[opendtv] MPEG-only bows out of codecs race
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "OpenDTV (E-mail)" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 11:30:45 -0500
MPEG-only bows out of codecs race; H.264 and VC-1 still contending
By Junko Yoshida , EE Times
March 03, 2005 (5:58 PM EST)
URL: http://www.eet.com/article/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=3D60405194
DUBLIN, Ireland - Facing the inevitability of multiple
audio/visual codecs required in new-generation digital set
tops, Broadcom Corp. said Thursday (March 3) it will stop
developing MPEG-only chips by the second quarter of this
year.
Speaking at the DVB World 2005 conference, Aidan O'Rourke,
Broadcom's marketing director said, "As a chip vendor, it
would be ludicrous to bet on one horse."
Broadcom last December unveiled its own H.264 decoder IC
designed to work as "a side car" to the company's mother
chip, or set-top system-on-chip. Broadcom is integrating
the new H.264 chip into its existing MPEG-2-based SoC to
create a multicodec IC. Broadcom is also adding VC-1
capability to the system.
While the trend toward multicodecs grows among chip makers,
broadcasters still must find a preferred codec for their
content. Key intellectual property holders of advanced
video codecs such as H.264 are demanding royalties not only
from set-top vendors but also from broadcasters.
BSkyB announced Wednesday that its HDTV service in the U.K.
scheduled for launch next year will use an H.264-based
advanced video codec. Although BSkyB has yet to license
H.264 IP, Brian Sullivan, BSkyB's director, indicated it is
beginning that process. "We will be there," he said.
Many in the DVB group characterize licensing terms for
H.264 as less than perfect, but "acceptable." Gilles
Maugars, chief technology officer at TPS, a service
provider in France, called royalties for H.264 "relatively
reasonable." He quickly added, "If you add the cost of
transport, satellite, programs and others, there is more to
say about that."
No European service provider has announced a commercial
digital TV plan based on VC-1. Originally derived by
Microsoft Corp.'s proprietary Windows Media Video 9
technology, VC-1 is currently in development within the
Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers
(SMPTE). Although ballots for VC-1 have reportedly been
cast, SMPTE has not announced the outcome.
In the U.S., SBC may become the first operator to deploy
VC-1-based IPTV services. SBC, which has picked Microsoft
as a system integrator for its IPTV infrastructure, has
reportedly flip-flopped on the advanced video codec it
plans to adopt. The telecom giant was initially committed
to H.264, but it is now said to be leaning towards VC-1.
"The spec is not locked in yet," said Broadcom's O'Rourke.
For its IPTV deployment, SBC selected Motorola and
Scientific Atlanta as IP set-top suppliers. Three chip
vendors - Broadcom, STMicroelectronics and Sigma Design -
are still in the race. Microsoft, meanwhile, is said to be
calling the shots for SBC on everything from a back-office
systems to SoC specs for IP set tops.
The DVB group, which has already embraced H.264, did not
include VC-1 in its so-called "DVB Toolbox" for advanced
video codecs. Theo Peek, DVB group's chairman, said it is
keeping its option open for VC-1. For any new audio-visual
codec to be considered for evaluation, it first needs
support from at least five DVB members, according to Ken
McCann, chair of AV coding group at DVB. The group also
requires new AV codecs to be published by an international
standards body, and that IP rights be made available under
fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms.
Microsoft has yet to meet these requirements for VC-1.
Copyright 2003 CMP Media, LLC
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