Cisco Systems, Motorola, Philips and Tatung simultaneously introduced new IPTV set-top boxes said to offer greater functionality, based on their incorporation of a new generation of ICs from a variety of semiconductor companies, all designed specifically for IPTV STBs.

All of the new STBs support Microsoft’s IPTV Edition software platform, used by several IPTV providers worldwide.

Cisco set-tops, which will be deployed by customers including AT&T, support high-definition TV, DVR, and integrated home networking over coax. Cisco’s STBs incorporate silicon from both Sigma Designs and STMicroelectronics.

Motorola’s VIP series of set-tops enable on-demand services, DVR and are prepared to support HDTV codecs. The Motorola STBs are also ready to support forthcoming IPTV Edition features such as multi-room streaming and home media networking. Motorola said VIP series set-tops are shipping in volume today. AT&T will be the first service provider to commercially deploy these products.

Philips has introduced a hybrid IPTV-DTT set-top box supporting HDTV and DVR functionality. Philips’ box is based on the Sigma Designs 8634 chipset. This product will be launched by BT this fall.

Tatung will introduce its STB2000 series, also based on the Sigma Designs chipset, also later this year. The new STB2300 model is an entry-level IP set-top box that not only supports two high-definition decoding engines for MPEG-2, H.264 and VC-1, but also supports advanced features including HDTV, video-on-demand (VOD) and high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI).