General Instrument and Sony Confirm Strategic Alliance to Jointly Develop
Advanced Set-Top Terminal Capabilities for Home Networking
GI Will License Sony's Home Networking Software Module and Aperios OS;
Sony Will Purchase 7.5 Million Shares of GI
ANAHEIM, Calif., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- General Instrument Corporation
(NYSE: GIC) and Sony (NYSE: SNE) today announced that definitive agreements
have been reached to form a strategic alliance for the integration of Sony's
home entertainment network technology with General Instrument's advanced
digital set-top terminals and systems. The two companies agreed to
collaborate to enable the use of Sony's Home Networking Module middleware and
Aperios real-time operating system as a preferred multimedia delivery system
using GI's digital cable set-top terminals.
Specifically, GI will license Sony's Home Networking Module middleware and
Aperios operating system for use in DCT-5000+ advanced digital set-top
terminals that GI will offer to cable operators. Additionally, GI will
promote Sony's Home Networking Module as a preferred implementation of a home
network architecture using the i.LINK (IEEE1394) digital interface.
The companies also confirmed that Sony Corporation of America will
purchase 7.5 million new shares of GI's common stock at a total price of
$187.5 million, pursuant to a joint announcement made earlier this year. The
stock purchase is subject to customary closing conditions.
"Sony values GI's role as the leading technology and equipment provider
for the cable TV industry, and its experience in digital television," said
Gary Myer, Co-President of Digital Network Solutions of America, a division of
Sony Electronics. "Our strategic alliance will enable additional new service
and revenue opportunities for cable operators, while ensuring consumers a
smooth transition into the era of digital broadcasting."
In May, Sony and GI jointly demonstrated a prototype DCT-5000+ advanced
digital set-top terminal equipped with Sony's Aperios real-time operating
system and Home Networking Module middleware at the National Cable Television
Association (NCTA) Cable '98 convention in Atlanta. The demonstration
illustrated a variety of exciting home network applications, such as
high-speed Internet access, smooth video telephony, and an integrated user
interface that allows for easy inter-control of multiple digital AV
electronics appliances.
"By marrying the best software technology available for home networking
with the extensive capabilities of our DCT-5000+ set-top terminal and
associated interactive digital broadband cable delivery system, we are able to
quickly extend the power of digital systems for the benefit of both network
operators and consumers," said Dave Robinson, Senior Vice President and
General Manager, Digital Network Systems for General Instrument.
"Incorporating Sony's home networking technologies in our products allows us
to offer cable operators a simple way to pass high-definition TV signals to
their customers, and provides a powerful platform that opens the door to a
whole new world of digital-based interactive services."
Sony's Home Networking Module is middleware (the software that runs
between an operating system and application software) that allows digital
electronic devices equipped with the i.LINK (IEEE1394) digital interface to be
interconnected and interoperated. The i.LINK interface allows devices to send
and receive digital commands and digital AV streams, such as video or audio,
at up to 400Mbps (Megabits per second).
Aperios is a real-time operating system that Sony developed to support the
requirements of digital AV products, such as advanced digital set-top devices.
Because it can process continuous streams of audio and video content
efficiently and without interruption, Aperios is especially well-suited for
real-time applications. By virtue of its modular, object-oriented structure,
Aperios is a highly configurable and scalable real-time operating system that
can be used in a broad range of digital AV products.
GI's DCT-5000+ interactive digital terminal will deliver an unprecedented
level of processing and networking capabilities to the home's TV set-top
space. The terminal is built around a high-powered 175 MHz RISC processor and
high-end 3D and picture-in-graphics capable platform and leverages a built-in
DOCSIS-compliant cable modem for high-speed two-way networking capability.
The DCT-5000+'s unique triple tuner architecture will enable consumers to
simultaneously watch TV and surf the Internet or watch TV and talk on a phone
using cable IP telephony functionality. |
