JavaOS finds its way into 30,000 set-top boxes from Hitachi

June 10, 1998 — In a joint agreement, Hitachi and Sun Microsystems Inc. announced that 30,000 consumers now have JavaOS-enabled television set-top boxes in their homes, with 170,000 additional boxes planned by the end of 1999, bringing the total to 200,000. According to the two companies, this news marks the first shipping implementation of a set-top box based on the Java platform and JavaOS.

“It’s more than just the box,” Hitachi spokesperson Yoriaki Horikawa told JavaWorld at the Inside Sun Software event at Sun’s Menlo Park, CA campus. “Hitachi provides network systems and the box.” The new Java-based devices will deliver secure network-based information services — including interactive distance learning, news broadcasts, and medical information — that can be downloaded dynamically via satellite in Japan.

Why Java?

The Java platform was chosen for Hitachi’s set-top box services because it supports networked devices, and because of its promise of a speedy time-to-market. Plus, Java allows information to be automatically upgraded and additions to applications to be made on-demand on the network. Citing additional benefits, Horikawa explained, “Our engineers looked at all the languages and felt that Java was the best because the JavaOS is open. Also, many terminals can be easily connected.”

“We’ve gone from the theoretical or conceptual to reality, with consumers realizing the benefit of Hitachi’s efforts,” said James Hebert, the general manager of the Embedded Systems Software Division at Sun, describing the use of Java in real-world applications. Emphasizing one of the benefits of Java, Hebert continued, “Hitachi was able to get their product to market quickly by using the JavaOS, which supports the JVM and Java applications.”

One of the great advantages of the new Java-based set-top boxes is that they bring valuable services directly into users’ homes: “Ultimately, these developments are about the ability of the consumers to take advantage of these network devices easily and from the non-threatening environment of their living rooms,” said Hebert.

Real-world applications

The set-top boxes running the JavaOS already are in place in the Japanese education system. Japan has “cram schools” — prep schools for students who are trying to get into major universities. One of these schools, located in Nagoya, currently utilizes the new Hitachi/Sun network-based system. “By providing a network system by satellite, a student can be at home and get the famous ‘cram’ instruction right there,” said Horikawa. Students take classes by way of their televisions. They can even transfer their homework via modem back to the instructors at the school. This is extremely advantageous to students who live in remote locations, far from these preparatory institutions.

Agriculture is another area in which this system now is in use. For farmers, access to information like weather forecasts and the commodity prices market is crucial to their livelihood. With the Hitachi set-top boxes and Java software in their homes, farmers have access to sophisticated and vitally important data literally at their fingertips. Sun’s Hebert pointed out that “Hitachi is making this information accessible to smaller and smaller farmers and is helping them become and remain competitive.”