NEC Unveils Digital TV Set Top Box On A Chip
Martyn Williams, Newsbytes
06/08/98
Newsbytes News Network
(c) Copyright 1998 Post-Newsweek Business Information, Inc. All rights reserved.
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1998 JUN 8 (NB). NEC Corporation [TOKYO:6701] and NEC Electronics (UK) Ltd. have unveiled a new system-on-chip package for digital TV set top boxes. The chip contains all core components required to decode an MPEG -2 stream and present it for display and promises cheaper digital TV devices.
The chip was designed at NEC's Multimedia Application Center (MMAC) in the United Kingdom and will save set top box manufacturers money by requiring a minimum of additional components. The uPD61030 needs just memory, an appropriate 'front-end' and interface components.
In addition to decoding the digital TV stream, the chip is also capable of generating the graphics associated with electronic program guides and the other interactive applications that digital television is expected to provide.
Built into the chip is a 64-bit NEC VR4110 microprocessor, capable of 100MIPS (million instructions per second), MIPS16 support, an MPEG -2 transport stream demultiplexer, an MPEG audio/video decoder and a graphics engine. Peripheral support functions include smart card interfaces, IEEE1284, parallel port, I2C interfaces and UARTS.
Reported By Newsbytes News Network: newsbytes.com
06:01 CST
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