Windows CE based settop boxes

from doom9.net: i was visiting “itu telecom world fair this weekend and found something interesting at the microsoft booth: in their windows ce section, they had a couple of windows ce.net based devices capable of playing wmv9 video. besides the samsung dvd player with integrated wmv support, they had 7 settop boxes for vod services. most devices used a standard 733 mhz celeron processor which limits their playback capabilities somewhat. in fact, those devices are designed for streams of 1.5 mbit/s or lower, and resolutions up to d1 (720×480/576). prices are as of yet unknown, but the devices should be ready for field trials in q4 2003. they also had a €35’000 hardware real-time wmv9 encoder by tandberg on display, which could be used by vod providers to encode content on the fly. the settop boxes also supported tv playback and interactive services via microsoft tv, which seems to indicate in which direction microsoft is going to conquer the living room.”

news source: doom9.net - the definitive dvd backup resource
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