Tata Elxsi to license Comcast design kits for set top boxes

Tata Elxsi has won a deal from Comcast to provide a Reference Design Kit (RDK) for software development, integration and testing services to global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). RDK is generally a common set of design elements that can be used to build a final product or solution on different industry standards. According to the terms of the deal, Tata Elxsi will license Comcast’s RDK that will power hybrid set top boxes (for Internet Protocol and terrestrial broadcasting) and other video to cable operators. Comcast, a US-based cable operator, licenses the RDK to OEMs, semiconductor manufacturers (set top box makers), software vendors, system integrators and multi-channel video programming distributors to bring multi-screen TV home entertainment watching experiences to consumers in various regions. “With this RDK, broadcasters can speed up go-to-market in different geographies where we have presence,” said M. Thangarajan, Vice-President and head of Tata Elxsi’s broadcast business. “Our goal is to make the RDK available to companies such as Tata Elxsi in order to accelerate development of an advanced software solution throughout the industry and across geographies,” said Steve Reynolds, senior vice-president, CPE and Home Network for Comcast.