Freebox offers the most powerful Set Top Box (STB)

The new Freebox offering consists of two set-top boxes, a multimedia box called HD Freebox and a network box called ADSL Freebox. This innovative new series is the fruit of two years’ research and development work, and integrates all the most advanced technologies including ADSL 2+, high-definition television, WiFi MIMO, a DTT tuner, mobile telephony over WiFi and a number of other functionalities. For receiving IPTV video services, the HD Freebox contains an SD and HD decoder - a DTT tuner which can be used to access the 18 DTT channels, including TF1 and M6, SCART, S-Video and composite S-video connectors, an HDMI connector to connect an HD-Ready television, an S/P-DIF and digital audio output to connect a hi-fi, and three antennas for wireless connection to the ADSL box. The new HD Freebox and ADSL Freebox are available now and being issued to new subscribers immediately

The new HD Freebox and ADSL Freebox are now being deployed by Free, the rapidly growing broadband ISP operator in France and sister company to Freebox within the Iliad Group. Free was the first operator to provide broadband television services, broadband telephone services, and triple play services to the French market. Continuing with their trend of innovation, Free is now offering improved triple-play communication services and the first high-definition IPTV video services in Europe.

Free reached the end of March 2006 with 1.8 million subscribers and expects to have over 2 million subscribers by the end of this year. The charge for the Free broadband package remains unchanged at €29.99 per month, with the Freebox provided free of charge throughout the duration of the subscription. This means that customers can make even more savings on their household bills, because, as part of the inclusive package (Internet, telephone service, television, telephone line rental, unlimited calls to landline phones in mainland France and to 14 international destinations, and mobile telephony), they will also be provided with all their equipment (ADSL2+ modem, HDTV decoder, DTT tuner, Mediacenter, WiFi MIMO, multi-device tuner).

About the SMP8634

Sigma’s SMP8634 media processor provides a complete system-on-chip (SOC) solution with powerful multimedia processing, robust content security system, and a full complement of peripherals. Its advanced decoder engines support video decoding of H.264 (MPEG-4 part 10), VC-1 (as well as Windows Media® Video 9, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (part 2) with multiple streams, up to the equivalent of two high-definition video streams. High performance graphics acceleration, multi-standard audio decoding, advanced display processing capabilities, and HDMI/HDCP output round out its multimedia core. Powerful content security is ensured through a dedicated secure processor, flash memory, and a range of digital rights management (DRM) engines for high-speed payload decryption. The SMP8634’s 300-Mhz host CPU, 3.2 GB/second unified memory controller, Ethernet 10/100 controller, dual USB 2.0 controller, and IDE controller provide for a single-chip solution for most set-top boxes and consumer players.