Japanese TV portal to deploy STBs running Windows CE

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Aug. 01, 2007

A2i has announced a Windows CE-based set-top box (STB) that supports IPTV (Internet protocol television) and video-on-demand (VOD) features. The company currently expects at least 10,000 units of its "X-720" STB to be deployed by an unnamed "Japanese TV portal" service over the next 12 months.

The X-720 uses Sigma's SMP8634 streaming video SoC (system-on-chip), which among other things endows the X-720 with its stated HDMI support. Introduced in January of 2006, the SMP8634 SoC is clocked at 300 MHz.

A2i's X-720 IPTV and VOD set-top box
According to A2i, the X-720 supports high-definition (1080p) VOD via the RTSP, RTP, and IGMPv2 protocols. It displays Web pages via the included Internet Explorer 6.0 browser, and Macromedia Flash is also supported.

The device uses Windows CE 5.0 as its embedded software platform, according to the company. Microsoft began strongly targeting set-top box designers and manufacturers in April of 2006, with the release of a free "Networked Media Device Feature Pack" add-on for Windows CE 5.0. At the time, Microsoft said its new Windows CE 5.0 NMD (networked media device) support provided a DVR engine, networking capabilities, device drivers, and video codecs typically required to develop consumer NMDs IP-STBs.

Other specifications are said to include:

Processor -- 300MHz Sigma SMP8634 SoC
Memory -- 128MB RAM; 64MB video memory; 64MB flash storage
Networking -- 2 x 10/100 Ethernet
A/V ports:
- Audio:
  - RCA jack for analog audio
  - S/PDIF connector for digital output
- Video:
  - Composite video (NTSC/PAL)
  - S-Video
  - Component video
Other I/O ports:
- 1 x USB 2.0; 1 x USB 1.1
- IR remote control
- IR remote keyboard (optional)
Video decoding:
- MPEG-2 Main Profile @ High Level ( MP@HL)
- MPEG-4 part 10 Main Profile/ High Profile @ Level 4.1
- Microsoft VC1 MP@HL
- WMV9 Advanced Profile @ Level 3 (AP@L3)
Audio decoding:
- WMA-9
- WMA-9 Pro
- MPEG-1 layer I, II,
- MP3
- MPEG-2 layer II
- AAC
- MPEG-4 AAC LC-2 channel, 5.1 channel
Web browsing:
- HTML 4.01
- HTTP 1.1
- Javascript 1.5
- DHTML, CSS 1 & 2, XML
- Macromedia Flash 7.0
Dimensions -- 4.9 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches (194 x 162 x 38 mm)
Power -- 100 to 240 VAC, 50/60Hz

A2i did not disclose pricing for the X-720.

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