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ABSTRACT:-
A Set Top Box (STB) is a device that enables a television set to receive and decode digital television (DTV) signals. IR Decoders also known as STB has now been enabled with additional features to become interactive. If we add an extra device to existing STBs in order to access internet, then we can call it as IP STB. IP STB’s with an added advantage of internet browsing over the TV with the existing network that they have already established. So, there is a need to integrate Internet browsing feature on Set Top Box (STB) as an additional feature to provide value to interactive television services.
Even though there are ways to perform such a task, but providing a good design with a capable processor and operating system which are capable of handling more present and futuristic with cost effective looks to be challenging. ARM core processors and Linux operating system (OS) may be employed in implementation of interactive television. ARM is one of the most licensed and thus widespread processor cores in the world and used especially in portable devices due to low power consumption and reasonable performance and Linux is an open source operating system with good flexibility and secured tile system.
INTRODUCTION:
Digital Television (DTV)
Digital television, commonly known as digital TV, is a completely new way of broadcasting and is the future of television. It is a medium that requires new thinking and new revenue-generating business models. Digital TV is the successor to Analog TV and eventually all broadcasting will be done in this way. Around the globe, cable, satellite, and wireless operators are moving to a digital environment. Affiliates of the four major networks in the United States—ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox were slated to begin digital broadcasts by November 1999. By 2006, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. has mandated that no more Analog
television signals be broadcast. In Europe, the digital TV train is also rolling out of the station, with broadcasters in France, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Holland, and the U.K. planned to launch digital technologies in 1999.
Digital Television in India is regulated by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) & Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Indian government passed an mandate about digitalization of Television broadcasting to Metro Cities(Tier-1) Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata in first phase, and progressing to tier-2 and tier-3 cities and planning for across India to get the full advantage of digitalization in accordance with the Digital India Plan initiated by our prime minister of India.
Most industry analysts are predicting that the transition to digital TV will be an evolution rather than a revolution, changing the way of life for hundreds of millions of families around the world. Companies are acknowledging that the convergence between personal computers, TV sets, and the Internet has already begun and are positioning themselves to maximize revenue from this new computing paradigm.
For consumers, the digital age will improve their viewing experience through cinema-quality pictures, CD-quality sound, hundreds of new channels, the power to switch camera angles, and improved access to a range of exciting new entertainment services. Digital TV also gives subscribers the opportunity to enjoy more programming through cinema-style wide screen TVs. Gone are the days of choosing between a small range of channels. Television will become more fun and powerful to use, yet at the same time simpler and friendlier. For the broadcaster, a move to a digital environment decreases the bandwidth utilization per channel, facilitates the offering of Internet applications to their subscribers, and opens a new era of business
Quality of Watching TV Experience:-
Consumers benefit from regular progress in TV quality since the progressive digitization of television services in the 1990s, consumers have successively benefited from higher quality TV, first with standard digital TV, followed by High Definition TV (HDTV).
The TV experience is enhanced by additional services
The consumer’s linear TV experience is being progressively enhanced through additional information and services relating to a program being watched. The most popular features include more detailed information through the electronic TV program guide, data on live events such as sports statistics, interaction during TV games and talent and reality shows. Consumers are also benefiting from “TV broadcast independent services” such as weather forecasts or road traffic conditions.
Consumers manage this interactivity on the TV screen or through a companion device (smartphone, tablet).
The need for intuitive and unified interfaces
Unified interfaces are vital for dealing with this abundance of content from different sources and consumed through different networks and devices. Confronted with a multiplicity of linear and non-linear services, consumers need tools to:
• Bridge linear TV channels and catch-up programs,
• Select content on one device and view it on another,
• Search across different sources,
• Receive recommendations from social networks.
These commonly required functionalities need to be embedded in one unique, user friendly, device-agnostic interface. One illustration of this type of service is proposed by the RVU system adopted by DirecTV. It allows access from any TV in the house, through the same interface, to the entire content that the household is entitled to receive or has recorded.
Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV:-
Broadcast networks are well suited to providing homogeneous TV quality on a national scale, but they lack interactivity as demonstrated by the introduction of HDTV through satellite and DTT, broadcast TV networks have pioneered the transition to high quality TV services and consistently play a leading role in the introduction of new TV standards. They are able to deliver new services overnight on a national scale. However, broadcast networks do not benefit from the native return path which is needed to deliver advanced TV services.