Promptlink Communications is expanding its horizons with the launch of a set-top box platform that will tangle with incumbent players such as S3 Group, Contec and CTDI.

The company’s aptly-named Set-Top Box Test Platform (STBTP) will complement test systems it has already developed primarily for DOCSIS- and PacketCable-powered cable modems, gateways and embedded multimedia terminal adapters.

Promptlink, which introduced the product in tandem with this week’s Anga Com show in Germany, said the new platform supports testing of DVB-C and IP-based set-tops, and can test 16 units per system in parallel in as little as five minutes. Releases set for later this year will support DAC- and DNCS-based video systems, the company said.

The general market release of the STBTP comes following a recent trial with a “major” MSO in Latin America, a Promptlink official said.

“We have provided an advanced analysis tool to allow our customers to manage field-returned inventory and quickly determine functional and non-functional equipment at the highest level of reliability. Along with our recent release of a wireless router testing solution, the STBTP product further expands our product offerings to the cable and telecommunications industry,” said Dr. Foad Towfiq, president and CEO of Oceanside, Calif.-based Promptlink, in a statement.