Microsoft launches set-top boxes

net1

US software giant Microsoft has established a bridgehead in the world of digital TV with the launch of set-top boxes running the Windows CE operating system.

The boxes are now available for trial customers including Bell Canada, Reliance Infocomm SBC Communications and Swisscom/Bluewin.

Bluewin, the first to go live with a market trial, will use the boxes to deliver TV services across 30 channels, including five pay-TV channels, to a an initial trial base of over 600 customers.

Microsoft partnered consumer electronics firm Thomson to make set-top boxes supporting Microsoft TV's Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) software platform. The boxes allow network operators to deliver pay-TV services such as broadcast and on-demand television, as well as interactive content, over existing broadband networks.

Microsoft's IPTV platform and Thomson's IP1001 and RCA IP1000 set-top boxes incorporate an Intel Pentium III processor and an Intel graphics chipset to provide the processing power needed to decode advanced codecs and produce high-quality pictures and sound.