<title>Architecture trends of MPEG decoders for set-top box</title>

Abstract

Since its introduction as a consumer product in 1994, the digital set-top box has experienced rapid growth and is predicted to grow at an even stronger rate through the end of this decade. In just the past three years, the architecture of the MPEG decoders have experienced several changes. Initially the audio and video decoder were separate chips, but recently they have been integrated onto a single chip along with the transport, encryption, and user interface functions of the set-top box. In addition to a higher level of integration, the system memory requirements have been reduced and more features for the end user have been added. In the future, the remainder of the digital functions in the set-top box will be integrated onto a single chip. To be successful in providing a cost effect solution, a mixture of hardware and software modules will be needed to provide the appropriate amount of flexibility and the smallest implementation. The hardware/software partitioning will change with each technology node until a fully programmable implementation becomes the most cost effective solution.