Cisco, Moto, Philips, Tatung intro set-tops supporting Microsoft IPTV

Cisco Systems [1], Motorola [2], Philips [3] and Tatung [4] simultaneously introduced new IPTV set-top boxes said to offer greater functionality, based on their incorporation of a new generation of ICs from a variety of semiconductor companies, all designed specifically for IPTV STBs.

All of the new STBs support Microsoft's [5] IPTV Edition software platform, used by several IPTV providers worldwide.

Cisco set-tops, which will be deployed by customers including AT&T [6], support high-definition TV, DVR, and integrated home networking over coax. Cisco's STBs incorporate silicon from both Sigma Designs [7] and STMicroelectronics [8].

Motorola's VIP series of set-tops enable on-demand services, DVR and are prepared to support HDTV codecs. The Motorola STBs are also ready to support forthcoming IPTV Edition features such as multi-room streaming and home media networking. Motorola said VIP series set-tops are shipping in volume today. AT&T will be the first service provider to commercially deploy these products.

Philips has introduced a hybrid IPTV-DTT set-top box supporting HDTV and DVR functionality. Philips' box is based on the Sigma Designs 8634 chipset. This product will be launched by BT [9] this fall.

Tatung will introduce its STB2000 series, also based on the Sigma Designs chipset, also 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 MPEG-2, H.264 and VC-1, but also supports advanced features including HDTV, video-on-demand (VOD) and high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI).