IBM Microelectronics said it has ported and certified OpenTV Corp.'s
interactive-television software for PowerPC-based chip sets targeted for
next-generation set-top boxes and interactive-TV applications.
Introduced in March 2000, IBM's PowerPC set-top-box silicon is currently
housed in Philips Consumer Electronics Co.-built TiVo Inc. stand-alone
personal-video-recorder boxes.
Running at 162 megahertz, IBM's 'STB03xxx' chip combines a PowerPC processor,
an MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Expert Group) audio/video decoder and a
memory-interface subsystem on the same piece of silicon.
IBM has yet to strike silicon deals with the two largest cable set-top
vendors in the United States: Motorola Broadband Communications Sector and
Scientific-Atlanta Inc.
IBM said the combination of its silicon and OpenTV's software will open up
opportunities for emerging applications. Last week, OpenTV said its middleware
was installed in more than 18.2 million set-tops.
