MatrixStream
appears to be one of the first (if not the first) to bring a 1080p set-top box to market. They're definitely ahead of
the curve because so few HDTVs can currently accept a 1080p signal and even fewer, as in zero, networks are
broadcasting in 1080p. Don't sell the IMX 1020HD short, however. It's really geared towards 1080i and 1080p video over
broadband and already know from our
HD Trailer Tuesday
series that the 1080p videos look stellar. MatrixStream uses H.264 (or MPEG-4, Part 10) compression to keep the
picture quality up and the file size & bandwidth required down. Trials of the new 1080p set-top box start this
month and a consumer roll-out is slated for the end of Q1. Hey, MatrixStream: we've got broadband and a space next to
our HD set if you're interested!
If you want to catch a video of the Mac mini-looking device in action,
flush your broadband pipes and grab
the 70MB WMV file
here. Ironically, the video is 640 x 480, but we forgive 'em. The VOD functionality looks really snappy in the
demo.
