Microsoft's Internet Protocol television (IPTV) efforts received a big boost from hardware vendors Tuesday, after Cisco, Motorola, Philips and Tatung all announced new set-top boxes that support Microsoft IPTV Edition software.

The units, which include system-on-a-chip (SoC) technology, can receive high-definition TV, digital video recording (DVR) and picture-in-picture functionalities over broadband connections to customers' homers. Microsoft heralded the arrival of SoC set-top boxes as a milestone for the fledgling IPTV industry.

“As our service provider customers are beginning worldwide deployments of IPTV Edition, and set-top partners are unveiling these advanced devices, consumers will be able to experience television in a new, exciting way," commented "This milestone is a testament to the remarkable progress our IPTV ecosystem has made in just a few years."

Limited testing of IPTV has taken place in the United States, but its growth has largely been in Europe and Taiwan. Philips will introduce its Microsoft-based IPTV box with HDTV and DVR functionality through a partnership with BT this fall. Cisco is making its devices available around the globe as well.

Motorola says it's on track to deliver its VIP series set-tops, which will eventually feature multi-room streaming and home media networking, to AT&T customers in the United States in the near future. But BellCanada has delayed its IPTV rollout due to unsatisfactory results, largely due to the technology's hefty bandwidth requirements.

IPTV customers frequently encounter slowdowns of several seconds when changing channels, as the programming is sent on-demand from a central location using the Internet.

Still, French manufacturer Alcatel, which previously partnered with Microsoft to deliver IPTV Edition, expects there to be 100 million subscribers of IPTV by 2010 - up from the 3 million subscribers currently around the world. Alcatel is finalizing a merger with Lucent that would extend the company's reach in the United States.