Texas Instruments (TI) announced that Amino Communications, a leading provider of consumer premises equipment (CPE) for broadband digital television applications, has chosen TI´s high-performance DSP-based TMS320DM642 digital media processor for its next-generation AmiNET124 IPTV set-top box, which includes support for the H.264 Advanced Video Codec.

With its support of H.264, the AmiNET124 enables IPTV service providers to reach more customers and deliver more video streams over existing ADSL local loop connections, and is powered by a single TI DM642 processor. Previous H.264 capable set-top box products have required multiple processors.

"The high-performance and inherent flexibility of TI's DM642 processor coupled with the Amino software stack enables us to deliver the same price/performance advantage for H.264 that we have already demonstrated in MPEG2," said Karthik Ranjan, VP Marketing, Amino. "With the AmiNET124, our customers can deliver more streams to more homes and maximize the return on their IPTV investment."

The AmiNET124 provides an elegant and powerful means of delivering sophisticated interactive digital television, including multicast, on-demand video and Internet access.

"Amino Communications is a leading provider of IPTV equipment, and we are pleased to enable the innovative AmiNET124," said Arnaud Duclap, business development manager for TI's Video/Imaging DSP group in Europe. "The cost-effective programmability of TI's DSP-based DM642 processor enables Amino to adapt quickly in a dynamic market. We believe the combination of TI's processor coupled with Amino's IPTV software platform delivers a high-functionality product, increasing performance and maintaining sustainable differentiators."

Built on the proven architecture of TI´s TMS320C64xTM generation of DSPs, the DM64xTM digital media processors achieve performance levels of up to 720 MHz, providing multiple performance, price and integration options. TI´s DM642 processor supports the latest advanced video codecs, such as Windows MediaTM Video series 9, H.264, MPEG-4 part 2 (DivX derivatives included) and MPEG-2. Delivering exceptional video quality with next-generation functionality and flexibility, TI´s digital technology enables OEMs to evolve their designs to keep up with ever-changing technology demands.