At the IBC2005 (International Broadcasters Convention) Microsoft Corp. and Sigma Designs Inc. announced a system-on-chip (SOC) that will enable the production of low-cost, high-definition-capable devices for the Microsoft TV Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Edition software platform.

The new SMP8634 media processor from Sigma Designs will enable set-top box and consumer electronics manufacturers to create TVs and other products for broadband service providers to deliver IPTV services to the home.

IPTV service access as standard feature in TVs is definitely a positive thing. Bring it on! This Sigma Designs SOC is capable of delivering multiple channels of high-definition (HD) video and on-screen graphics, multimedia processing, content security, and support for a range of peripherals such as USB 2.0, IDE, Ethernet and HDMI. Support for the VC-1 and H.264 (MPEG-4) video codecs is also built in. SMP8634 has a 300 MIPS host CPU and a 3.2 GB/second unified memory controller.
More details in this Microsoft press-release.

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