ANT Provides High Performance User Experience for New Pace H.264 IPTV Set-Top Box

May 26, 2005--ANT plc, a leading provider of embedded browser, content control and user interface software for IPTV and consumer electronics, announced today that ANT Galio will be integrated into the world's first hardware H.264 decode IPTV set-top box - the IP215 - developed by Pace Micro Technology.

ANT Galio is an advanced browser-based user interface solution that complements the capabilities of this new Pace set-top box. By combining the latest television and Web standards with high performance in a small memory footprint, Galio enables operators to develop groundbreaking interactive content and complex TV-based applications quickly and easily using existing knowledge and off-the-shelf tools.

The IP215 uses the latest silicon technology to enable MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression decoding to take place in the hardware, replacing more expensive software based solutions. This hardware decoder, based on H.264 video compression technology, enables bandwidth to be utilised much more efficiently while also providing far superior quality pictures - offering operators a high performance, entry-level solution.

"By providing the latest H.264 decoding in hardware, the IP215 set-top box answers our customers' requirements for a viable and cost-effective IPTV solution," said David Gillies, director of technology at Pace Micro Technology. "With support for the latest standards in the smallest possible footprint, ANT Galio is a natural complement to the IP215. Other solutions require more memory, new hardware or complex custom content that is expensive and time-consuming to develop. The combination of Galio and the IP215 keeps costs and bandwidth usage low, which allows operators to enter the IPTV market and deliver compelling services to a far broader customer base than was previously possible."

"Galio's advanced architecture and standards support can help reduce bandwidth and server loads," said Andrew Bovingdon, head of marketing at ANT. "By supplying Galio alongside the advanced hardware decoding capabilities of the IP215, Pace can ensure their customers can deliver winning interactive services and complex TV-based applications while ensuring bandwidth and server requirements are kept to a real minimum."