General Instrument Corp, which is the holder of a $4.5bn contract for 15 million set top boxes from 12 US cable operators (CI No 3,316), has chosen Motorola Inc, Irvine, California-based Broadcom Corp and Santa Clara, California-based Quantum Effect Design Inc to provide the key silicon components for its next generation boxes. GI already uses Motorola’s 68331 processor for its current DCT-1000 and DCT-1200 set-top boxes, and will use the double clock speed version of the chip for its next box, the DCT- 2000, due out later this year. The box will offer increased memory and higher-end graphics capabilities, along with the faster chip. But GI has gone to MIPS chip supplier QED for its next-generation advanced digital cable platform the DCT-5000+, due out early in 1999. That will use the QED MIPS RM5230, a 233 Mips, 175MHz RISC processor, and include PC-like features such as a built-in hard drive for local storage and advanced graphics capabilities for 3D rendering and animation. It is intended to enable services such as IP telephony and integrated modem functionality to video-on-demand, internet access and interactive services offered with the current boxes. It will work with older boxes so that operators can tier their digital services offerings. Broadcom will work on integrating critical functions and technologies within the boxes on to more cost-effective silicon, including the cable modem functionality earmarked for the DCT-5000 + box. General Instrument Corp was known for much of last year under the name NextLevel Systems Inc, one of three companies it split itself into at the beginning of that year (CI No 3,073).
