Daewoo introduces video-on-demand products meeting DAVIC standards.....
I wonder how many CUBE codecs they'll want?
koreaherald.co.kr
08-23-97 : Daewoo Develops 1st VOD System on DAVIC Standards
By Yu Kun-ha Staff reporter
Daewoo Electronics yesterday demonstrated an interactive multimedia system capable of offering video on demand
(VOD), telemedicine, home shopping, distance learning, videoconferencing and many other services. The system,
developed independently by Daewoo, is the world's first integrated interactive multimedia system based on DAVIC
(Digital Audio-Video Council), international standards for multimedia systems. DAVIC standards consist of a wide
array of audio and video specifications, including those of the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group), ATM
(aynchronous transfer mode) Forum and ITU (International Telecommunication Union).
Daewoo officials said the world's major broadcasting and information technology (IT) companies have been competing
to develop interactive multimedia systems that meet DAVIC standards. ``We are very proud to say that we are the first
in the world to come up with such a system, which we have dubbed Genie,'' said Lee Gyu-taek, a senior research
engineer of the company's Advanced Technology Lab who has led the development project.
Lee said that, as far as he knows, Japan's Fujitsu and the Netherlands' Philips are close to developing similar systems
conforming to DAVIC specifications. ``Who will be the first among the three will be determined, I think, at the Telecom
Interactive '97 in Geneva, the world's largest multimedia exhibition scheduled for September,'' Lee said. Daewoo is the
only Korean firm scheduled to participate in the show. Many IT firms around the world have so far, turned out VOD
systems, Lee added. But the main problem with these systems is that they do not fully conform with DAVIC standards
and, as a result, are neither interoperable nor interconnectable.
``Daewoo's Genie has resolved this problem. As an integrated system, it offers a total solution. At the same time, as the
system's individual components are all consistent with DAVIC, they can be used for other systems as well, as long as
they run on DAVIC standards,'' Lee said. The company has developed, among other things, a program for the server
computer which lies at the heart of an interactive multimedia system. Named the Service Provider System, the program
is platform-independent, that is, it can run on any type of server computer as it fully supports DAVIC standards.
Daewoo also developed set-top boxes, called Home Entertainment Terminals, which users connect with their TVs to
enjoy multimedia services. ``These set-top boxes are compatible with VOD systems developed by other firms only if
they are based on DAVIC standards,'' Lee said. Users can order multimedia services through their PCs when they
install an application software, dubbed PC Client.
The company has also developed a network management systems to be used by telecom operators who bring
multimedia services to subscribers. Lee said Korea Telecom (KT), which has been experimenting with VOD services
for years, has already decided to purchase the network management software, called Session & Resource Manager.
``KT's interest in our Genie system stems from the fact that it is founded on DAVIC and, hence, is interoperable with
other systems,'' Lee said.
Daewoo's Genie system also includes a billing system which is indispensable to service providers. This programs is
called Subscriber Management System. Lee said Genie can be connected to either the PSTN (public switched
telephone networks), cable TV networks or optical cable lines. It also supports the ATM mode, enabling the
high-speed transmission of multimedia signals.
According to Daewoo, it took two years and eight months for Lee and his team of 20 researchers to develop Genie.
Lee said his company has applied for over 300 domestic and foreign patents for technologies developed by his team.
By 2000, Daewoo plans to invest 200 billion won into R&D and commercial production of the interactive multimedia
system. The company expects international demand for multimedia services and equipment to explode in years to come.
The American market for set-op boxes alone is estimated to reach $6 billion by 2000. |
