreements. Distribution combines direct enterprise sales with regional provisioning teams (e.g., Jakarta for Garuda Indonesia), channel partners for international markets, and short-term lease pools for charter operators. Named airline customers include Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Gulf Air, Kenya Airways, Pacific Blue, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, Azerbaijan Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines.

Name

digEcor

Legal name

digEcor, Inc.

Website

https://digecor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

digEcor provides in-flight entertainment solutions for commercial airlines, offering handheld digEplayer devices, embedded IFE systems, content licensing, and turnkey provisioning services. Founded in 2000, the company was acquired by Total Aviation Solutions in 2013.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

In-flight Entertainment

NAICS

Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (336413), Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing (334310)

SIC

Aircraft Parts & Auxiliary Equipment, Nec (3728), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)

akta.pro primary industry

In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) & Connectivity (IFEC) (THABAMAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Partner Integrations & Distribution (App Stores, Channels, OEM/Carrier Bundles) (MPAHAJAO), Audio & Communications Equipment Rental (MPADAFAC)

Keywords

• In-flight entertainment
• Portable media players
• Embedded IFE systems
• Aviation content services
• Cabin technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Springville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. IFE Hardware Sales: Sale and lease of portable media players and embedded IFE systems to airlines. Options include outright purchase, lease agreements with varying terms, and revenue share agreements.
2. Content Licensing: Content acquisition, licensing, and integration services providing movies, TV shows, music, games, and other entertainment content to airlines.
3. Ancillary Revenue Services: Advertising opportunities, rental programs (digEplayer rental), and non-ticket revenue streams for airline customers including in-flight shopping solution (Mill Creek Shoppe).
4. Maintenance and Repair Services: FAA Repair Station services and ongoing maintenance agreements with flexible payment options.
5. Provisioning/Logistics Services: Turnkey provisioning services including delivering players to gates, cleaning, charging batteries, and uploading content locally.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

digEcor designs, manufactures, and supplies in-flight entertainment (IFE) hardware including the digEplayer family of handheld portable media players (5500, XT, XLP, L7, L10) and the GLIDE embedded seat-centric IFE system, alongside content licensing, a proprietary Media Management System, provisioning/logistics services, and ancillary revenue solutions such as rental programs and advertising for commercial airlines and other transport operators.

Product overview

digEcor is an in-flight entertainment (IFE) company offering a comprehensive portfolio of portable and embedded IFE hardware, content services, and ancillary revenue solutions. The core product line includes the digEplayer family (5500, XT, XLP, L7, L10) as portable handheld devices ranging from 7-10 inch screens with battery life from 10-18+ hours. The company also provides the GLIDE Embedded System for dockable seat-back installations and COTS solutions using consumer tablets. Content services span handheld and overhead/AVOD content through a global distribution network. Ancillary revenue offerings include advertising, rental programs, and marketing services. Passenger-facing services include the ENGAGE mobile app, online reservation portal, analytics, voice of customer, and marketing programs. Supporting services include FAA repair station, flexible financing options, short-term leases, and a proprietary Media Management System for content operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• digEplayer: Product line of handheld in-flight entertainment devices including models L7, L10, XT, XLP, and 5500
• GLIDE Embedded System
• digEcor COTS Solution
• Mill Creek Shoppe
• Media Management System

