News Broadcasting
STMicroelectronics and China’s Dahua Technology develop Cable/IP dual-mode STB
MUMBAI: The Geneva-headquartered STMicroelectronics, the supplier of silicon chips for set-top boxes (STBs), and Dahua Technology Ltd, China’s cable and IPTV dual-mode STB provider, have announced that they have successfully designed and manufactured a highly integrated digital-cable and IP set-top box, making ST the first silicon supplier to provide single-chip dual-mode digital set-top-box solutions for the China market.
The box, which begins deployment in Hangzhou Province in August 2006, will enable consumers to enjoy a new three-in-one digital media experience including digital-cable TV, video-on-demand, and web browsing for a wider choice of information services and broadcast programs, informs an official release.
At the heart of Dahua’s design is a dedicated chip belonging to ST’s STi7100 family of Advanced Video Codecs (AVC). This system-on-chip (SoC) solution integrates support for advanced high-definition H.264/MPEG4 AVC and MPEG4 P2 standard definition (SD) in addition to MPEG2 encoded video signals. These innovative single-chip HD/SD devices are the industry’s first to enable the next generation consumer video systems and broadcast services.
The STi7100’s integration combines all STB functions and multi-standard decoding circuitry onto a single piece of silicon minimizing both design and production costs for STB makers. Produced using ST’s state-of-the-art 90nm process technology, the STi7100 family devices provides a more cost-optimized HD/SD Cable/IP dual-mode interactive box in a single-chip design, paving the way for support of H.264 HD/SD streams with advanced codecs, the release adds.
Compared with traditional TV delivery, IP set-top boxes provide an exciting interactive experience including VoD (Video on Demand) services that puts the audience in charge of selecting their favorite content according to their preferences, regardless of the program schedule. With Dahua’s STBs, consumers enjoy a wide variety of services including interactive games, SMS, e-commerce, VoIP, and video phone calls.
“Leveraging its experience in this sector, ST will continue to offer a wide range of products that provide high flexibility, faster time-to-market, low cost, and high-quality solutions to our partners,” says Robert Krysiak, STMicroelectronics’ Corporate VP and GM for Greater China. “The cooperation with Dahua is the first volume deployment in China of our latest H.264 single chip, which is capable of both MPEG4 and MPEG 2 decoding, and it will further enhance Dahua’s competitive advantage in the rapidly growing new Cable and IPTV market where Dahua is a leader right now.”
Dahua’s chairman and GM Zhu Giang Ming says, “ST’s cost- optimized single-chip solution, which includes a reference design with software kit coupled to their dedicated engineering support, have given us a unique solution and faster time-to-market.”
Dahua is China’s major volume Cable and IP dual-mode STB provider for operators that provide VoD service for MPEG4 video and audio content. Operators will provide content through deployment of its dual-mode (Cable and IPTV) STBs enabled by the chip from ST.
So far 360 million households boast TV sets in China, where target audiences exceed 1.1 billion, including 114.7 million cable subscribers. The number of customers is also exploding in both broadband and wireless markets, giving China a huge potential market for IPTV. With further extension of its broadband IP network and continuous improvement in communication technology, China is expected to become the largest IPTV market worldwide over the next few years, the release further adds.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
