GS Group introduced the first Russian digital TV set-top box with Ultra HD television (4K) support, GS A230. The holding company is one of the first in the world to make 4K television available to millions of users. The new device under the General Satellite brand is equipped with the ST Microelectronics processor for ultra-high speed data processing, Wi-Fi module for wireless connection to home network and a built-in 1Tb HDD. New set-top-box is equal to its global competitors being fully designed and produced in Russia. The first UHDTV channels are already available to subscribers of the Tricolor TV digital television operator.
Today the Russian radio electronic industry is ready for consumer electronics manufacturing and currently produces devices that are competitive both in domestic and international markets. The launch of the GS A230 UHD set-top-box under the General Satellite brand is a tangible proof that Russian companies have the competency and production capacity to be involved in the process of consumer electronics import substitution in the country. The new STB which is completely designed and produced in Russia is equal to its foreign equivalents in terms of features.
The current leaders of the electronic industry are actively exploring UHD format. According to forecasts from Transparency Market Research, the global market of flat-screen 4K TV sets will reach a volume of $30.4 billion by 2020. The UHD TV set segment is also growing rapidly in Russia. According to GS Group, in 2015, around 474 thousand 4K TV sets were sold. Their costs keep reducing and demand keeps growing, so, consequently, there is more and more content of a relevant quality available. According to NSR analysts, there will be 785 4K channels available across the globe by 2025. Telecom Daily research and information agency believes that these are satellite TV operators to promote UHD-content to the mass TV service market. In July 2016, Tricolor TV digital TV operator — the GS Group’s strategic partner — brought the first bundle of three UHD channels to the Russian market.
The first Russian 4K TV set-top box, GS A230 is equipped with two DVB-S/DVB-S2 tuners for satellite signal reception and broadcasting of UHD TV content on to advanced Ultra HD TV sets. The server STB is powered by a new STMicroelectronics microprocessor and a co-processor designed by GS Group, which is first applied to consumer electronics. The quad-core single-chip system, STMicroelectronics with ARM Cortex-A9 architecture is capable of delivering more than 12,000 DMIPS to support ultra-high-speed 4K content processing. The integrated ARM Mali400-MP4 graphic processor operates at 400 MHz frequency to ensure fill rate of 1,600 Mpix/s.
GS A230 was designed for the premium segment of the Russian market. The equipment supports all modern UHDTV standards, including HEVC. GS A230 is equipped with an internal 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi module (with a data transmission speed of up to 1.75 Gb/s) to ensure a wireless connection of the STB to the home IP network for independent and “mirror” transfer of video content to client devices (iOS or Android OS smartphone, tablet or the GS Gamekit game console). The device has a new standard of multimedia interface HDMI 2.0 required for UHDTV watching with the wired connection to 4K TV set. Owners of GS A230 can benefit from watching independent video content from a second TV screen — via connecting GS C5911 IP-client.
GS A230 has a built-in 1Tb HDD and is equipped with two USB connectors (including one latest USB 3.0 interface) for media content playback from external data sources, 3RCA and an optical S/PDIF connector. The updated Stingray TV software platform has a user-friendly graphic interface and supports PVR and TimeShift functions. The content copyright holder determines the availability of these functions. In addition, GS A230 also provides an access to interactive services and applications such as “Kinozaly.Tricolor TV” and an intelligent electronic program guide (EPG). The new STB boasts a modern and sleek casing and an elegant design.
“GS Group has made a new generation of television affordable for millions of Russian viewers. The first Russian set-top-box for UHDTV is a brand new device not only for the domestic market: it can easily compete with Western and Asian equivalents when comparing technical performance and cost. As a national technology leader in the field of consumer electronics development and manufacturing, GS Group is the first to bring a home-produced modern device for UHD content viewing to the Russian market,” — Andrew Bezrukov, Director for Strategic Marketing of GS Group comments.
GS A230 set-top box is already available for sale from authorized dealers of General Satellite consumer electronics.