AmiNET110 – Amino Communications

To accelerate the deployment of IPTV and video on demand services Amino Communications Ltd (Amino) required a low cost Set-Top Box (STB) reference design that would provide a common starting point for a range of products which may have different network interfaces, user interfaces or service delivery mechanisms. The new design should be capable of high volume manufacture and should appeal to a world-wide marketplace using an eye catching enclosure allowing for the correct insertion of a smart card, adequate measures for heat dissipation, EMC and FCC approval.

Amino generated a PCB profile establishing the physical constraints of the enclosure. The essence of this design was the miniaturisation of existing technology using a revolutionary ASIC which provided a means to move away from the manufacturing legacy of the ‘established’ method of set-top box production (steel chassis and injection moulded plastic front panel etc). The decision was taken to adopt an extruded aluminium enclosure with the open ends capped with inexpensive injection moulded parts. In addition to aluminium’s recyclability, excellent heat dissipation capability and aesthetic appeal it has the benefit of very low start-up and tooling costs. In addition, using an aluminium extrusion considerably reduced the parts list of the final device as all internal fixing points and smart card guide features were provided as part of the extrusion.

The AmiNET series has enabled many OEM’s and service providers across the globe to implement IPTV digital home entertainment. Amino delivered over 5 million units of AmiNET STB. The design has also won the following awards and accolades:

Outstanding Design in the 2003 Red Dot Awards: Product Design competition
“Good Design” award for 2008 from the world-renowned Chicago Athenaeum Museum. Best Customer Premise Equipment and Best in Show – Telco 2008 TV Vision Awards The Telco TV Vision award for Best Customer Premise Equipment was awarded to the AmiNET130M Set Top Box (STB). 
Amino Communications named as the top vendor of pure IPTV Set-Top Boxes (STBs) worldwide by ABI Research for the third consecutive year (2008).
Amino wins an international award at the IBC event CSI award for the best IPTV technology presented to the AmiNET125
CSI Product of the Year Award (2007) in the category “Best IPTV technology”, ahead of the Microsoft® Xbox360® solution for IPTV, and Packetvision®’s IPYV Addressable Advertising Service.

Deliverables: Product concept, product design and DFM support