Korea Telecom’s IPTV Service Uses STMicroelectronics’ High-Definition Digital TV Decoder Chips

The commercialization of Korea’s IPTV service was successfully tested and evaluated during the final trial in May 2007, and KT officially announced the launch of its IPTV service in Korea, yesterday, Wednesday July 4, 2007.

During the final trial, KT Corporation, Korea’s leading broadband operator, chose the STi710x-based set-top boxes from Humax (model name: TS-110) and Samsung (SMT-H6170), both of which are KT’s consortium partners for the country’s IPTV service. Additionally, LG-Nortel, another consortium partner for the service, is also developing its set-top boxes based on the STi710x.

The service provides over 1,200 on-demand videos with hardware-assisted security and 27 interactive services ranging from education to finance to instant messaging. An electronic program guide and user-created content are also available. Other KT IPTV services include: digital photos and personalized stock; plus weather and sports information.

“KT is committed to leading the development of IPTV services,” said Young-Hyun Kim, Assistant Vice President of KT’s Media Technology Department. “Using the latest and most innovative set-top-box technology enabled by ST’s cost effective AVC decoder available today, to deliver high-definition multimedia content and innovative services, is a key element in driving consumer enthusiasm.”

“The STi710x family of single-chip HDTV decoders has quickly become a worldwide standard as the key device in leading-edge set-top-box designs, enabling operators and OEMs to deliver the very best home entertainment experience, via satellite, cable, terrestrial, or in the fast-growing area of IPTV,” said Luigi Mantellassi, General Manager of ST’s Consumer Segment, Asia-Pacific.

The STi710x family, launched by ST in 2005, offers the world’s first single-chip H.264/AVC and VC-1 decoder. It combines high-performance multi-standard video decoding circuitry and all the required STB functions in a single-chip device. The H.264/AVC (Advanced Video Coding) standard, also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, and VC1 – Microsoft's Windows Media 9 Series codec – are technologies that produce high-quality video at lower data rates than earlier solutions, and are used primarily in applications such as high-definition DVDs and HDTV broadcasting.