View source for Set-top box

{{Short description|Device to create output for a television}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2023}}
[[File:TEAC DVB-T Receiver.JPG|thumb|260x260px|A typical modern set-top box, along with its remote control - pictured here a [[Digital terrestrial television|digital terrestrial TV]] receiver by [[TEAC Corporation|TEAC]]]]
A '''set-top box''' ('''STB'''), also known as a '''[[cable converter box|cable box]]''', '''receiver,''' or simply '''box''', and historically '''television decoder''' or a '''converter''',<ref>{{Cite web| title=Communications Engineering Digest/The Magazine of Broadband Technology | date=December 1981 | url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-C-ED/80s/C-ED-1981-12.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303181812/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-C-ED/80s/C-ED-1981-12.pdf | archive-date=2021-03-03}}</ref> is an [[information appliance]] device that generally contains a [[Tuner (radio)#Television|TV tuner]] input and displays output to a [[television set]], turning the source [[signal]] into [[media (communications)|content]] in a form that can then be displayed on the television screen or other [[display device]]. It is designed to be placed alongside or "on top" (hence the name) of a television set.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of set-top box |url=https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/set-top-box |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=PCMAG |language=en}}</ref>

Set-top boxes are used in [[cable television]], [[satellite television]], [[terrestrial television]] and [[Internet Protocol television]] systems, as well as other uses such as [[digital media player]]s ("streaming boxes"). Alternatives to set-top boxes are the smaller [[dongle]]s, and television sets with built-in TV tuners.

==TV signal sources==
[[File:Sat-Receiver Palcom DSL-350.jpg|200px|thumb|A consumer Palcom DSL-350 satellite-receiver; the [[Intermediate frequency|IF]] [[demodulation]] tuner is on the bottom left, and a [[Fujitsu]] [[Moving Picture Experts Group|MPEG]] decoder [[Central processing unit|CPU]] is in the center of the board. The [[power supply]] is on the right.]]
[[File:Sky Q Silver.jpg|thumb|A [[Sky Q]] digital satellite receiver set-top box]]The signal source might be an [[Ethernet]] cable, a [[satellite dish]], a [[coaxial cable]] (see [[cable television]]), a [[telephone]] line (including [[Digital subscriber line|DSL]] connections), [[broadband over power lines]] (BPL), or even an ordinary [[Very high frequency|VHF]] or [[Ultra high frequency|UHF]] [[antenna (radio)|antenna]]. Content, in this context, could mean any or all of [[video]], [[Sound|audio]], [[Internet]] [[web page]]s, [[interactivity|interactive]] [[video game]]s, or other possibilities. Satellite and microwave-based services also require specific external receiver hardware, so the use of set-top boxes of various formats has never completely disappeared. Set-top boxes can also enhance source signal quality.

===UHF converter===
Before the [[All-Channel Receiver Act]] of 1962 required US [[television set|television receiver]]s to be able to tune the entire [[very high frequency|VHF]] and [[ultra high frequency|UHF]] range (which in [[North America]] was [[NTSC#NTSC-M|NTSC-M]] channels [[Pan-American television frequencies|2 through 83]] on 54 to 890{{spaces}}[[hertz|MHz]]), a set-top box known as a UHF converter would be installed at the receiver to shift a portion of the UHF-TV spectrum onto low-VHF channels for viewing. As some 1960s-era 12-channel TV sets remained in use for many years, and [[Canada]] and [[Mexico]] were slower than the US to require UHF tuners to be factory-installed in new TVs, a market for these converters continued to exist for much of the 1970s.

===Cable converter===
{{main|Cable converter box}}
[[File:HK Cable TV Settop Box 2002.jpg|left|thumb|An older digital cable TV set-top box]]
[[Cable television]] represented a possible alternative to deployment of UHF converters as broadcasts could be frequency-shifted to VHF channels at the cable head-end instead of the final viewing location. However, most cable systems could not accommodate the full 54-to-890&nbsp;MHz VHF/UHF frequency range and the twelve channels of VHF space were quickly exhausted on most systems. Adding any additional channels therefore needed to be done by inserting the extra signals into cable systems on nonstandard frequencies, typically either below VHF [[Pan-American television frequencies|channel 7]] (midband) or directly above VHF channel 13 (superband).

