Q. How will high-performance, multifunction set top boxes change the digital home?
In the near future, consumers will benefit from ‘3C’ integration – computing, communications
and consumer electronics – in a single home network. ASUS provides ODM services
and is committed to helping its customers meet the demands for new media and interactive
services.
Our ODM IP-STB hardware platforms include IP and hybrid digital set top boxes, which
are evolving rapidly from single-function to multi-function devices. We believe
that higher processing performance is becoming essential, because it will make it
possible for consumers to enjoy multimedia services any time and anywhere throughout
their home. In this context we are talking about new services that cannot be accessed
using a traditional single-function set top box, not just video, but also video
phone, karaoke, T-commerce and online games.
The next generation of set top box devices will also support personal video recording
(PVR) functionality, and some configurations may be designed to function as a media
server over a home network.
Q. As you evaluate a set top box solution, what capabilities do you look for?
You need to look at the forces that are shaping each geographic market segment.
In Taiwan for example, consumers have access to low cost TV and video through cable
providers. Driving market growth and attracting new subscribers here will require
IPTV providers to deliver more compelling interactive services, such as karaoke
and music on demand, in addition to voice over IP and home video conferencing.
ASUS is supplying set top boxes based on the Intel® CE 2110 Media Processor for
deployment in Taiwan. The 1GHz processor core will enable service providers to add
new services down the wire in the future without having to replacing the set top
boxes.
One of the most important capabilities in the set top box will be processing performance
that can scale to meet the requirements of advanced applications and support new
services, such as voice over IP, video phone and online gaming. Games in particular
will require a powerful graphics engine to provide the quality that today’s consumers
expect.
Quality user experiences are extremely important in the digital home, especially
when service providers are making so many new choices available. As service choices
multiply, the set top box must remain easy to use, and this requires a more sophisticated
graphical user interface. This kind of GUI requires a fast CPU and a powerful graphics
engine, and that is what we get with the Intel CE 2110 Media Processor.
Another important factor is the ability to easily add new software upgrades. IPTV
is new, and service providers are still learning what consumers want. What this
tells us is that platform scalability and advanced middleware will be needed to
support a variety of service offerings. Developing and deploying new services in
software will be extremely important, because it will help service providers upgrade
service packages without replacing the box.
Q. What makes the Intel CE 2110 Media Processor platform stand apart?
At ASUS we have experience with many SoC (system-on-a-chip) set top box solutions.
The upper-end performance for these devices is in the 300 MHz range, which allows
you to support defined functionality and only a basic user interface.
Intel’s platform solution, by comparison, is designed to be a multifunction device,
and in this respect, it stands apart from traditional set top boxes. The Intel CE
2110 Media Processor is capable of 1 GHz processing performance. This level of performance
is essential for supporting advanced applications, and providing the headroom for
future applications. The bottom line with the Intel CE 2110 Media Processor is that
we can use it to bring much more value to our customers.
The 3D graphics engine is also quite important, because it supports a more sophisticated
user interface, and also because it will enable our customers to integrate additional
services, such as Java-based games.
The Intel platform also provides us with an ideal solution for a device verified
with Intel® Viiv™ technology-verified devices, which will enable consumers to view personal media
stored on a PC from the comfort of their living room.
Q. How can the Intel CE platform help ASUS meet the system integration challenges you face in different parts of the world?
ASUS is a global company, and one of the strengths of the Intel platform is that
it eases the integration of appropriate functionality to meet the needs of service
providers and their subscribers in different regions. We can use the baseline platform
to support multiple device configurations, such as adding PVR functionality or supporting
the right networking protocols. The Intel platform provides interfaces that ease
this integration effort.
Intel also provides a platform that is ideal for both a pure IP set top box and
a hybrid IP/terrestrial broadcast set top box. Terrestrial digital broadcast capability
(DVB-T) is mandatory in Europe.
Home networking will grow in popularity worldwide, and the set top box can serve
as a gateway device. The platform needs the flexibility to support multiple technologies.
HomePNA*, Multimedia over Coax (MoCA)*, HomePlug AV* and of course Wi-Fi are some
of the home networking standards we are now looking at.
Q. How would you describe the ASUS digital home vision? What are the benefits of working with Intel?
The ASUS 3C vision is the integration of computing, communications and consumer
electronics over home networks. The Intel CE 2110 Media processor plays an important
role by enabling the integration of new IP broadband-based services into the set
top box and facilitating interoperability over home networks.
Intel also provides support for consumer electronics interoperability standards
and solutions from a large ecosystem of vendors that are helping ASUS make the 3C
vision a reality.