Author: Shi Xiaoling, Pu Wenqing Market research firm IMSResearch announced earlier this year, total global sales of digital set-top boxes in 2004 to 5,080 million units in 2009 to reach 9,030 million. Overall prospects for digital TV set-top boxes generally optimistic, but specific to the country, the domestic set-top box developers are still the main satellite set-top boxes, cable set-top box yet to generalizable. According to CCID statistics, in 2004 the scale of China's digital cable TV users only 682 000.
Throughout the entire digital set-top box industry: bright prospects for cable set-top boxes, but the disappointing recent performance; satellite set-top box large total exports, the domestic market are limited; recently become a hot spot of the IP set-top box industry seem to have come from behind trend . Meanwhile, cable, satellite and IP set-top box development are of variable quality, including product feature definition, transmission standard, source coding standards, middleware selection, business development mode, the new semiconductor plan also continues to introduce new .... There is a big industry throughout the set-top boxes feature the dynamic development and uncertainty, grasp of product development trends and industry developments related to the development of China's set-top box manufacturers. The set-top box special report, we have interviewed STMicroelectronics (ST), Conexant, Broadcom, SMIC joint, Hangzhou, China Core set-top box solutions provider at home and abroad, several technical experts, who together from different perspectives s set-top box industry, development status and future trends for the future development of China's set-top box developers pulse.
Cable set-top box development to the poles
Cable set-top box from the first purely digital TV signal reception to include HTML browsers and conditional access features such as more changes. However, business models and the status of the set-top box industry constraints, the current domestic set-top box products in the functional development, service provision and so on behind the foreign, but in general a difference to the entry-level and high-end multi-functional characteristics of the development trend of the polarization. On the one hand, the Government has driven the overall shift will greatly promote the development of entry-level set-top boxes, such products have a basic receiver, the electronic program guide (EPG), some also with conditional access functionality, machine costs less than 500 yuan. On the other hand, cable operators and profit from the business to consider, I hope with more set-top box products with value-added services. STMicroelectronics multimedia set-top box business in China Business Unit Marketing Manager Ching-Hua Yeh said that from the operator point of view, they want to use high-end programs, lack of market opportunities for low-end program.
Figure 1: The set-top box is from a simple digital TV reception to a more high-end application development
The perspective of the development the high-end set-top boxes, functional integration is the main trend, including personal video recorder (PVR), multi-tuner capabilities such as hardware-based middleware and application integration, and software-based value-added business development. Conexant's Broadband Media Processing business JeffCrosby vice president, said only television set-top boxes are from low-end products to the rapid development of multi-direction, while the push factor is the HDTV and PVR. PVR functionality in the application of more abroad, but because of the need by large-capacity hard disk storage and dual front-end design and high performance system solutions and lead to higher machine costs, other programs are also a major source of the limited constraints.
1. High-end applications Support high-definition digital TV reception will be the basic requirements for high-end cable set-top boxes. HD set-top boxes currently the main market in the United States and Australia, China export companies to address these market-based, high-definition set-top boxes in China has not yet started, its development prospects depend on the popularity of HDTV in China, as well as a rich source of HD programming. Currently, Conexant, ST and other mainstream providers have a complete high definition system solution, such programs often have powerful processing capabilities and system scalability. To ST's new STi7100, for example, the video decoder chip hardware and software integration architecture, and support systems can be upgraded on site, and to support future new standards.
To allow users of the existing low-cost set-top boxes to easily add new peripherals to get the new additional features, set-top boxes need to have the USB physical interface to an external hard drive to achieve PVR functionality, or with digital cameras, memory cards connection, to achieve photo viewing and printing. According to ST's Ching-Hua Yeh, currently set-top box developer in Hangzhou, has this request, and almost all of ST's latest program to support USB interface, such as ST for the next few years, the mainstream high-end cable set-top box program STi5100. However, ST PVR functionality to support high-definition set-top box program with a serial ATA (SATA) interfaces, mainly due to the Serial ATA high-speed data transmission, the first generation Serial ATA transfer rate reached 150MBps, while the second and third-generation series ATA-line speed will reach 300MBps and 600MBps. Broadcom's latest set-top box program also integrates Serial ATA interfaces.
For high-end set-top boxes based on middleware development, a number of programs to meet the system processing speed and low power consumption required to support the DDR memory interface, such as the STi5510. Set-top box usually takes a long time is switched on and standby, low power consumption is also a focus on the new program.
2. PVR functionality integration Conexant's Crosby believes that the combination of set-top boxes and DVD trend is not obvious that the major factor is that he is currently the transition to HDTV, and HD-DVD and Blu-ray standard is not clear competition between. In addition, the user's spending habits is also a product development decision-making such an important consideration. In fact, some developers had introduced products like TV + DVD and not the user's response, and PVR functionality integration solution provider has become the consensus of the mainstream.
Although the domestic set-top box + PVR has not been the concern of developers, but in Europe and America STB + PVR has become a standard and high definition television applications, a fast-growing market. According to In-Stat/MDR survey, in 2004 sold in the U.S. digital cable set-top boxes, each a five set-top box with PVR functionality there. Set-top box products, Broadcom senior marketing manager NicholasDunn that are obviously set-top box with PVR functionality to the trend, PVR functionality to provide users with real programming experience to watch and record programs, Broadcom introduced to support this series of two-decoding solution DVR program. Such programs usually require a powerful CPU processing power to support multi-channel decoding and advanced access I am Mp3 Player Manufacturers writer, reports some information about receipt paper roll , thermal pos paper.
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