USDTV to release new set-top boxes
April 26th, 2006Digital pay-TV service USDTV will offer new set-top boxes to support its new channel offerings and video-on-demand (VOD), and its consequent move to MPEG-4 compression. (As mentioned earlier, current customers can keep their existing receivers.)
The second-generation box features a new system-on-a-chip media processor from Sigma Design, and “the latest high performance 8-VSB DTV demodulator from ATI,” according to USDTV’s announcement. USDTV transmits its programming over the air using digital TV broadcast spectrum leased from local television stations. As digital TV’s early adopters in the U.S. have found, reception can be difficult or fragile in certain areas. The announcement makes note of “better reception” capabilities of the new receivers, which “will enable USDTV to target a larger geographic base.”
A base model is to be released this fall. The premium version, due in early 2007, features a 250-gigabyte hard drive (with storage available for DVR use and VOD programming). The box can function as “a portability base for mobile content devices,” according to USDTV.
• Link: press release