Joining forces to power AVC/H.264 IPTV deployments, Envivio Inc. and Sigma Designs announced the port of EnvivioTV^TM player's interactive features for Sigma's new 64-bit, SMP8634, AVC/H.264 decoder chip. The Envivio client software integrated with the Sigma chip enables set-top box manufacturers to support full featured interactive television services and for service providers to deploy new revenue generating client services using the open standard MPEG-4 format.

The SMP8634 media processor is designed for the latest Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) set-top boxes and high-definition DVD players. The SMP8634 is the most powerful H.264 "System-on-a-Chip" available on the market today and can decode up to two simultaneous HD H.264 streams.

The Envivio software enhanced SMP8634 supports multi-element MPEG-4 BIFS (Binary Format for Scenes) decoding which addresses the shortcomings of proprietary client applications or HTML middleware solutions. Advantages of the hardware and software integration include:

• pixel perfect video/graphics rendering engine built into MPEG-4,
• push metadata,
• push GUI,
• GUI is independent of the client (STB, PC, or mobile),
• easily customized client interfaces,
• modular services are created with MPEG-4 BIFS authoring tool,
• services and functionality can be modified "in-service",
• uses Telco provisioning for service definition,
• and integrated Telco billing and settlement interfaces.

"We have been cooperating with Envivio on MPEG-4 decoders for the last 5 years. With the increased adoption of H.264 by telcos, combining our "System-on-a-Chip" with the Envivio software player delivers a proven combination for MPEG-4 based IPTV deployments," said Thinh Tran, Sigma Designs CEO.

EnvivioTV software allows the user to interact directly with broadcast media, experiencing MPEG-4 interactive capabilities while selecting and interacting with multimedia objects. The range of interactive programming opportunities is limited only by the author's imagination, the targeted client platform's performance, and available bandwidth. The features of the EnvivioTV player being ported enable a wide range of applications.

• Video on demand: Enhancing the user's experience through DVD-like interactivity in a secured environment.
• User participation in broadcast shows: Delivering an engaging user experience such as user participation in interactive game shows, documentaries, and news programs.
• Synchronized interactive data broadcast with a video program: Delivering additional relevant data such as sports, news, and financial data, synchronized to the video program.

"Fully featured set-top boxes supporting AVC encoded television services allow telcos to move forward with their IPTV deployments with a standards-based solution," said Julien Signes, President of Envivio. "The port is expected to accelerate the adoption of and increase the desire for MPEG-4 deployments for digital video services."