Hardware (DVD, TV, PMP, Set-top Box, …) News

Broadcom unveils cable STB Full Band Capture receivers
Feb 10, 2016 – Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) has announced a family of cable multichannel receiver SoCs. The BCM3158x family integrates Full-Band Capture (FBC) technology with 4, 8 or 16 QAM demodulators, providing pin compatible front ends for a broad range of STB and home gateway platforms.
News categories: Broadcom, Cable TV, Digital TV, ICs, Semiconductor, Set Top Box, Worldwide

Sky Q goes on sale in the UK and Ireland
Feb 9, 2016 – Sky has announced that Sky Q, its next generation home entertainment system, is available to buy. The first Sky Q customers will be installed at the end of the month.
News categories: Sky, Ireland, Satellite, Set Top Box, Smart Home, UK

Russia's NTV-Plus to move completely to MPEG-4
Feb 8, 2016 – Russian satellite TV operator NTV-Plus has announced that it plans to convert all of its remaining MPEG-2 channels to MPEG-4. The transition will occur between the 3rd of March and the 25th of June this year.
News categories: NTV-Plus, Digital TV, Russia, Satellite, Set Top Box

81% of US households have a DVR, Netflix, or use VOD
Feb 5, 2016 – According to Leichtman Research (LRG), 81% of US households have a DVR, get Netflix, or use on-Demand (VOD) from a cable or Telco provider -- with 30% of households using two of the services, and 13% using all three.
News categories: Leichtman Research, Bruce Leichtman, Cable TV, Digital TV, DVR, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Streaming, USA

MyLiveGuard connected home service added to NetRange Portal
Feb 5, 2016 – MyLiveGuard has announced its launching into the smart home market with NetRange. MyLiveGuard will be integrated into millions of Smart TV’s and Set Top Boxes operated by the company via the NetRange Portal.
News categories: NetRange, MyLiveGuard, Jan Wendt, Miles Woodhouse, Apps, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Smart Home, Smart TV, Worldwide

Videocon d2h launches connected set-top box
Feb 5, 2016 – Videocon d2h (NASDAQ, USA: VDTH) has launched its HD SMART Set top Box (Connected Set top box). The box converts an existing LED TV into a Smart TV as well as showing more than 500 Channels and services in High Definition and Standard Definition.
News categories: Videocon d2h, Saurabh Dhoot, Anil Khera, Digital TV, India, Satellite, Set Top Box

STB shipments to SAARC region grew 52% in 2015
Feb 4, 2016 – Set-Top-Box shipments into the SAARC region has witnessed robust year-on-year growth of 52% during 2015, according to Dataxis. In 2015, 22.3 million STBs were shipped in the SAARC region, compared to a 14 million STBs in 2014.
News categories: Dataxis, Anusha S, Bangladesh, Cable TV, Digital TV, India, Market Research, Nepal, Pakistan, Satellite, Set Top Box, Sri Lanka

Freesat now available in 1.93 million homes
Feb 4, 2016 – Freesat has announced a strong final quarter to 2015, with the addition of 36,000 new homes in the three months to December 2015. After adding 61,000 homes over the course of 2015, Freesat is now available in over 1.93 million households in the UK.
News categories: Freesat, Alistair Thom, Results, Satellite, Set Top Box, UK

M-Net unveils GoTV DTT service for South Africa
Feb 3, 2016 – M-Net has unveiled its digital terrestrial television service for South Africa, called GOtv. GOtv will use digital network towers throughout South Africa and customers will need a decoder to access the signal.
News categories: M-Net, GOtv, Yolisa Phahle, Tsabiso Letsoela, Digital TV, Set Top Box, South Africa, Terrestrial