IP STB (internet protocol set-top box) specialist Softier is demonstrating a new Linux-based model at the IBC tradeshow this week in Amsterdam. The Wave-400 runs Linux on a Texas Instruments (TI) Davinci RISC/DSP chip, and can be customized using Javascript and other web technologies, Softier says.

Softier says its Wave-400 can be used to deliver such IPTV services as video-on-demand (VOD), personal video recording (PVR), placeshifting, two-way TV video communications, and PC media access, and that the device's versatility could enable operators to standardize on a single hardware platform for a range of services.

The Wave-400 is based on an unspecified chip in TI's “Davinci” line of dual-core RISC/DSP chips, the first of which shipped last December. Another IP STB based on Linux/Davinci, Visioneering's Sonata, shipped in June.

Wave-400 ports (Click to enlarge)

The Wave-400 design is intended to be customized by IPTV network operators and walled-garden service providers, using Softier's “Javascript for IP STB” (JSTB) API. The API is described as “well-defined,” “feature-rich,” and “hardware-independent,” and is backwards-compatible with that used in the Wave-300, Softier says.

The Wave-400 comes standard with an ANT fresco browser (other browsers optionally available), and supports user interface implementations in DHTML, Flash, or Java, Softier says.

Other touted features include:

• MPEG-2 [email protected] resolution up to 1080i
• Windows Media / VC1 support up to 720p
• AAC (MP4), MP1 layer 1&2, WMA audio and AC3 (optional)
• IGMP support for multicast services, RTSP for interactive video on demand services
• Softier's JSTB (Java Script for IP STB) and embedded browser for easy integration with leading middleware packages
• Optional Macromedia FLASH 6.0 support
• Composite and S-Video out, PAL and NTSC, 4:3 and 16:9 formats support
• Stereo Audio & Digital Audio via coaxial S/P-DIF
• USB 2.0 x 2 ports
• Remote boot and upgrade capability
• Embedded Web and TV-based user configuration tools
• Support for Internal 2.5'' HDD (80/ 120GB) for downloadable media and PVR
• Built-in support for WiFi add-in module based on TI's 802.11g technology

Haim Bechor, VP of marketing, stated, “The WAVE-400 is unique in its ability to support new services such as two-way video communications, time-shifting, and place-shifting.”

Softier's second-generation Wave-400 appears to have a more conventional design than the company's first-generation Wave-300. The Wave-300 also runs Linux, but does so on a standalone, single-core TI DSP processor.

Availability

Availability details were not supplied. Softier is demonstrating the Wave-400 at IBC this week.

 
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