These frequencies corresponded to non-television services (such as two-way radio) over the air and were therefore not on standard TV receivers. Before cable-ready TV sets became common in the late 1980s, an electronic tuning device called a [[cable converter box]] was needed to receive the additional [[Analog television|analogue]] [[Cable television|cable]] [[television channel|TV channels]] and transpose or convert the selected channel to analogue [[radio frequency]] (RF) for viewing on a regular TV set on a single channel, usually [[very high frequency|VHF]] channel 3 or 4. The box allowed an analogue non–cable-ready [[television]] set to receive analogue encrypted cable channels and was a prototype topology for later date digital encryption devices. Newer televisions were then converted to be analogue cypher cable-ready, with the standard converter built-in for selling [[pay television|premium television]] (aka [[pay-per-view]]). Several years later and slowly marketed, the advent of [[digital cable]] continued and increased the need for various forms of these devices. [[Low-noise block downconverter|Block conversion]] of the entire affected frequency band onto [[ultra high frequency|UHF]], while less common, was used by some models to provide full [[videocassette recorder|VCR]] compatibility and the ability to drive multiple TV sets, albeit with a somewhat nonstandard channel numbering scheme.

Newer television receivers greatly reduced the need for external set-top boxes, although [[cable converter box]]es continue to be used to [[scrambler|descramble]] premium cable channels according to carrier-controlled access restrictions, and to receive digital cable channels, along with using interactive services like [[video on demand]], pay per view, and [[home shopping]] through television.

===Closed captioning box===
Set-top boxes were also made to enable [[closed captioning]] on older sets in North America, before this became a mandated inclusion in new [[television set]]s. Some have also been produced to mute the [[Sound recording and reproduction|audio]] (or replace it with noise) when [[profanity]] is detected in the captioning, where the offensive word is also blocked. Some also include a [[V-chip]] that allows only programs of some [[television content rating system]]s. A function that limits children's time watching TV or playing [[video game]]s may also be built in, though some work on main electricity rather than the video signal.

===Digital television adapter===
{{main|Digital television adapter}}
The [[digital television transition|transition]] to [[digital terrestrial television]] after the turn of the millennium left many existing [[television set|television receiver]]s unable to tune and display the new signal directly. In the United States, where the [[Digital television transition in the United States|analogue shutdown]] was completed in 2009 for full-service broadcasters, a federal subsidy was offered for [[coupon-eligible converter box]]es with deliberately limited capability which would restore signals lost to digital transition.

===Professional set-top box===
{{main|Integrated receiver/decoder}}
Professional set-top boxes are referred to as IRDs or [[integrated receiver/decoder]]s in the professional broadcast audio/video industry. They are designed for more robust field handling and [[19-inch rack|rack mounting]] environments. IRDs are capable of outputting uncompressed [[serial digital interface]] signals, unlike consumer STBs which usually do not, mostly because of copyright reasons.

===Hybrid box===
[[File:Lenovo A30 Internet TV Set Top Box - Front with Remote (6639767915).jpg|thumbnail|Lenovo A30 set-top box]]
Hybrid set-top boxes, such as those used for [[Smart TV]] programming, enable viewers to access multiple TV delivery methods (including terrestrial, cable, internet, and satellite);<ref>[https://iptv-abonne.fr/smart-iptv-guide-complet-installation-et-activation/ SMART IPTV]</ref> like IPTV boxes, they include [[video on demand]], [[time shifting|time-shifting]] TV, Internet applications, [[videotelephony]], surveillance, gaming, shopping, TV-centric [[electronic program guide]]s, and e-government. By integrating varying delivery streams, hybrids (sometimes known as "TV-centric"<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://inview.tv
 |title       = Welcome to Inview
 |publisher   = [[Inview Technology]]
 |date        = 2013-07-26
 |ref         = Website
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130801212130/http://inview.tv/
 |archive-date = 2013-08-01
}}</ref>) enable pay-TV operators more flexible application deployment, which decreases the cost of launching new services, increases speed to market, and limits disruption for consumers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.v-net.tv/Webcast.aspx?id=5 |title=Webcasts |access-date=2010-06-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100405064453/http://www.v-net.tv/Webcast.aspx?id=5 |archive-date=2010-04-05 }}</ref>

