LAS VEGAS – IP-centric set-top box (STB) manufacturer Amino has taken the position of top worldwide vendor in the pure IPTV STB market, according to rankings from ABI Research. This is the third consecutive year that Amino has taken first place in ABI’s rankings, however, the distinction between pure and hybrid STBs is relatively new to the industry.

The STB represents a significant proportion of per-customer capital expenditures. As such, service providers that have the long-term goal of switching entirely to the IP domain must consider the type of STB they are deploying. The STB market is punctuated by two distinct types of services, hybrid and pure, with the difference being one between ‘enhanced broadcast’ and an all-IP approach to television delivery.

Amino’s 10-year history in the IPTV market is purely Ethernet-focused. Huw Price-Stephens, director of marketing and strategic business development for Amino, said telcos’ first objective in entering the IPTV market was to create a me-too service to remain competitive against the cable and satellite companies, but the end game is to move well beyond that. As such, smaller telcos and those entering the market late are better able to build an all-IP experience. They do not have to reinvent the existing infrastructure in place for broadcast services.

“One of the risks that service providers have is when they make their choices about STB and choose an enhanced broadcast, they might find that in two years when they want to go all IP, they have to disconnect their box because it is no longer adequate,” Price-Stephens said. “With pure IP boxes, you can disconnect the box and still have the entire service connected to Ethernet. It is about future-proofing your technology for the next five to seven years. An IP centric set-top, really a very capable Internet device, actually becomes very important.”

Price-Stephens said that while the tier-one market is attractive to Amino for obvious reasons, it is the most difficult to build a relationship with as an all-IP centric company. For pragmatic reasons, these telcos often need a hybrid approach from day one. It is for this reason that Amino is currently experimenting with adding hybrid STBs to the mix. However, it would still have to be a primarily IP-centric box to which Amino would add the ability to have a traditional broadcast feed. This way, he said, telcos could still unplug the box when needed and not lose the IP base.

Amino’s AmiNET series of IPTV STBs has been used in commercial deployments and trials in more than 80 countries. The company is focused on growing its telco customer base, but broadcasters, enterprise and hospitality service operators are other target markets. Its line of STBs all include MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 encoding standards, standard and high-definition TV, personal video recording and home networking.

The vendor was also recognized yesterday at NAB for successfully completing the Premium Conformance Tier of the MPEG Industry Forum Logo Qualification program. The AmiNET 130 and AmiNET530 were the first HD H.264 IPTV and HD H.264 digital-video recorder (DVR) STBs to meet the forum’s requirements. Antonio Gimeno-Calvo, alliances manager for Amino, said that the industry is currently in a confidence crisis concerning MPEG-4, but the MPEGIF’s successful completion of the MPEGIF standards process is evidence that the technology is ready for prime time.