STB Vendors Show Boxes for Microsoft TV IPTV

At Broadband World Forum Europe in Paris, Cisco Systems, Motorola, Philips and Tatung unveiled advanced system-on-a-chip (SoC) set-tops for the Microsoft IPTV Edition software platform.



Cisco IP set-top models, which will be deployed by customers including AT&T, support experience-enhancing features such as high-definition TV, DVR, integrated home networking over coax and user-friendly displays. Cisco offers models that include silicon from both Sigma Designs Inc. and STMicroelectronics.



Motorola's VIP series of SoC-based set-tops are engineered to bring the advanced IP services into any room in the house, including on-demand services, DVR and support for HDTV codecs, as well as forthcoming IPTV Edition features such as multiroom streaming and home media networking. Motorola VIP series set-tops are currently shipping in volume to leading providers worldwide, and the company has announced that AT&T will be the first service provider to commercially deploy these products.



Philips has introduced a hybrid IPTV-DTT set-top box supporting Microsoft IPTV Edition with HDTV and DVR functionality based on the Sigma Designs 8634 chipset. This product will be launched by BT plc this fall.



Tatung will introduce 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 not only supports two high-definition decoding engines for MPEG2, H.264 and VC-1, providing decoding flexibility, but also supports advanced features including HDTV, video on demand (VOD) and high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI).

http://www.microsoft.com/tv