STMicroelectronics announces set-top box IC design-in at Cyfrowy Polsat

Poland’s largest pay-TV operator extends technical partnership selecting ST’s HD Set-Top Box Processor for its new set-top boxes to deliver advanced services and extra value for subscribers

GENEVA — STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications and a top supplier of system-on-chips (SoCs) for set-top boxes and home gateways, is supplying its STiH237 satellite set-top box SoC to Cyfrowy Polsat, Poland’s largest and Europe’s fourth largest direct-to-home (DTH) provider. The STiH237 is at the heart of new interactive boxes now rolling out to support Cyfrowy Polsat’s expanding portfolio of innovative services and increase market share.

Cyfrowy Polsat’s new set-top box leverages the STiH237’s integrated features to minimize both cost and overall box dimensions. The enhanced performance of ST’s chipset ensures smooth end-user experiences and supports the new and advanced services Cyfrowy Polsat is now adding to its portfolio, such as online entertainment. The STiH237 also has low power consumption including a 0.5W standby mode to meet ecodesign requirements, and it supports advanced security features through integrated NAGRA-On-Chip Security and NAGRA CLK smart-card based conditional-access technology.

“We are delighted at the success of this design-in for the STiH237 with Cyfrowy Polsat, one of the most important pay-TV service providers in Europe,” said Alessandro Messi, Vice President and General Manager, South, East Europe and Emerging Market Sales Unit, STMicroelectronics. “Our latest generation of devices is driving the trend towards multi-box households delivering better subscriber experiences and opening up new opportunities for operators to position innovative, value-added services.”

“We are pleased to be among the first operators in the world to use ST’s latest chipset in our next generation of set-top boxes, securing our position at the forefront in our marketplace,” said Dariusz Działkowski, CTO at Cyfrowy Polsat. “ST is the reliable technology partner, providing the support we need to build the best and most cost-effective platform delivering innovative services and great value for our customers.”

As part of ST’s set-top box SoC family, the STiH237 enables a new generation of ultra-accessible set-top boxes capable of both attracting new subscribers and enabling operators to reach more screens per household through multiple low-cost boxes connected as clients to the central home gateway. High feature integration enables designers to minimize the electronic Bill Of Materials (eBOM), simplify pc-board design, and use low-cost DDR3 memory components. Full software compatibility throughout the product range and with legacy decoder ICs such as the STi7111 helps save development costs and time to market.

By sharing a common ball-out, the complete family of devices comprising the STiH207, STiH237, STiH239, STiH273 and STiH223 enables operators to establish a common hardware platform to target multiple markets such as terrestrial, cable or satellite and offer differentiated products such as PVR (personal video recorder) boxes economically. Offering best-in-class performance, with at least 30% more processing capability than competing solutions and on-chip L2 cache for enhanced support of interactive services, ST’s STiH2xx family gives operators the flexibility to deliver new and more advanced services in the future.