Wyplay extends collaboration with STMicroelectronics

Wyplay Frog Set-Top-Box Middleware Leaps Forward as STMicroelectronics Expands Interest

LAS VEGAS — CES — Wyplay, creator of software solutions for leading pay-TV operators, have announced an extension of its collaboration with STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, to make the Frog by Wyplay open-source solution available on STMicroelectronics’ ‘Cannes’ and ‘Monaco’ System-on-Chip families.

The ‘Cannes’ client-box SoC family (STiH312, STiH310, STiH305) enables cost-effective High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) HD set-top-box decoders, allowing TV operators to stream Ultra high-definition content at half the bitrate previously required for the same quality over lower-speed broadband access networks. The ‘Monaco’ family (STiH407, STiH410, STiH412) provides a full-featured solution for server-type applications including home gateways, with best-in-class transcoding capabilities for multi-screen experiences. Both families of chipsets offer advantages for set-top box manufacturers by presenting a complete range of devices, from cost-optimized chips to full-featured devices supporting HD or Ultra HD that build on the foundations of the popular STiH315 and STiH416 (‘Orly’) SoCs and a single industry-proven Software Development Kit (SDK2), already supported by Wyplay’s middleware.

Frog by Wyplay is an initiative aiming to free all actors in the TV ecosystem from being locked into proprietary solutions. Thanks to Frog by Wyplay, the full source code of Wyplay’s innovative and flexible set-top box middleware and backend add-ons — already being deployed to more than 10 million subscribers at Canal+, Belgacom, SFR, and Vodafone — is accessible free of charge for development purposes to a growing community of ~40 companies across the entire digital-TV technology value chain: chipset vendors, device manufacturers, independent software vendors, software services providers and operators.

“ST’s chipsets are flexible and support a many software frameworks. We believe this specific type of environment will generate creativity among developers and will allow end users to enjoy even more compelling content with next-generation multimedia boxes that protects the content-creators’ intellectual property,” said Hervé Mathieu, Group Vice President and General Manager of ST’s Unified Platform Division. “Wyplay is an important actor in this ever evolving industry and we strongly believe this initiative will allow companies to expand their market reach while offering operators and end users an extraordinary leap forward in multimedia capabilities.”

“We are very pleased to deepen our collaboration with STMicroelectronics.” said Wyplay CEO Jacques Bourgninaud. “The Cannes and Monaco families of devices offer a cost-effective platform to deploy set-top-box solutions for TV operators based on the Frog by Wyplay middleware with absolutely no compromises.”

Within the Frog ecosystem, chipset vendors like ST play a key role in continued support and innovations through contributions to the source code shared among Frog community members, ensuring that the latest innovations in silicon can be leveraged in software to provide the best end-user experience, cost effectively, with accelerated time to market.

Frog By Wyplay is officially launched at the CES Las Vegas tradeshow in January 2014.

Meet Wyplay at CES2014, Las Vegas, The Venetian Hotel, Toscana 3604/3605