Skitter rolls out its own hybrid set-top box

Hybrid TV platform vendor Skitter has announced a new hybrid IPTV/over-the-top video set-top box as the latest addition to its Skitter.TV offering that has found deployment at some tier 2 and tier 3 independent telcos, such as Hill Country Telephone Cooperative in Texas.

The Skitter Box initially will be distributed only through service providers that are using the Skitter.TV platform, though the vendor said its platform will still be open to set-top boxes from other manufacturers (Roku boxes have worked with Skitter in the past). The new box supports standard definition and high definition video at resolutions from 480i to 1080p. It’s designed for self-installation and connects to a broadband home network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. It also features pre-loaded Skitter.TV Media Player software that self-updates automatically when new releases become available. The Skitter Box also has a USB port for digital camera connectivity, HDMI, component and composite video, and optional optical audio, as well as support for a variety of conditional access and digital rights management options.

The self-installation aspect should help remove some of that cost and labor burden from service providers who usually have to commit to a truck roll for initial deployments. The hybrid box announcement from Skitter comes the same week as Entone outlined a hybrid TV offering centered around its media hubs. The hybrid TV concept is likely to be the subject of more announcements leading up to the TelcoTV Conference & Expo next week in Las Vegas.

Skitter also recently pursued a provisional patent for its prioritized variable bit rate encoding concept.