IBC 2007 (Stand 1.411)
Thomson is launching two new decoder chips for set-top-boxes, both include support for pvr recording and homenetworks. The cost-effective Thomson 4221 decodes MPEG2 standard definition (SD) streams, while the Thomson 4230 chip provides HD decoding for H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, and DivX(R) codecs, as well as standard definition (SD) streams.
Both offers dual USB 2.0 and Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) interfaces, with the 4221 featuring a single ethernet port and the 4230 sporting two of these networking ports, enabling delivery of multimedia content across the home network to local or shared storage devices.
The Thomson 4230 is able to output HD and SD video simultaneously, providing flexible connectivity. The Thomson 4230 supports the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) output as well as video content protection applications including Macrovision and Dwight Cavendish.
Both chips are, according to Thomson, optimized for Personal Video Recording (PVR) applications including satellite, IP and cable set-top boxes, with the more powerful HD chip set to lead the market.
“With the ability to implement a secure video processor (SVP) for the satellite, cable pay-per-view and broadcast markets, we expect the Thomson 4230 to lead the market,” said Marc Crosnier, worldwide sales manager of Thomson Silicon Components. “Thomson’s goal is always to innovate, and with this solution, we’ll meet the demand of customers striving to accommodate the growing high-definition market”.
Thomson will also present some of the results of its research programmes, both in the form op papers presented at the conference as well as demo’s at its booth. Most demo’s focus on technology to adapt content for delivery on a variety of mediaplatforms. Thomson’s Content Preparation Library (CPL) software module streamlines the formatting and organization of AV multimedia content for use in various applications including digital asset management, content editing, content publication and search engines.
Also demonstrating reframing and adapting video to fit on a variety of screen sizes. Thomson’s Automatic Vision Modeling (AVM) – Video Pointing technology enables new video processing applications to deliver a high-quality viewing experience from large to small screens. This includes a real-time reframing application that provides automatic adaptation of the size, aspect ratio and focus of the content to the size of the display. And the vendor’s latest Scalable Video Coding (SVC) technology implementation enables real-time SVC encoding for the delivery of live IPTV and on-demand video services to fixed and mobile devices, demonstrating the new standard is ready for deployment and use.
Thomson’s Graphic Video Processing (GVP) demonstration presents a novel-like video stylization method, designed to both save bandwidth and ensure consistent visual quality. It is flexible enough to support both real-time animated broadcasting and efficient animated video editing for content providers.
Thomson’s Mobile Interactive Service Enabler, a framework for accurately synchronizing video with interactive mobile applications, allows mobile operators to manage interactive links that personalize customers’ mobile video consumption.
The Robust Filecasting technology for mobile TV is to offer efficient error correction, providing a high quality video file delivery service to mobile terminals.