Product category:
Communications ICs (Wired)
News Release from: National Semiconductor
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 04 April 2002
Magnificent seven work on set-top box
Seven leading electronics and technology companies have formed a new company that will enable cable television system operators to deliver enhanced video on demand and interactive TV services.
Seven leading consumer electronics and technology companies have formed a new company in Japan, e-Box Corp, that will enable cable television system operators to deliver enhanced video on demand and interactive TV services to subscribers Based in Tokyo, the joint venture includes five publicly traded companies: Pioneer, Sharp, National Semiconductor, Sigma Designs and CMC Magnetics; and two privately held companies, iVAST and Modern VideoFilm
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 5 Jan 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Comcast Cable Communications is advising the joint venture partners on the technical requirements of the system and intends to conduct field trials of the new services early next year.
Targeting North American and Asia-Pacific cable operators, the joint venture partners will deliver a complete infrastructure that includes head-end equipment, system software, content-protection systems and digital set-top boxes to provide scheduled and on-demand MPEG-4-encoded content and interactive services.
"Our joint venture is a consortium of companies that have leading-edge products and services targeted towards the future of television entertainment", said Dr Masao Sugimoto, executive corporate engineering adviser of Pioneer.
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"By combining these capabilities, we have the ability to provide the industry with the technology and content it needs to bring fresh and exciting entertainment to subscribers".
The joint venture has developed a new digital cable solution, based on MPEG-4 technology, that enables exciting new services for consumers.
These new services include video-on-demand with the look and feel of interactive DVD, e-commerce, bandwidth-efficient delivery of high definition television, and high-capacity personal video recording (PVR).
The consortium's technology also provides stand-alone benefits for cable operators seeking an economical transition to next-generation entertainment services.
Most importantly, cable companies will not have to replace their existing digital cable infrastructure to take advantage of the compression efficiency, content protection and other enhanced capabilities of the consortium's new MPEG-4 system architecture.
"Comcast is continuously investigating new technologies that will enhance its service offering to customers", said Brad Dusto, chief technology officer of Comcast Cable.
"The consortium's approach of providing an end-to-end solution promises to provide us with a complete package to deliver new and exciting video services.
We are looking forward to working with the consortium to help define and test the new system".
Each member of the joint venture will provide products and services reflecting their area of expertise.
Pioneer and Sharp will contribute their knowledge of cable infrastructures, head-end equipment and digital set-top boxes to support the new system.
National Semiconductor will provide silicon processors for the advanced set-top boxes based on its Geode technology.
Sigma Designs will provide MPEG-4 decoder and video processing technologies for the advanced set-top boxes.
CMC Magnetics will provide manufacturing expertise for the design and development of head-end equipment and set-top boxes.
iVAST will provide the encoding, authoring, distribution, playback and system software for MPEG-4 based movie and video entertainment content with embedded interactive features.
Modern VideoFilm will provide postproduction services and MPEG-4 compression and authoring.
In addition, the company will provide the hub for the various 'movie on demand' and other MPEG-4 encoded entertainment content that will be offered by the new platform.
Comcast will provide technical support to define the architectural requirements and conduct field trials on the initial production systems early next year.
In addition to providing a complete system, the joint venture partners are consulting with several content providers, including some Hollywood studios and KCTS/Seattle Public Television.
Members of the joint venture will provide additional information about these and other initiatives at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association conference, 5th-8th May 2002, in New Orleans.
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