Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — In a sign of the times, Thomson has announced several new products that speak to a content-centric digital home, including a high-definition set-top box designed to enable over-the-top video services along with traditional broadcast.
The company also unveiled two new home media gateways, the TG784n and TG797n, a fiber-to-the-home gateway with GPON, and a low-cost VoIP box.
IPTV, satellite and cable operators are looking for a way to tackle the digital content opportunity without cannibalizing their existing broadcast business. “Everyone is agreed that hybrid delivery is the way forward, with linear television broadcast as it is today and access to interactive and on-demand content from the same device on the same screen, delivered over broadband,” said Georges Laplanche, senior vice president, Connect Division, Thomson. “Consumers are dictating the direction of digital services today, building elaborate home networks to gain access to premium content whenever, wherever and on whatever device they want.”
Thomson’s announcements at CES are designed to let operators reach customers with a personalization of calling experience across different types of connected devices, and data synchronization between fixed and mobile communication devices. Other trends Thomson is tapping include extended video experiences with 3D, unleashed digital lifestyles with direct infotainment accessibility, as well as social networking enabling on any home device, automated home management services and managed digital content.
For its part, Laplanche calls the aforementioned OTT-enabled STB, the 805, “a fully featured option for operators who want to marry the best of the broadcast and broadband content worlds.”
The 805 platform can be tailored to the precise needs of each operator. Interfaces are available for DVB-T and the newer and more efficient DVB-T2 for terrestrial television, and for DVB-S and DVB-S2 for satellite broadcasting. The PVR version can be supplied with a scalable 2.5” hard disk in accordance with operators’ requirements.
The 805 HD platform will be available in the first half of 2010.
The two home media gateways support both fiber and copper connectivity, dual concurrent Wi-Fi channels to separate video distribution and data, and with the TG797n, Dect telephony in a single device.
