HDTV Reviews

Microsoft trotted out a team of system-on-a-chip set-top partners Tuesday that will assist the software giant in reenergizing the surprisingly slow rollout of IP-based pay-TV.

The Redmond-based software kingpin announced that set-top box makers Cisco Systems, Motorola, Phillips, and Tatung are all marketing system-on-a-chip (SoC) set-tops, a development that will generate more low-cost, flexible HD-ready set-top devices.

SoC technology distills the components of a system such as a set-top box into a single chip, more or less. That distillation reduces development time and the cost of multicomponent devices such as set-top boxes.

Set-top technology can then be easily embedded into more complex multifunctional devices. For instance Philips has introduced a hybrid IPTV-DTT (digital terrestrial television) set-top box supporting Microsoft IPTV Edition with high-definition TV and digital video recorder functionality based on a chipset from Sigma Designs.

BT (British Telecom), the United Kingdom’s largest carrier, will begin distributing the Phillips multifunction box this fall.

“The advent of system-on-a-chip set-tops is a key milestone for the IPTV industry,” said Christine Heckart, general manager of marketing for Microsoft’s TV division.

“Consumers will be able to experience television in a new, exciting way,” she said. “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.”

But IPTV technology has been dogged by slow rollouts and rumors of failures to coordinate the various pieces of component technologies including Microsoft TV software. The rumors have frequently been overblown, but the pay-TV software road has sometimes been a rocky one for Microsoft.

The software maker markets IPTV products to service providers, particularly top-tier phone companies. Microsoft TV products support TV services such as fast channel-change and on-demand programming.

SoC technology frees set-top technology from its traditional enclosure in the TV cabinet and gives it the flexibility of any IP-based device. It can be integrated with other IP services such as digital streaming and the multiplicity of available on-demand services.

Tatung plans to begin marketing its STB2000 series SoC-enabled set-top boxes based on the Sigma Designs 8634 chipset later this year. The new STB2300 model is an entry-level IP set-top box that supports two high-definition decoding engines for MPEG2, H.264, VC-1, HDTV, and video on demand.
Source: http://www.redherring.com/