As examples, [[Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV]] (HbbTV) set-top boxes allow traditional TV broadcasts, whether from [[digital terrestrial television|terrestrial]] (DTT), satellite, or cable providers, to be brought together with video delivered over the Internet and personal multimedia content. [[Advanced Digital Broadcast]] (ADB) launched its first hybrid DTT/IPTV set-top box in 2005,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvb.org/about_dvb/dvb_worldwide/spain/index.xml|title=About – DVB|website=dvb.org|access-date=28 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606075928/http://www.dvb.org/about_dvb/dvb_worldwide/spain/index.xml|archive-date=6 June 2013}}</ref> which provided [[Telefónica]] with the digital TV platform for its [[Movistar TV]] service by the end of that year.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 11, 2006 |title=ADB Delivers World's First Hybrid, Single-Chip, Advanced Video Coding, High Definition IPTV Set-Top Boxes To Telefónica |url=http://www.digitaltvnews.net/items/060911adb_spain.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227141252/http://www.digitaltvnews.net/items/060911adb_spain.htm |archive-date=2012-02-27 |access-date=2013-06-15 |website=digitaltvnews.net}}</ref> In 2009, ADB provided Europe's first [[three-way hybrid]] digital TV platform to Polish digital satellite operator [[n (Poland)|n]], which enables subscribers to view integrated content whether delivered via satellite, terrestrial, or internet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2009/09/12/adb-takes-%E2%80%98n%E2%80%99-hybrid-ibc09/|title=ADB takes 'n' hybrid|date=12 September 2009|website=broadbandtvnews.com|access-date=28 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704130208/http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2009/09/12/adb-takes-%e2%80%98n%e2%80%99-hybrid-ibc09/|archive-date=4 July 2017}}</ref>

UK-based [[Inview Technology]] has over 8{{spaces}}million STBs deployed in the UK for [[teletext]] and an original push [[video on demand|VOD]] service for Top Up TV.

===IPTV receiver===
[[File:Motorola IPTV.jpg|thumb|An older model IPTV receiver set-top box built by [[Motorola]]]]
In [[Internet Protocol television|IPTV]] networks, the set-top box is a small computer providing two-way communications on an [[Internet Protocol|IP]] [[computer network|network]] and decoding the video [[streaming media]]. IP set-top boxes have a built-in [[home network]] interface that can be [[Ethernet]], Wireless (802.11{{spaces}}g,n,ac), or one of the existing wire home networking technologies such as [[HomePNA]] or the [[ITU-T]] [[G.hn]] standard, which provides a way to create a high-speed (up to 1&nbsp;Gbit/s) [[local area network]] using existing home wiring ([[Power-line communication|power lines]], phone lines, and [[ethernet over coax|coaxial cables]]).<ref>[http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/newslog/New+Global+Standard+For+Fully+Networked+Home.aspx New global standard for fully networked home] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221090736/http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/newslog/New+Global+Standard+For+Fully+Networked+Home.aspx |date=2009-02-21 }}, ITU-T Press Release</ref>

In the US and Europe, telephone companies use IPTV (often on [[ADSL]] or [[optical fiber|optical fibre]] networks) as a means to compete with traditional local [[cable television]] monopolies.

This type of service is distinct from [[streaming television]], which involves third-party content over the public Internet not controlled by the local system operator.

