NTT Plala plans Android-capable IPTV set-tops

Japanese IPTV service provider NTT Plala is depending on STMicroelectronics' system on a chip (SoC) technology to serve as the foundation for a new generation of hybrid broadcast/Internet set-top boxes that will allow users to tap into Android-based apps.

Sumitomo Electric Networks is developing a box that integrates a dedicated real-time multimedia processor, multi-standard video decoding engines and high performance video encoding along with support for HDTV and 3DTV standards, a Rapid TV News story reported. The technology-rich box will also have a security engine that supports the most recent conditional access specs and DRM for IPTV, OTT and multiscreen, multi-room services with Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA).

Linux, Android Ice Cream Sandwich and HTML5 form a middleware platform that STM said allows the boxes to run on the Android OS and connect to mobile ecosystems outside the normal IPTV parameters.

"The common STB platform middleware allows our customers to choose the SoC that is best suited for the strategic positioning and expected use-case of the STB since our solution is independent of the architecture of the SoC while providing the APIs that allow Android, native Linux and HTML5 applications the secure access to the hardware engines and optimized usage of the multi-core," said Hiroaki Nishimoto, director and co-CTO of Sumitomo Electric Networks in a story reported by CED Magazine.

It's all part of a plan to enhance NTT Plala's IPTV service, said Kasumi Nagata, the company's board director, executive director, technology and engineering division.

"By offering new smart TV STBs we enhance user interface operability and deliver triple tuner functionality," Nagata said in the Rapid TV News story. "By supporting Japan's first cloud game, called Hikari TV Game, and various applications called Hikari TV Apps. We are offering more convenient smart TV services that perfectly fit the lifestyle of our customers."

For more:
- Rapid TV News has this story
- and CED Magazine has this story

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