With Syabas announcing they are looking to bring a player to the market based on the Intel CE4100 chip, there has been some discussion as to what this means for the future of their Sigma based players (such as the PCH C-200 and PCH A-200 series).
Syabas posted a note on the NMT forum discussing the matter:
As stated in the press release, the Intel platform will be a separate product line, it will not be a replacement for the C-series.
We will still pursue Sigma platform with the C-series. However, the commercial delivery of the next generation SMP8910 chip is at this moment still anyone’s guess. Not to mention the time needed to get their SDK to a mature level that is *acceptable* to most users.
Likewise, you see the same *maturing* required on the Intel platform SDK with the likes of Boxee, GoogleTV.
Meanwhile, one of the reason we decided to migrate to a Flash Lite based UI is to decouple the UI design from the low-level middleware/firmware. This allows the UI to evolve/refine without being constrained by the firmware and platform SDK.
At our CES demo, you see the same NMJ UI running on the Intel platform, albeit at a much faster speed due to the faster CPU. Likewise, if and when SMP8910 is available, you will enjoy the improved UI performance.
Another advantage of using Flash Lite, is the ability to support Flash Apps, which you can see evolving into our Apps Market, from the legacy HTML based Web services.
We will continue to evolve with technology as and when it becomes available, and the processor speed and capability is up to it. Up next is OpenGL, HTML5, 3D, Flash 10, etc, all of which we already exploring ahead.
For those who have been with Popcorn Hour since the start, you know that our firmware and product have evolved according to users requests and feedback.
We don’t presume to know what is the *perfect* player for our users, but we intend to work towards being the best player for our customer (within limits of our resources, and within limits of the chipset supplier’s resources).
We have learned a lot along the way, thanks to this NMT forum that gives us a direct connection to our supporters out there.
Thanks!
It is great to see a note like this giving some color on the direction of Syabas. 2011 is already shaping up to be an interesting year for the media players. With the announcement of Sigma porting XBMC over to its chips, Boxee trying to make a splash, and the new Sigma SMP8910 hopefully not too far around the corner the consumer should have a wide selection of feature rich players to choose from. Stay tuned…
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Article by Damian
Hi, my name is Damian, and I'm tech gadget addict! Although I always had some interest in technology, it wasn't until I got my EX470 and more importantly found Mediasmartserver.net, that my interest became an addiction. My goal, aside from world domination and to see the Mets/Broncos win another championship, is to set up the perfect digital home where all my media is available at the click of a button. When I am not writing for Mediasmartserver.net you can find me over at my blog at http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com or follow me on twitter
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As a owner of a launch A-100 and then launch C-200 .. i really hope they move towards intel full time .. blaming Sigma SDK’s for issues is getting old news for me .. and the inability to have Gigabit speeds even though they were advertised is just really sad
Now don’t get me wrong i love my C-200 for Blu Ray Backups .. But streaming from my WHS is not perfect .. even with Demigrator off .. So a nice true Gigabit speed would be nice in my new house wired in 550 Mhz Cat 6
The intel CE4100 is not Gigabit, it is only 10/100. This is the chip in the Boxee Box and the one Syabas would use.
Supposedly the new Sigma chip has fill gigE
Poop .. Ok goooooo Sigma : )
But, Sigma’s video playback and support for a wide range of formats is better than Intel’s at this stage, including proper HD audio support. Also, with their partnership with XBMC, we may get the best of both worlds (solid local media playback coupled with a great frond-end).
Yeah, also Sigma is known for the best when it comes to PQ (important to me). Also, VXP is coming to the consumer Sigma chips, which can only mean good things to further enhance PQ (especially SD):
http://www.sigmadesigns.com/video_processing_overview.php
Syabas is a pretty small company that makes a really killer product. But the tides are changing (as they typically do in the CE industry) and they have a lot more pressure being imposed on them by much bigger players. I’m sure they are feeling like they need to make a change in their development strategy in order to keep up with the market trend.
I am a proud A200 owner! I think that for the price, they are unmatched in the market; caveat, if your a techie. All NMT owners know of the issues that shroud the black boxes from being an all star. There are a number of them. I’m not sure how many of those issues are directly related to the Sigma chipset or how many man hours the Syabas developers waste due to the Sigma SDK issues … it may be significant. Only time will tell. But coming off CES, I’m sure they are feeling the heat of the fire burning their bottom.
I have a C-200, which I have owned since as soon as I could get one after release.
With all of what has gone on with Syabas and Sigma Designs, however, I am tempted someday to build a system based on AMD’s new Fusion E350. The flexibility to run the Windows or Linux platform of my choice, on a mainboard that would cost only $100 with the APU already onboard, is an appealing one.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4134/the-brazos-review-amds-e350-supplants-ion-for-miniitx
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