Products and services

• digEplayer 5500 The world's first self-contained handheld portable video-on-demand entertainment unit for airlines, featuring a 7-inch screen and 10+ hour battery life.
• digEplayer XT Flagship handheld portable media player with 8-inch DVD-quality screen, integrated credit card swipe, 60GB+ hard drive, wireless connectivity, dual headphone jacks, and 10-hour battery life.
• digEplayer XLP Extra Long Play handheld media player extending the XT platform with 16 hours of continuous video playback, LED backlit display, and elegant black exterior.
• digEplayer L7 7-inch capacitive touch screen handheld IFE device with built-in WiFi, brandable GUI, dual headphone jacks, and durable kick stand with rubberized feet.
• digEplayer L10 Premium handheld IFE device with 10-inch screen, 18+ hour battery life, Gigabit Ethernet port for fast content loads, capacitive touch screen, and DO-160 emissions compliance.
• GLIDE Embedded System Dockable seat-centric embedded IFE system that is low weight and fully scalable for aircraft installations.
• COTS Solution Commercial Off-The-Shelf solution using ruggedized Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 inch adapted for in-flight use with 20 hours of continuous video playback, protective case, and easily swapped SD card for content loading.
• Handheld Content Content licensing service providing movies, TV shows, music, music videos, games, and other entertainment content for handheld IFE devices at lowest cost.
• Overhead & AVOD Content Audio/Video On Demand and overhead content services allowing airlines to use one provider for all content needs.
• Distribution Network Global content distribution network enabling airlines to send content worldwide to their fleet.
• Short Term Lease Short-term lease program for charter flights and one-off occasions with a pool of players available for quick deployment.
• Tape Replacement System Digital upgrade solution for airlines still using traditional tape-based entertainment systems.
• In-seat USB Power In-seat USB power solutions allowing passengers to power their devices during flights.
• Accessory Equipment Range of accessory equipment including headphones and other IFE peripherals.
• FAA Repair Station FAA-certified repair station services for IFE hardware, helping airlines reduce maintenance costs.
• Financing Flexible financing options including outright purchase agreements, lease agreements with varying terms, and revenue share agreements for IFE hardware.

Quantifiable outcome

• 47.5% revenue increase in 2007 year-over-year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lefeel Media TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Five-year partnership with China-based Lefeel Media Technology for development of next-generation in-flight entertainment systems. Partnership resulted in creation of L Series featuring overhauled software, improved GUI, and touch screen capability.
• Rooftop MediaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContent distribution deal for Rooftop Comedy Channel with digEcor, providing original comedy content to airline passengers.
• Total Aviation SolutionscoreOthersTotal Aviation Solutions acquired digEcor's In-Flight Entertainment business including all assets, employees, products and brands in August 2013. Companies had been collaborating for the past year to manufacture and sell embedded seat-centric systems.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Panasonic Avionics: The dominant provider of embedded seatback IFE systems (eX2, eX3) and global content services. Direct overlap in airline content licensing and IFE turnkey services, but operates at a much larger scale focused on embedded rather than portable hardware.
• Thales Avionics: Major embedded IFE (AVANT) and in-flight connectivity player serving global airlines. Competes with digEcor for the same airline entertainment budgets, especially on widebody content and AVOD contracts (e.g., Azerbaijan Airlines uses Panasonic eX2 with digEcor-provided content — a market both vendors contest).
• Gogo Business Aviation: Leading provider of in-flight connectivity and wireless entertainment for both commercial and business aviation. Represents the long-term architectural shift (streaming to passenger devices) that competes with portable IFE players like digEcor.
• ViaSat (Inflight Connectivity): Provides satellite-powered in-flight connectivity and entertainment infrastructure to commercial airlines. Relevant peer because its Ka-band connectivity enables the streaming alternative to digEcor's portable players.

Direct peers

• Global Eagle Entertainment: Provides in-flight connectivity, content, and media services to airlines worldwide — directly competing with digEcor's content licensing and content management system offerings, particularly for AVOD and overhead IFE.
• Lufthansa Systems (BoardConnect): Provider of wireless in-flight entertainment and digital media platforms for airlines. Head-to-head alternative to portable IFE, allowing passengers to stream content to their own devices — the secular substitute that pressures digEcor's portable player business.

Emerging players

• AirFi: Provider of portable in-flight entertainment and connectivity platforms (AirFi Venus boxes) for airlines, rail, and other mobility markets. Overlaps with digEcor's portable IFE thesis and its expansion into maritime and adjacent verticals.
• Immfly: Digital in-flight entertainment platform offering wireless streaming, content, and ancillary services to airlines. Comparable to digEcor's portable + content services model but built around BYOD wireless delivery rather than dedicated handheld hardware.
• Bluebox Aviation Systems: Provides portable wireless IFE hardware and content services to airlines and rail operators. Closest peer in form factor to digEcor's portable digital players, targeting the same low-cost and regional carrier segment.

Others

• GuestLogix (now part of Plusgrade / Inflight Media): Ancillary onboard retail technology partner that digEcor explicitly integrated with for in-flight shopping via the Mill Creek Shoppe. Comparable as an ancillary-revenue and onboard commerce enabler for airlines — same buyer (in-flight services teams) and adjacent workflow.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/digecor
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/digecor
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/digecor-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about digEcor