==Features==

===Programming features===
====Electronic program guide====
[[Electronic program guide]]s and interactive program guides provide users of television, radio, and other media applications with continuously updated menus displaying [[broadcast programming]] or scheduling information for current and upcoming programming. Some guides, such as [[ITV1|ITV]], also feature backward scrolling to promote their catch-up content.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itv.com/tvguide/|title=Today - TV Guide|website=itv.com|access-date=28 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201203417/http://www.itv.com/tvguide/ |archive-date=1 December 2017}}</ref>

====Favorites====
This feature allows the user to choose preferred channels, making them easier and quicker to access; this is handy with the wide range of digital channels on offer. The concept of favourite channels is superficially similar to that of the "[[Bookmark (digital)|bookmark]]" function offered in many web browsers.

====Timer====
The [[Timer#Electronic timers|timer]] allows the user to program and enable the box to switch between channels at certain times: this is handy to record from more than one channel while the user is out. The user still needs to program the VCR or DVD recorder.

===Convenience features===

====Controls on the box====
Some models have controls on the box, as well as on the [[remote control]]. This is useful should the user lose the remote or if the batteries age.

====Remote controls that work with other TVs====
Some [[remote control]]s can also control some basic functions of various brands of TVs. This allows the user to use just one remote to turn the TV on and off, adjust volume, or switch between digital and analogue TV channels or between [[Digital terrestrial television|terrestrial]] and [[Streaming television|internet]] channels.

====Parental locks====
The [[parental controls|parental lock]] or [[Internet filter|content filters]] allow users over 18 years old to block access to channels that are not appropriate for children, using a [[personal identification number]]. Some boxes simply block all channels, while others allow the user to restrict access to chosen channels not suitable for children below certain ages.

===Software alternatives===
As complexity and potential programming faults of the set-top box increase,<ref>{{cite web|title=The Chimera of Software Quality|url=http://www.computer.org/portal/site/computer/menuitem.eb7d70008ce52e4b0ef1bd108bcd45f3/index.jsp?&pName=computer_level1&path=computer/homepage/Aug07&file=profession.xml&xsl=article.xsl&;jsessionid=HlLtV9yJh01bCLb3GTQCZJL2VxGNxZPZLvJWXJpJwsjg2711JmW9|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428025525/https://www.computer.org/portal/site/computer/menuitem.eb7d70008ce52e4b0ef1bd108bcd45f3/index.jsp?&pName=computer_level1&path=computer%2Fhomepage%2FAug07&file=profession.xml&xsl=article.xsl&%3Bjsessionid=HlLtV9yJh01bCLb3GTQCZJL2VxGNxZPZLvJWXJpJwsjg2711JmW9|archive-date=2018-04-28}} 080322 computer.org</ref> software such as [[MythTV]], [[Select-TV]] and [[Microsoft]]'s [[Windows Media Center|Media Center]] have developed features comparable to those of set-top boxes, ranging from basic DVR-like functionality to [[DVD]] copying, [[home automation]], and housewide music or video playback.

===Firmware update features===
[[File:Set-top box firmware being updated.jpg|thumbnail|Set-top box firmware being updated]]
Almost all modern set-top boxes feature automatic [[patch (computing)|firmware update]] processes. The firmware update is typically provided by the service provider.

==Ambiguities in the definition==

With the advent of [[flat-panel display|flat-panel televisions]], set-top boxes are now deeper in profile than the tops of most modern TV sets. Because of this, set-top boxes are often placed beneath televisions, and the term set-top box has become something of a [[misnomer]], possibly helping the adoption of the term ''digibox''. Additionally, newer set-top boxes that sit at the edge of IP-based distribution networks are often called net-top boxes or NTBs, to differentiate between IP and RF inputs. The Roku LT is around the size of a pack of cards and delivers Smart TV to conventional sets.<ref>Which? Consumer's Guide; October 2012; page 41</ref>

The distinction between external tuner or [[demodulation|demodulator]] boxes (traditionally considered to be "set-top boxes") and storage devices (such as VCR, DVD, or disc-based PVR units) is also blurred by the increasing deployment of satellite and cable tuner boxes with a [[hard disk drive|hard disk]], [[local-area network|network]] or [[USB]] interfaces built-in.

Devices with the capabilities of [[computer terminal]]s, such as the [[MSN TV|WebTV]] [[thin client]], also fall into the grey area that could invite the term "NTB".

