ViXS Systems announced that it has licensed of the Reference Design Kit and that it intends to differentiate itself early on by coming forth with silicon that can decode 4K content in the bandwidth-saving HEVC format.
ViXS is one of more than 120 companies, including 15 operators, that have licensed the RDK, a pre-integrated software stack for IP-only and hybrid QAM/IP set-tops and gateways that’s managed by a joint venture of Comcast and Time Warner Cable called RDK Development LLC.
ViXS said it is shipping an Ultra HD/4K HEVC 10-bit platform for set-tops and gateways.
"ViXS Systems is leading the drive to 4K reality in the broadcast industry and by licensing RDK for use in our XCode SoC product line, it strengthens our position as the solution leader throughout the industry," said Sally Daub, ViXS’s president and CEO, in a statement.
"By combining the media processing innovations found in the ViXS XCode SoC product line with the feature rich RDK capabilities, this enhanced platform will help our customers accelerate the development of next generation HD/4K STBs and home gateways to meet the growing demands and needs of their end consumers."
But ViXS’s interest in the RDK has hardly been a secret. Last month, ViXS and Intel detailed a partnership in which they are building an RDK-pointing platform that matches Intel’s Puma 6 MG DOCSIS 3.0 media gateway chipset, which is capable of bonding 28 downstream channels, with ViXS’s XCode 5106 multi-stream HD transcoder.
Coincidentally, Intel is supplying chips for the initial wave of RDK-based HD-DVRs that run Comcast’s X1 platform. Comcast, which is preparing to launch an IP-delivered 4K app for new Samsung Ultra HD televisions, plans to offer X1 boxes that can decode 4K signals later this year.
