Stream Machine and Sigma Designs Achieve Harmony

By Veronica Hendricks
iApplianceWeb
(09/21/01, 09:21:26 AM EDT)

Stream Machine and Sigma Designs' Personal Video Recorder (PVR) reference design, Harmony, uses the SM2288 Audio/Video Codec chip from Stream Machine and the EM8475 DVD/MPEG4 Decoder chip from Sigma Designs. Harmony is designed to enable manufacturers to inexpensively add PVR functionality to their set-top box products.

Harmony enables the development of consumer products for the advanced set-top box market that include high-quality digital video recording and time-shifting functions. These devices offer consumers full control over their viewing experience by providing pause, instant record, and other time-shifting features during live broadcasts, as well as the ability to record one or more programs at specified times in the future.

In order to gain market adoption, PVR functionality has to be delivered cost-effectively for both consumers and service providers. The Harmony reference design achieves this goal by providing a high-quality viewing experience on low cost x86 platforms running LINUX. It is able to do this by leveraging the power of Stream Machine's SM2288 MPEG audio/video codec and the flexibility of Sigma Designs' EM8475 DVD/MPEG-4 decoder.

The Harmony Reference Design will be sold and supported by both Stream Machine and Sigma Designs. Price for the Harmony reference design is $5,000, and includes a board, software SDK, schematics, Gerber files, and a bill of materials. Availability begins in October 2001. Availability for the Metro Link PVR Toolkit will be announced shortly.

Links:
Stream Machine
Sigma Designs