In conjunction with set-top box makers Cisco, Motorola, Philips, and Tatung, Microsoft announced that set-top boxes with embedded system-on-a-chip (SoC) support for Microsoft’s IPTV platform are now available. The new SoC Set-tops boxes are HD-capable, integrate chipsets from Sigma Designs and STMicroelectronics, and enable IPTV providers to deploy new services as the industry turns its attention to delivering video content via broadband networks.
“The advent of system-on-a-chip set-tops is a key milestone for the IPTV industry,” said Christine Heckart, Microsoft’s general manager of marketing for the Microsoft TV Division. “As our service provider customers are beginning worldwide deployments of IPTV Edition, and set-top partners are unveiling these advanced devices, consumers will be able to experience television in a new, exciting way. This milestone is a testament to the remarkable progress our IPTV ecosystem has made in just a few years, and it will pave the way for service providers to deliver richer TV services at a lower cost.”
Network operators have been pushing for embedded SoC solution to deploying IPTV technologies, rather than relying on earlier IPTV designs based on PC architectures. The new integrated boxes include an MPEG-2 decoder and key security components for use with Microsoft’s software.
Set-top boxes announced by Microsoft’s partners offer features like DVR functionality, multiple decoding engines, HD capabilities, vide-on-demand, and HDMI interfaces; the set-top boxes should also be able to offer DVD-level quality with broadband connection capable of sustaining 1.5 Mbps connections.
