Dune HD was the sponsor of the show’s lanyards and badges, and had a prominent spot near the front of the hall. The company was promoting its new UltraHD products, which – it said – are ‘the first budget operator-ready solutions with HEVC and 4k UltraHD support’.
Three new products were on show, all marketed as ‘cost-effective’ (although we couldn’t get Dune to commit to a price).
The TV-205 STB supports HEVC and is an IP model by default. Two additional versions are hybrid units, supporting satellite (TV-205-S2) and cable/terrestrial (TV-205-C/T/T2) connections. This box runs on a Sigma Designs SMP8758 SoC, with 512MB of RAM and HDMI, composite and USB (x2) connections. The TV-204 STB is identical, but supports up to 1920 x 1080 resolution. The hybrid TV-204 models can optionally support an internal 2.5″ SATA HDD.
A common argument in favour of STBs is that their low cost and shorter life cycle makes them easier to upgrade than TVs. At TV Connect, Dune was going one better, introducing the Dune HD Blaster – a way to upgrade legacy STBs. The Blaster connects through an HDMI port and can control other devices using its IR interface. It can be used to re-stream video entering through the HDMI port, or from internet services, to connected displays.
Dune’s Blaster runs Android 4.4 on a 1.2GHz CPU, with 1GB of RAM (2GB optional). The HDMI port also supports MHL, and is joined by USB and RJ45 inputs. However, the product does not support HEVC.