===Europe===
In Europe, a set-top box does not necessarily contain a [[Tuner (radio)|tuner]] of its own. A box connected to a television (or VCR) [[SCART]] connector is fed with the [[baseband]] television signal from the set's tuner, and can have the television display the returned processed signal instead.

[[File:Pace DC757X cable box mod.jpg|thumb|[[pace plc|Pace Micro Technology]] DC757X set top box]]
This SCART feature had been used for connection to analogue decoding equipment by [[pay television|pay-TV]] operators in Europe, and in the past, it was used for connection to teletext equipment before the decoders became built-in. The outgoing signal could be of the same nature as the incoming signal, or [[YPbPr|RGB]] [[component video]], or even an "[[local insertion|insert]]" over the original signal, due to the "fast switching" feature of SCART.

In case of analogue pay-TV, this approach avoided the need for a second [[remote control]]. The use of [[digital television]] signals in more modern pay-TV schemes requires that decoding take place before the digital-to-analogue conversion step, rendering the video outputs of an analogue SCART connector no longer suitable for interconnection to decryption hardware. Standards such as [[DVB]]'s [[Common Interface]] and [[ATSC standards|ATSC]]'s [[CableCARD]] therefore use a [[PCMCIA]]-like card inserted as part of the digital signal path as their alternative to a tuner-equipped set-top box.

== Costs ==
According to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', the cost to a cable provider in the United States for a set-top box is between $150 for a basic box to $250 for a more sophisticated box. In 2016, the average [[pay television|pay-TV]] subscriber paid $231 per year to lease their set-top box from a cable service provider.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lazarus |first=David |date=2018-10-30 |title=How much does a cable box really cost? The industry would prefer you don't ask |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-spectrum-cable-rate-hike-20181030-story.html |access-date=2023-08-13 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

==Energy use==
In June 2011, a report from the American National Resources Defense Council brought attention to the [[Efficient energy use|energy efficiency]] of set-top boxes,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrdc.org/energy/files/settopboxes.pdf |title=settopboxes.pdf |access-date=2012-02-25 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225090851/http://www.nrdc.org/energy/files/settopboxes.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-25 }} Natural Resources Defense Council.</ref> and the [[United States Department of Energy]] announced plans to consider the adoption of energy efficiency standards for set-top boxes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eesi.org/cable-boxes-and-dvrs-can-appliance-standards-help-tame-these-hidden-energy-hogs-30-jun-2011 |title=Cable Boxes and DVRs: Can Appliance Standards Help Tame These Hidden Energy Hogs? |access-date=2012-02-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129235500/http://www.eesi.org/cable-boxes-and-dvrs-can-appliance-standards-help-tame-these-hidden-energy-hogs-30-jun-2011 |archive-date=2012-01-29 }} Environmental and Energy Study Institute</ref> In November 2011, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association announced a new energy efficiency initiative that commits the largest American cable operators to the purchase of set-top boxes that meet [[Energy Star]] standards and the development of [[Sleep mode|sleep modes]] that will use less energy when the set-top box is not being used to watch or record video.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ncta.com/ReleaseType/MediaRelease/US-Cable-Industry-Launches-New-Energy-Efficiency-Initiative.aspx |title=U.S. Cable Industry Launches New Energy Efficiency Initiative |access-date=2012-04-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512100206/http://www.ncta.com/ReleaseType/MediaRelease/US-Cable-Industry-Launches-New-Energy-Efficiency-Initiative.aspx |archive-date=2012-05-12 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[AllVid]]
* [[CableCARD]]
* [[Comparison of digital media players]]
* [[DTV receiver]]
* [[Digital media player]]
* [[Microconsole]]
* [[Over-the-top media service]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Set-top boxes}}
* [https://www.headendinfo.com/setup-box-stb-working-architecture/ "What Is a Set Top Box or STB Working and Architecture?"] at Headendinfo.com

{{Home theater PC (application software)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Set-Top Box}}
[[Category:Set-top box| ]]
[[Category:Cable television technology]]
[[Category:Consumer electronics]]
[[Category:Satellite broadcasting]]
[[Category:Television terminology]]