News Release

VIA and OctalTV Deliver Interactive Multimedia Home Entertainment with the Advanced STB at VIA Embedded Press Conference at CeBIT

Powered by Microsoft® TV and based on the VIA Eden Platform, the OctalTV STB6106 Advanced Set Top Box is a showcase of rich and interactive television media that maximises the potential of broadband and brings connectivity and entertainment to the living room

Troisdorf, Germany, 15 March 2003 - VIA Technologies, Inc., a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today demonstrated the OctalTV STB6106 Advanced Set Top Box with enhanced home entertainment applications at the VIA Embedded Technologies Press Conference at CeBIT 2003. Based on the VIA Eden Digital Media Platform, this enhanced multimedia set top box will also be on show at the VIA booth B42, Hall 23.

The OctalTV Advanced STB6106 seamlessly integrates rich interactive television based digital media with the abundant rewards of broadband connectivity and the familiar user interface of Microsoft TV. Applications include an interactive TV guide, e-mail, multiple games, Personal Video Recorder, Time Shift Viewing, DVD playback, Audio CD/MP3 playback, DivX v4 & v5, streaming Video-on-Demand, Internet browsing and Microsoft Messenger. A complete suite of communications applications, such as e-mail, instant messages, chat and forums generates greater involvement and interaction by the end-user, enhancing the value of the platform above that of standard consumer electronics devices.

"We are very pleased to be participating in the VIA Embedded Technologies press conference at CeBIT this year," said Pedro Casqueiro, Managing Director of Operations, OctalTV. "The VIA Eden Platform was the logical choice for our Advanced STB6106, not only because of its remarkably low power consumption and quiet operation but also its native x86 compatibility and performance that can not be matched by other embedded platforms."

The OctalTV STB6106 also brings connectivity to the whole house through its Internet sharing capability that allows subscribers to connect their PCs directly to the set top box or use the optional 802.11x wireless LAN for unhindered mobile connectivity. Aimed at the mainstream market, the STB6106 introduces the very latest cutting edge technology in a familiar and user-friendly package without the daunting task of having to learn a new operating system.

"OctalTV have proven themselves to be a market leader in the home digital media entertainment market through their fast and successful amalgamation of embedded PC architecture and consumer electronics operability and aesthetics," said Richard Brown, Associate Vice-President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "With the VIA Eden Digital Media Platform, VIA is extending embedded computing into the living room space and other key mainstream market areas."

VIA Eden Digital Media Platform Overview

The VIA Eden Digital Media Platform features a low power, high performance sixth generation processor core combined with the VIA Apollo CLE266 North Bridge featuring integrated AGP 8X graphics, 3D/2D/video acceleration, integrated hardware MPEG2 decoder, support for DDR266 memory and ATA133. Also included is the highly integrated VT8235 South Bridge, with a full set of built-in networking, Super I/O, connectivity, and audio features, as well as a wide range of Companion chips that enable the convenient and low cost integration of 6-channel surround sound, IEEE 1394, USB 2.0, TV-Out, and Ethernet PHY functions.

Featuring a powerful processor core available with native x86 execution, 192KB full speed L1/L2 cache, and MMX™ and 3DNow!™ support, the VIA Eden ESP delivers leading edge PC application and Internet performance on an embedded platform and is fully compatible with a complete range of Microsoft® Windows® XP, Windows 9x, Embedded Windows, and Windows CE operating systems as well as all the leading versions of Linux. The VIA Eden Digital Media Platform's market-leading thermal characteristics make it the ideal solution for ergonomic fanless system designs for a variety of innovative, quiet, low profile and small form factors that are the crucial elements of consumer electronics design.

With its rich levels of integration and multiple configuration options, the VIA Eden Digital Media Platform not only delivers unprecedented system design flexibility on a native x86 embedded platform but also speeds up time to market and minimizes product development and manufacturing costs by reducing the number of discrete components. The VIA Eden Platform is covered by a four year product life cycle program, and is supported on a global basis through VIA's worldwide operations.

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