Set - Top Box

(STB)
 What is STB?
 It is an electronic device that is connected to a
communication channel, such as cable television
line and produces output on a conventional
television screen.

 Set-top boxes are commonly used to receive and

decode digital television broadcasts and to
interface with the Internet through the user’s
television instead of a PC.
A set-top box or set-top unit is a device that
connects to a television and an external
source of signal, turning the signal into
content which is then displayed on the
television screen or other display device.
 A set-top box is the device that connects a
television to a cable signal or satellite signal
received from a service provider.
 A typical digital STB contains one or more
microprocessors for running the operating
system, it also includes RAM, MPEG decoder
chip, and more chips for audio decoding and
processing.
 History
 Set-top box technology has evolved with the in –
creasing demand by consumers for television and
related services such as e-mail and video on
demand.

 The First Generation set-top box had a simple

function. It received an encoded analog television
transmission from the service provider, decoded
the signal, and sent the decoded signal to the
television.
 The next generation set-top box allowed two-way
digital transmission between the service provider
and the consumer.
 A digital incoming signal from the service
provider contained the television signal, and the
outgoing signal from the customer carried
requests for service, such as pay-per view access
to programming.
 The latest in set-top box technology enables
service provider to offer fully interactive services
that include video on demand, interactive
advertising, TV-centric applications, email,
videoconference, and Internet access.
Hardware Architecture
 Set Top Box Hardware
Architecture
 Requirements based on functionality.
◦ Should have MPEG-2 sub-system to decode
MPEG-2 video and audio.
◦ Should enable user to download custom
applications and execute them on the STB
which requires a general purpose
microprocessor in the STB with an architecture
that supports control of the different devices.
 STB Software
Application Layer

Loader Middleware CAS

Driver Adaptation Layer

Device Drivers (Manufacturer)
STB Software Architecture
For personalized interactive services, a set top box
should be addressable in the video dial-tone
network, thus providing P2P communication
between a video and information provider and a
user. It should also have the ability to download
client applications and execute them locally.
The control software on the set top box ties
together all the hardware components into a
functioning unit.
 STB software has two parts.
◦ System software which provides the DAVID application
programming interface.
◦ Application software that provides cable TV functionality
or some other personalized multimedia service.

 DAVID system software includes.

◦ Operating system(os-9) kernel.
◦ Device drivers.
◦ File manager.

 Operating system(os-9) kernel is responsible for

the following:
 Scheduling different tasks for the microprocessor.
 Managing inter-process communication between
different tasks and processes in the STB.
 Memory management for the multi-tasking operating
system.
 Maintaining the real time clock for the system.
Device drivers
The various hardware components of STB have
programmable registers that can be used to control the
behavior of the components. Each one of these devices has
a device driver task associated with it that allows the main
microprocessor to manage the device. The device drivers also
perform interrupt servicing for the components and hide the
details about device addresses and actual register values.

File manager
◦ File manager available for each device driver and
provides a ‘file like’ interface for the device.
◦ ‘file like’ interface provides a uniform layer of
abstraction and is generic to all the capabilities of STB.
◦ RTNFM, SPF, MPFM, AUXMAN.
 Types of Set top box
 There are three categories of set-top boxes:
broadcast TV, enhanced TV and Advance
Services.
 A broadcast TV is also known as Thin-boxes,
broadcast TV set-top box provides traditional
broadcast television and has no return channel.
Signals are received in MPEG-formatted data
Stream.
 These might come with interface ports, some
memory and some processing power.
 Anenhanced TV set-top box is similar to a
broadcast TV set-top except the enhanced TV
set-top box has a return channel from the
customer to the service provider.
 These
may be capable of Video on Demand, e-
commerce, Internet browsing, e-mail
communications, chat and more.
 Anadvanced services set-top box is also
known as advanced digital set-top box.
 Anadvanced services set-top box is
basically a dedicated personal computer that
has sufficient computing power to provide
rapid processing for interactive, multimedia
services.

 These have good processors, memory,

software applications and optional hard-
drives.  They're often used with high-speed
(broadband) connections. Features could
include high-speed Internet access,
Interactive TV, digital video recording &
gaming.
 Conclusion
For the hardware there will be strong trend towards
very flexible decoders in the form of signal processors
and fast CPU’s possibly even combined with even
combined in one large digital processing CPU. The
arrangements for sending information from
terminal(STB) into the network can be improved both
in latency and in throughput. The graphic subsystem is
likely to grow towards 3D applications.
 Conclusion (contd.)
STB software hides the machine and network
specific features of a set top box under a layer
of abstraction and provides a user friendly
interface to access cable television and video
information services. The software components
are likely to increase with more integration and
more programmable components. This will
increase the flexibility of STB.
 Applications
◦ interoperability of software.
◦ Navigator.
◦ Downloaded applications.
◦ Operating system upgrade.
◦ Other resident applications: config,
display
References