Tipping point [digital TV set top boxes

Abstract

Programmable devices are beginning to appear in digital set-top boxes as a response to the changing demands for codecs. The sheer speed needed for digital TV processing has meant that, up to now, hardwired silicon has been essential to meet both cost and performance targets. However, as process geometries shrink, the cost difference between fixed function and programmable devices reduce, and some chip makers are predicting cost parity in areas such as digital set top boxes over the next year, forcing a shift in the market from fixed-function to programmable set-top box chips. Companies such as Texas Instruments and Equator Technologies point to modems and mobile phones as areas where fixed function has been replaced by programmable devices, but, while some box makers are adopting this approach and have produced competitive boxes, particularly for Internet protocol television (IPTV), the large box makers remain unconvinced that they can meet the cost targets.