OKI, Intel and Huashu Jointly Develop Next Generation Hybrid STB
High Definition STB Includes the Intel® CE 2110 Media Processor
OKI's Next Generation Hybrid STB
TOKYO, March 21, 2008 -- Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (TSE: 6703), Intel K.K. and Huashu Digital TV Co., Ltd., a leading cable TV company in China, have announced that the three companies have jointly developed a Next Generation Hybrid Set Top Box (STB) to serve the digital home market segment in China.
The digital STB platform design reflects Huashu's experience as a developer of value-added services in China and is based on OKI's leading video processing technologies and the Intel CE 2110 media processor. The hybrid platform is designed to let TV viewers enjoy high-definition television broadcasts, video-on-demand and future valued-added services such as 3D graphics.
"The convergence of broadcasting and communication will create a new digital home market," said Keizo Ikeda, President of Media-network Appliance Company at OKI. "OKI believes the Next Generation Hybrid STB will enable subscribers to leverage value-added services and help telecom carriers improve their profitability. From an early stage, OKI has provided IPTV STBs to a major telecom carrier in Japan. With this track record and with our advanced technologies, OKI's ultimate aim is to contribute to China's digital development."
The number of digital TV subscribers in China reached 23.64 million households in Nov. 2007, representing 24.3 percent of the China's total households subscribed to CATV, and an 81.3 percent increase from the previous year.
(Source: Industrial Development and Digital Broadcast Research Center)
With the coming 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and Shanghai World Expo in 2010, the number of high-definition broadcast channels is expected to increase. The digitalization of cable TVs and the spread of IPTV are expected to drive the convergence of broadcast and telecommunications-based video services with resulting growth in the STB market segment.
To accelerate the adoption of digital TV technology, telecom carriers in China have provided low-end set top boxes to their subscribers at no cost. These devices have limited the ability of subscribers to access value-added services, and free STB distribution has made it difficult for carriers to increase their profitability.
"With the coming digital home era, Huashu has been looking for a platform to enable carriers to promote home digitalization, enhance network intelligence, meet the needs of multiple home applications", said Zhou Hong, Vice General Manger at Huashu Digital TV. "The Next Generation Hybrid STB, jointly developed by OKI, Intel and Huashu, is a perfect solution for such a platform, and with it, we aim to provide new value-added services to our subscribers while improving our average revenue per user."
The Next Generation Hybrid STB, which can be used for both digital video broadcasting (DVB) and IPTV, supports HDTV decoders including MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and H.264. The platform uses the high-performance Intel CE 2110 media processor which includes a 2D/3D graphic accelerator and supports applications including a Flash player, Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and a browser.
The Next Generation Hybrid STB will be shown at OKI's booth at the 16th China Content and Broadcasting Network (CCBN2008) to be held in Beijing from March 21 to 23.
About Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
Founded in 1881, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. is Japan's first telecommunications manufacturer, with its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. OKI provides top-quality products, technologies and solutions to its customers through its info-telecom system business, semiconductor business and printer business. All three businesses function as a collective force to create exciting new products and technologies that satisfy a spectrum of customer needs in various markets. Visit OKI's global web site at http://www.oki.com/.
About Intel
Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom/ and blogs.intel.com.
About Huashu Digital TV Co., Ltd.
Huashu Digital TV is a leading cable TV provider, headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, actively promoting cable TV digitalization. It focuses on the country's development through digitalization and has provided two-way digital services, value-added services and digital information services within the country. It contributes as a pioneer in developing the digital TV industry in China by increasing the number of highly value-added service subscribers.
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