The Acorn Online Media Set Top Box was produced by the ''Online Media'' division of
Acorn Computers Ltd for the
Cambridge Cable and Online Media
Video on Demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
trial
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...
and launched early 1996. Part of this trial involved a home-shopping system in partnership with
Parcelforce
Parcelforce Worldwide is a courier and logistics service in the United Kingdom. Parcelforce Worldwide is a trading name of the Royal Mail and is organised within the UK Parcels, International and Letters division of the group. The company del ...
.
The hardware was trialled by
NatWest bank, as exhibited at the 1995 ''
Acorn World''
trade show
A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...
.
Specification
STB1
The STB1 was a customised
Risc PC based system, with a Wild Vision Movie Magic expansion card in a podule slot, and a network card based on
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is a telecommunications standard defined by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and ITU-T (formerly CCITT) for digital transmission of multiple types of traffic. ATM was developed to meet the needs of ...
.
*''Memory'': 4
MiB RAM
*''Processor'': ARM 610 processor at 33 MHz; approx 28.7 MIPS
*''Operating system'':
RISC OS
RISC OS is a computer operating system originally designed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England. First released in 1987, it was designed to run on the ARM chipset, which Acorn had designed concurrently for use in its new line of Archi ...
3.50 held in 4 MiB ROM
STB20
The STB20 was a new PCB based around the ARM7500
System On Chip.
*''Memory'':
*''Processor'':
ARM7500 processor
[ ( ARM System–on–Chip Architecture)]
*''Operating system'':
RISC OS
RISC OS is a computer operating system originally designed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England. First released in 1987, it was designed to run on the ARM chipset, which Acorn had designed concurrently for use in its new line of Archi ...
3.61, a version specific for this STB, held in 4 MiB ROM.
STB22
By this time Online Media had been restructured back into Acorn Computers, so the STB22 is branded as 'Acorn'.
*''Memory'':
*''Processor'':
*''Operating system'': a development of
RISC OS
RISC OS is a computer operating system originally designed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England. First released in 1987, it was designed to run on the ARM chipset, which Acorn had designed concurrently for use in its new line of Archi ...
held in 4 MiB ROM
References
External links
The Full Acorn Machine List: STB
{{Acorn computers
Computer-related introductions in 1996
Online Media Set Top Box
Legacy systems
Set-top box