Digital TV & STB development Promwad

DTV & STB tech

Set-top box & Digital TV dev process highlights

The STB is a device capable to receive video content via DVB standard and display it on TV. The development of IP networks and broadband/ADSL made possible to deliver a high-quality video content through IPTV set-top boxes.

Here we describe the main aspects of hardware development in STB & Digital TV area. We'll focus on DTV standards, STB classification, and the overview of SoC manufacturers for STB.

STB classification

All set-top boxes can be divided into four major groups depending on source of digital TV signal:

  • STB for terrestrial digital video broadcast (DVB-T)
  • STB for satellite digital video broadcast (DVB-S)
  • STB for cable digital video broadcast (DVB-C)
  • IPTV set-top boxes receiving video streams via IP network (Ethernet or Wi-Fi)

Set-top boxes with MPEG-2 transport stream support are quite widespread in Europe and USA. Usually, STB consists of:

stb classification Promwad
Consulting

Frontend with tuner and DVB demodulator. There is also Digital Satellite Equipment Control (DiSEqC) module in case of satellite antenna setup

Design of a custom-made enclosure

Demuxer filters incoming DVB stream and splits a transport stream into video and audio parts. Transport stream can contain some special streams like teletext or subtitles

Design of a custom-made enclosure

Conditional Access (CA) module or smartcard slot performs real-time decoding of encrypted transport stream

Design of a custom-made enclosure

Separated video and audio streams are directed to corresponding decoders

Digital TV standards

DVB-S

digital video broadcast by satellite

DVB-S2

digital video broadcast by satellite, standard updated in 2004

DVB-SH

digital video broadcast by satellite for portable and mobile devices

DVB-C

digital video broadcast by cable

DVB-T

digital video broadcast, terrestrial television

DVB-T2

digital video broadcast, terrestrial television, standard updated in 2008

DVB-H

digital video broadcast, terrestrial television for mobile devices

Overview of processor manufacturers for STB

Being oriented to the mass-production consumer electronics, STB chipset manufacturers are forced to integrate more peripherals in a chip and to produce lower cost single chip solutions for BOM reduction and cutting price of a final STB device. 

Usually, the chip inside STB consists of 3 or more cores: a general purpose application processor and additional DSP-like cores dedicated to audio and video decoding. Let's give a short overview of major semiconductor companies which produce processors (system-on-chip) for set-top boxes:

ST
STMicroelectronics
ST is a top semiconductor player for STB chipsets. Currently the company's portfolio has the following processors: STi5100, STi5188, STi5105, STi5200, STi5205, STi5300, STi5516, STi5517, STi7141, STi7101, STi7105, STi7108, STi7167, STi7710, STi7200. There are many development kits from vendor with Linux, WinCE and custom RTOS support – OS21 and additional software components named OSPlus.
NXP
NXP Semiconductors
This Dutch chipmaker company become an active player in STB chipsets (especially for DVB-T) after acquisition of STB business from Connexant. However, in October of 2009, NXP refocused on automotive IC business and sold its set-top box and digital TV assets to USA based Trident Microsystems. Products are: Nexperia PNX8735 (low cost HD set-top-box decoder) & Nexperia PNX8732 (low cost SD set-top-box decoder).
Broadcom
Broadcom
Broadcom is a middle cost processors vendor for IPTV set-top boxes with a wide range of solutions: CM7038 Dual High Definition Digital Video System-on-Chip Solution for Cable, Satellite and DTV; BCM7043, BCM7118, BCM7309, BCM7400, BCM7403, BCM7404, BCM7405, BCM7410, BCM7420, BCM7452, etc.
Sigma Designs
Sigma Designs
Sigma Designs — middle cost processors for IPTV set-top boxes with the following solutions: EM8620L family, SMP8630 family, SMP8640 and SMP8650 families.
NationalChip
NationalChip
NationalChip – a strong player on the Chinese and Asian markets, which has a set-top box IC portfolio for standard definition and MPEG2 video decoding: GX1xxx – demodulator IC series (DVB-T, DVB-S, DVB-C, DTMB+DVB-C, ABS-C): GX3xxx, GX2xxx – video post-processing and MPEG2 decoder IC series; and GX6xxx – demodulator, video post processing, MPEG2 decoder System-on-Chip series.
ALi
ALi Corporation
This is another Asian manufacturer with the solutions: M3501 – DVB-S/DVB-S2 demodulator IC; M3602 – HD, MPEG-2, H.264 set-top box SoC; and M3381 – SD, MPEG-2, H.264 set-top box SoC.
Ivan Kuten Promwad

