Set-top box

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

An Inview Neelix set-top box manufactured in 2012. It allows simultaneous access to television broadcast and internet applications.
A Sky Q set-top box in the UK

A set-top box (STB), also known as a

over-the-air television
systems as well as other uses.

According to the

pay-TV subscriber paid $231 per year to lease their set-top box from a cable service provider.[2]

TV signal sources

MPEG decoder CPU is in the center of the board. The power supply
is on the right.

The signal source might be an

interactive video games
, or other possibilities. Satellite and microwave-based services also require specific external receiver hardware, so the use of set-top boxes of various formats has never completely disappeared. Set-top boxes can also enhance source signal quality.

UHF converter

Before the

MHz), a set-top box known as a UHF converter would be installed at the receiver to shift a portion of the UHF-TV spectrum onto low-VHF channels for viewing. As some 1960s-era 12-channel TV sets remained in use for many years, and Canada and Mexico
were slower than the US to require UHF tuners to be factory-installed in new TVs, a market for these converters continued to exist for much of the 1970s.

Cable converter

Main article: Cable converter box

channel 7
(midband) or directly above VHF channel 13 (superband).

These frequencies corresponded to non-television services (such as two-way radio) over the air and were therefore not on standard TV receivers. Before cable-ready TV sets became common in the late 1980s, an electronic tuning device called a

VCR
compatibility and the ability to drive multiple TV sets, albeit with a somewhat nonstandard channel numbering scheme.

Newer television receivers greatly reduced the need for external set-top boxes, although

descramble premium cable channels according to carrier-controlled access restrictions, and to receive digital cable channels, along with using interactive services like video on demand, pay per view, and home shopping
through television.

Closed captioning box

Set-top boxes were also made to enable

television content ratings. A function that limits children's time watching TV or playing video games
may also be built in, though some work on main electricity rather than the video signal.

Digital television adapter

Main article: Digital television adapter

The

television receivers unable to tune and display the new signal directly. In the United States, where analogue shutdown was completed in 2009 for full-service broadcasters, a federal subsidy was offered for coupon-eligible converter boxes
with deliberately limited capability which would restore signals lost to digital transition.

Professional set-top box

Main article: Integrated receiver/decoder

Professional set-top boxes are referred to as IRDs or integrated receiver/decoders in the professional broadcast audio/video industry. They are designed for more robust field handling and rack mounting environments. IRDs are capable of outputting uncompressed serial digital interface signals, unlike consumer STBs which usually do not, mostly because of copyright reasons.

Hybrid box

Lenovo A30 set-top box

Hybrid set-top boxes, such as those used for

video telephony, surveillance, gaming, shopping, TV-centric electronic program guides, and e-government. By integrating varying delivery streams, hybrids (sometimes known as "TV-centric"[3]) enable pay-TV operators more flexible application deployment, which decreases the cost of launching new services, increases speed to market, and limits disruption for consumers.[4]

As examples, Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) set-top boxes allow traditional TV broadcasts, whether from terrestrial (DTT), satellite, or cable providers, to be brought together with video delivered over the Internet and personal multimedia content. Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB) launched its first hybrid DTT/IPTV set-top box in 2005,[5] which provided Telefónica with the digital TV platform for its Movistar TV service by the end of that year.[6] In 2009, ADB provided Europe's first three-way hybrid digital TV platform to Polish digital satellite operator n, which enables subscribers to view integrated content whether delivered via satellite, terrestrial, or internet.[7]

UK-based

VOD
service for Top Up TV.

IPTV receiver

In

IPTV networks, the set-top box is a small computer providing two-way communications on an IP network and decoding the video streaming media. IP set-top boxes have a built-in home network interface that can be Ethernet, Wireless (802.11 g,n,ac), or one of the existing wire home networking technologies such as HomePNA or the ITU-T G.hn standard, which provides a way to create a high-speed (up to 1Gbit/s) local area network using existing home wiring (power lines, phone lines, and coaxial cables).[8]

In the US and Europe, telephone companies use IPTV (often on

optical fibre networks) as a means to compete with traditional local cable television
monopolies.

This type of service is distinct from

Internet television
, which involves third-party content over the public Internet not controlled by the local system operator.

Features

Programming features

Electronic program guide

ITV, also feature backward scrolling to promote their catch-up content.[9]

Favorites

This feature allows the user to choose preferred channels, making them easier and quicker to access; this is handy with the wide range of digital channels on offer. The concept of favourite channels is superficially similar to that of the "bookmark" function offered in many web browsers.

