Internet Protocol Set-Top Boxes

Table 1 describes the IP set-top box features supported in each Windows operating system.

Legend:

Feature or Functionality	Description	Windows CE 5.0	Windows XP Embedded
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Stack	Windows XP-based tunable TCP/IP stack includes IPv4 and IPv6 stacks and interoperability. Positioned to support the next generation of IP addresses, Windows CE 5.0 supports IP, Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), Internet Group Multicast Protocol (IGMP), TCP, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), name resolution and registration, and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).
Wireless Networking Support	Enables set-top boxes to act as a wireless access point with support for the latest wireless networking standards, including 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.1x Local Area Network (LAN) wireless protocols, as well as short-range personal area network (PAN) technologies such as Infrared Data Association (IrDA) and Bluetooth.
Additional Networking Services	Supports 802.3 and 802.5 Ethernet, dial-up networking (Remote Access Service (RAS) and Point to Point Protocol (PPP)), Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE), and Virtual Private Networking (VPN).
IP Security (IPSec)	Protects data transmitted across a network. IPSec is an important part of providing security for virtual private networks and other secured networks to ensure that data can be more securely transmitted over the network in an encrypted format, such as 3DES.
Integrated Browsers	These browsers accommodate the latest Web technologies, including HyperText Markup Language (HTML) 4.0, Dynamic HyperText Markup Language (DHTML), Jscript 5.5, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Private Communications Technology (PCT) 1.0, Windows Internet Services (WinInet), Secure Socket Layer (SSL) 2.0 and 3.0, and URL Moniker services. Windows XP Embedded supports Internet Explorer 6 with equivalent functionality to that provided on desktop PCs running Windows XP. Windows CE 5.0 provides a footprint-optimized and feature-reduced version of Internet Explorer 6 and does not support some of the additions such as a dynamic plug-in architecture or all ActiveX controls.
TV Lens	Internet Explorer 6 for Windows CE includes TV-Style 5 Key Navigation, Directional Tabbing which enables a spatial navigation system, fixed width layout that fits to screen, and a full-screen sample browser application (IESAMPLE).
Windows Media Player	Supports the most powerful multimedia technologies, including Microsoft Windows Media Player. Windows Media Player allows you to view high-quality, full-motion video with a familiar set of controls.
Multimedia Codec Support	Includes the following integrated Codecs and formats: Audio Codecs: Windows Media Audio (WMA) versions 2, 7, 8, and 9; PCM; GSM 6.10 Audio; MPEG-1 Layer 1 and 2; and Fraunhofer MPEG –1 layer 3 (MP3). Video Codecs: Windows Media Video (WMV) versions 7, 8, and 9; MPEG-1; MPEG-4 versions 2 and 3; MPEG-4 versions 2 and 3; ISO version 1; Cinepak; and Run Length Encoding (RLE) version 8. Audio Streaming Formats: Windows Media Audio (WMA); and MPEG standard 1 - Layers 1, 2, and 3 (MPA, MP2, and MP3). Video Streaming Formats: Windows Media Video (WMV), Advanced Streaming Format (ASF), Advanced Stream Redirector (ASX), and MPEG standard 1 (MPG, MPEG, MPV, and MPE). With Windows Media Player, users are guaranteed fast performance, superior audio and video quality, and support for digital music and digital photo displays from a set-top box.
Digital Rights Management (DRM)	DRM protects multimedia content from unauthorized playback or duplication. It includes remote license acquisition and enables copyright owners to encrypt and manage Active Streaming Format (ASF) content. Digital Rights Management (DRM) version 7.1 is supported. Streams from DRM 9 servers in an IPTV environment are also supported.
Third-Party Codecs	In addition to the above-mentioned codecs, OEMs may add third-party codecs to support an application, such as an MPEG-2 codec.
Graphics Support	Support for Microsoft DirectX 8, providing superior graphics rendering and performance and an abstraction application development layer for authoring multimedia applications that run both on the desktop and the device.
DVD-Video Support	A complete middleware framework, including application and driver interfaces, for incorporating DVD-video playback applications.
Digital TV (DTV) Broadcast Services	Through DirectX Broadcast Driver Access (BDA), drivers provide infrastructure necessary for applications to receive and display DTV. Supports Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB-C/S/T), OpenCable, Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (ATVEF), reception of IP data, Digital Video Recorder (DVR), and OLE Control Extensions (OCX).