Chinese video set-top maker Skyworth Digital has joined the RDK Accelerator program and has announced a new RDK device based on Amlogic silicon.
Skyworth’s “RDK Accelerator” set-top is a UHD device running on either the Amlogic S905X2 or S905X4 chipsets, 802.11ac dual band 2×2 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, while offering support for Dolby Vision.
The box is preintegrated with the Reference Design Kit (RDK) application framework, an open-source software platform for connected homes that standardizes core functions used in broadband, video and internet of things-connected devices. RDK set-tops have access to the full range of over-the-top apps within the Metrological App Store.
Other companies offering RDK Video Accelerator set-tops, which run on various Broadcom chipsets, include CommScope, Humax, KAON and Technicolor.
“The demand for RDK-based products are on the rise by pay-TV operators around the globe,” said Charlie Zheng, VP of strategic partnerships, sales and marketing for Skyworth Digital. “RDK gives pay-TV operators the flexibility and the capability to develop new TV experiences, and Skyworth is proud to collaborate with Amlogic to help them accelerate those plans.”
Steve Heeb, president and general manager of RDK, said: “Skyworth is a market leader in consumer electronics and set-top boxes, and we’re very proud to have them join the RDK Video Accelerator program. Using state-of-the-art chipsets from Amlogic, operators now have a turnkey, production-ready solution that pre-integrates the RDK app framework and Metrological App Store.”
Over the spring, RDK disclosed there are now more than 60 million devices running RDK software in homes around the world.
The RDK framework was created several years ago by a consortium of telecom operators and technology vendors, led by Comcast and Liberty Global. The inclusion of a leading set-top vendor such as Skyworth represents an important ally, given the fast market infiltration of Google’s rival set-top platform, Android TV.
