Microsoft Garners Support For Its IPTV platform

Microsoft came to the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) with a novel media processor co-designed with Sigma Designs and targeted at IPTV applications, as well as a host of set top

September 12, 2005

2 Min Read
NetworkComputing logo in a gray background | NetworkComputing

AMSTERDAM — Microsoft came to the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) with a novel media processor co-designed with Sigma Designs and targeted at IPTV applications, as well as a host of set top box offerings.

Microsoft said it is working with many other semiconductor suppliers to introduce a range of SOC products to support its efforts in IPTV.

The SoC processor, dubbed SMP8634 , extends the processing functionality of Sigma Design's open standards-based SMP series of media processors to deliver the full power of Microsoft's TV platform.

The device can handle multiple channels of high-definition (HD) video and on-screen graphics, multimedia processing, powerful content security, and support for peripherals such as USB 2.0, IDE, Ethernet and HDMI.

There is also support for the VC-1 and H.264 (MPEG-4) video codecs, which the company says can further reduce development costs for set-top box manufacturers.The processor can be embedded inside a range of consumer electronic devices , including set-top boxes, digital video disc players and gaming consoles.

At the IBC, Scientific-Atlanta is demonstrating a set top box incorporating the Sigma Design processor.

The SMP8634's decoder engines support video decoding of H.264 (MPEG-4 part 10), Windows Media Video 9 (Microsoft's implementation of VC-1, the proposed SMPTE standard), MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (part 2) with multiple streams, up to the equivalent of two high-definition video streams.

At the show, which opened Friday (Sept 9), set-top box manufacturers Linksys-KiSS, Motorola Inc., Scientific-Atlanta Inc., Tatung Co. and The Thomson Corp. confirmed support for the Microsoft TV platform with a range of set top boxes.

For instance , Scientific-Atlanta said it would support the Microsoft IPTV suite in a range of boxes under development , targeting both the U.S. NTSC market and the European PAL format.Network operators including British Telecom, Swisscom AG and SBC Communications Inc. welcomed Microsoft's announcements as a much-needed development to help support their IPTV strategies.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Stay informed! Sign up to get expert advice and insight delivered direct to your inbox

You May Also Like


More Insights