"Promwad quickly deploys an effective team of engineers of diverse qualifications, which allows us to provide top-notch services, offering the best solution in the market. By leveraging our expertise and long-term partnerships with vendors, we also help our clients find resources, thus providing expert consulting."

— Ivan Kuten, Co-owner & Tech Expert at Promwad

 

Our case studies in Digital TV and Online Video

 

Remote Control App

Smart TV Remote Control: iOS & Android Apps A cross-platform mobile app built on React Native, enabling users to control their smart TVs remotely.

Sportworld SmartTV

Sportworld SmartTV Application DevelopmentThrough our client NativeWaves, B1 SmartTV has been updated with a new version of the Sportworld application.

Video Conferencing App

Video Conferencing Apps DevelopmentWe developed a new software product that empowers users with a convenient and effective tool for video conferences with picture-in-picture feature via their TVs and smartphones.

Mobile App for TV Streaming

A Cross-Platform Mobile App for TV Streaming We developed a cross-platform mobile TV application with the requested features and improved video quality.

TV Solution for Hospitality

TV Solution for HospitalityWe developed an exclusive TV solution integrated with hotel PMS to create a comfortable and personalised digital space.

Bi-directional Quad Link 2SI/SQD Development

Bi-directional Quad Link 2SI/SQD DevelopmentWe designed a compact FPGA-based solution for the professional real-time exchange of high-definition signals.

Sim Racing Device

Sim Racing Firmware DevelopmentWe developed firmware and a new SDK for a button plate, wheelbase, and pedals.

SDK Flutter Porting to Set-Top Boxes for Android TV AppsWe tested the concept and ported the Flutter framework to the RDK platform. The result is a working app with a quality frame rate on Flutter on the target device.

Smart Player Based on ARM BoardWe designed a smart player for commercial use to play audio and video streams from an internet server via Ethernet.

SmartTV app development with brand catalogueWe developed a new version of application and system administration panel, built an updated app from scratch, based on the Tizen OS.

Android-based TV with AMLogic SoC

Android-based TV for Digital Signage We helped Vestel Electronics design a new product based on a SoC by AMLogic, an industry-leading vendor in the multimedia domain

Sport Club App for Smart TV: Tizen, WebOS & Android TV We've developed an application for Smart TV with live streaming, VOD, and voice control support

Smart TV app for Tizen Samsung & WebOS LG TV We've developed an IPTV application with the TimeShifting, EPG, PVR, and pause/rewind features

Embedded UI customization for a set-top box We've created a software framework that allows the customer to change the user interface with minimal efforts

IPTV delivery: Android and iOS apps with multi-screen We've developed mobile apps for Android/iOS with multi-screen support, which connects 5 devices to 1 account

AI application for set-top box: searching and buying products from video streaming

Shoppable video: AI-based app for STB & Smart TV We've developed and installed on STBs the first AI application for searching and buying clothes directly from the video stream

DVB-T STB: : HW & SW development We have developed a digital TV set-top box (STB) with support for DVB-T (MPEG-2/4) and terrestrial digital broadcasting

promwad have designed a digital IPTV STB with DVB-T and DVB-S/S2 support, based on the SMP8654 processor by SigmaDesigns

Digital IPTV STB with DVB-T/S/S2 supportWe have designed a digital IPTV STB with DVB-T and DVB-S/S2 support, based on the SMP8654 processor by SigmaDesigns

IPTV set-top box design for SmartLabs We have developed a range of IPTV set-top boxes, ensured license coverage for all the proprietary coding standards for audio and video
Smart home multimedia controller

Smart house controller (HDMI-CEC) for a Swiss company We have designed the HDMI-CEC controller to manage a home multimedia complex: cinema, tuner, VCR and other devices

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