STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications and a top player in ICs for digital TVs and set-top boxes, and 3H International Technology Pte. Ltd. today announced their collaboration to develop solutions for a fully interactive TV experience, including a Triple-Play implementation of next-generation HD interactive solutions being deployed by broadcasting operators in China.
With the rapid acceleration of Triple-Play services in China, the convergence of new HD full interactive technologies such as IPTV, OTT and PushVOD is critical for operators to further increase their revenues. The growing adoption of Triple-Play services countrywide fuels the demand for HD STBs with the best balance between performance, cost and maturity. Under the guidance of SARFT (State Administration of Radio, Film and Television), cable operators across China have provided new requirements for interactive STBs. Meeting these requirements, IC chips for digital STBs play a key role in providing an interactive TV experience, and together with the support of local vendors like 3H, fully interactive solutions required by operators are available today. The collaboration between ST and 3H uses ST’s latest generation of cost-effective entry-level HD cable product, the STiH271EL.
The collaboration between 3H and ST dates back to the launch of cable digital TV in China. The parties achieved early success cooperating to develop solutions for standard definition (SD) digital migration using ST’s MPEG2 SD platform and 3H’s MW 1.0 middleware. Since 2006, 3H and ST have worked with Inner Mongolia Networking, which serves more than 3 million local households. Now, nearly 500,000 households in Inner Mongolia benefit from a multi-service delivery system based on ST’s HD multiple decoder SoCs running 3H’s smart TV operating system 3H TV OS. Among the first in China to adopt middleware and unified hardware platform, Inner Mongolia Networking systems have operated reliably for four years.
“As a world-leading provider of ICs for digital TVs and set-top boxes, ST has been working closely with local firmware/software/middleware vendors to bring the best digital TV and set-top box solutions to the China market,” said YU Lee, Regional Vice President, Digital Sector, Greater China & South Asia Region, STMicroelectronics. “The collaboration with 3H has demonstrated our commitment to the growth of China’s TV market, while providing consumers with a best-in-class user experience at affordable prices.”
ST has provided comprehensive hardware and software resources, including reference boards, to 3H as new-generation platforms are released. This collaboration has allowed the two partners to further reduce time to market by delivering more robust full-media digital TV solutions.