Timer

The timer allows the user to program and enable the box to switch between channels at certain times: this is handy to record from more than one channel while the user is out. The user still needs to program the VCR or DVD recorder.

Convenience features

Controls on the box

Some models have controls on the box, as well as on the remote control. This is useful should the user lose the remote or if the batteries age.

Remote controls that work with other TVs

Some remote controls can also control some basic functions of various brands of TVs. This allows the user to use just one remote to turn the TV on and off, adjust volume, or switch between digital and analogue TV channels or between terrestrial and internet channels.

Parental locks

The parental lock or content filters allow users over 18 years old to block access to channels that are not appropriate for children, using a personal identification number. Some boxes simply block all channels, while others allow the user to restrict access to chosen channels not suitable for children below certain ages.

Software alternatives

As complexity and potential programming faults of the set-top box increase,[10] software such as MythTV, Select-TV and Microsoft's Media Center have developed features comparable to those of set-top boxes, ranging from basic DVR-like functionality to DVD copying, home automation, and housewide music or video playback.

Firmware update features

Set-top box firmware being updated

Almost all modern set-top boxes feature automatic firmware update processes. The firmware update is typically provided by the service provider.

Ambiguities in the definition

With the advent of flat-panel televisions, set-top boxes are now deeper in profile than the tops of most modern TV sets. Because of this, set-top boxes are often placed beneath televisions, and the term set-top box has become something of a misnomer, possibly helping the adoption of the term digibox. Additionally, newer set-top boxes that sit at the edge of IP-based distribution networks are often called net-top boxes or NTBs, to differentiate between IP and RF inputs. The Roku LT is around the size of a pack of cards and delivers Smart TV to conventional sets.[11]

The distinction between external tuner or

network or USB
interfaces built-in.

Devices with the capabilities of

WebTV thin client
, also fall into the grey area that could invite the term "NTB".

Europe

In Europe, a set-top box does not necessarily contain a tuner of its own. A box connected to a television (or VCR) SCART connector is fed with the baseband television signal from the set's tuner, and can have the television display the returned processed signal instead.

Pace Micro Technology
DC757X set top box

This SCART feature had been used for connection to analogue decoding equipment by

pay-TV operators in Europe, and in the past was used for connection to teletext equipment before the decoders became built in. The outgoing signal could be of the same nature as the incoming signal, or RGB component video, or even an "insert
" over the original signal, due to the "fast switching" feature of SCART.

In case of analogue pay-TV, this approach avoided the need for a second

PCMCIA
-like card inserted as part of the digital signal path as their alternative to a tuner-equipped set-top box.

Energy use

In June 2011 a report from the American National Resources Defense Council brought attention to the

US Department of Energy announced plans to consider the adoption of energy efficiency standards for set-top boxes.[13] In November 2011, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association announced a new energy efficiency initiative that commits the largest American cable operators to the purchase of set-top boxes that meet Energy Star standards and the development of sleep modes that will use less energy when the set-top box is not being used to watch or record video.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-C-ED/80s/C-ED-1981-12.pdf
  2. ^ Lazarus, David (2018-10-30). "How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  3. ^ "Welcome to Inview". Inview Technology. 2013-07-26. Archived from the original on 2013-08-01.
  4. ^ "Webcasts". Archived from the original on 2010-04-05. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  5. ^ "About – DVB". dvb.org. Archived from the original on 6 June 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  6. ^ "ADB Delivers World's First Hybrid, Single-Chip, Advanced Video Coding, High Definition IPTV Set-Top Boxes To Telefónica". digitaltvnews.net. September 11, 2006. Archived from the original on 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  7. ^ "ADB takes 'n' hybrid". broadbandtvnews.com. 12 September 2009. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  8. ^ New global standard for fully networked home Archived 2009-02-21 at the Wayback Machine, ITU-T Press Release
  9. ^ "Today - TV Guide". itv.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  10. ^ "The Chimera of Software Quality". Archived from the original on 2018-04-28. 080322 computer.org
  11. ^ Which? Consumer's Guide; October 2012; page 41
  12. ^ "settopboxes.pdf" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2012-02-25. Natural Resources Defense Council.
  13. ^ "Cable Boxes and DVRs: Can Appliance Standards Help Tame These Hidden Energy Hogs?". Archived from the original on 2012-01-29. Retrieved 2012-02-25. Environmental and Energy Study Institute
  14. ^ "U.S. Cable Industry Launches New Energy Efficiency Initiative". Archived from the original on 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2012-04-20.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Set-top boxes.
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