Chapter 160 The Overengineered Set-Top Box
Since Sun Guoqiao mentioned the name of that unmarked chip, Su Yuanshan immediately understood the circuit diagram.
Yxmpeg1—it was Yuanxin's video decoding chip.
Given that it was a video decoding chip, no matter how much it was altered, it couldn't deviate too much. At this stage, it could either be made into a video decoder card for computers or into a VCD player. But a video decoder card would require gold fingers (contact pads), and clearly, there were none on this diagram.
So it had to be a VCD player.
However, after a closer look, Su Yuanshan realized that it wasn't a standard VCD either, although there were video output ports.
Su Yuanshan immediately became interested. "It looks like you're designing a hardware-based video playback device?"
Sun Guoqiao nodded, slightly surprised. "Yeah. You even understand circuit design?"
He knew Su Yuanshan was a programming prodigy. He had heard that Su Yuanshan had gotten into university through programming without even taking the entrance exam, majoring in Applied Physics. At the time, he had admired him a lot. But he hadn't expected that not only did Su Yuanshan excel at programming, but he could also understand circuit diagrams at a glance.
Although the Yxmpeg1 chip gave away part of the hint, it was still impressive.
Su Yuanshan smiled. "I know a little. By the way, didn't the school's computer lab upgrade the machines? Each one has EDA software now. Why are you still drawing by hand?"
"There's not enough computer time. Using computers outside of class is expensive, so I'm sketching the rough design first. When I finally get on a computer, I can recreate it all at once with EDA," Sun Guoqiao explained with a smile, then lowered his head to continue calculating, quickly adding a 10-ohm resistor to a certain line.
"By the way, Su, how much do you know about microcontrollers?" Sun Guoqiao asked, seeing Su Yuanshan still studying his diagram. Remembering that Su Yuanshan's father was a leading domestic expert on microcontrollers, he hesitated but asked anyway.
Su Yuanshan paused for a moment. "I know a bit. Why?"
"Well..." Sun Guoqiao scratched his head. "This diagram is still very rough. The plan is to use a decoding chip plus a microcontroller and a network card chip to design a network-based video player."
"Hmm?" Su Yuanshan immediately perked up, surprised.
This guy really was talented. Thinking of a set-top box concept so early? But he immediately realized: this "network" probably wasn't TCP/IP based...
"This is for a local area network, right?" Su Yuanshan asked.
"Yes. After VCDs came out last year, I thought about it—if there was a terminal like this within a whole local area network, then it could play compressed MPEG files stored on each computer via the LAN. It would be really convenient for classroom demonstrations," Sun Guoqiao said, a bit embarrassed. "But my networking and microcontroller skills aren't that strong yet."
Su Yuanshan understood instantly and had to hold back his laughter—so it was basically a glorified video file-sharing setup. A very roundabout way to achieve it.
Still, this guy was something of a genius.
Thinking for a moment, Su Yuanshan said, "Well, theoretically, it's feasible. You could develop a system that continuously transmits the current screen content from one computer and instantly displays it on another. But this already falls into the realms of networking and software design."
Hearing "software design," Sun Guoqiao looked a bit overwhelmed. "Real-time display? Wait... you know networking too?"
"A little."
"..."
Su Yuanshan chuckled. "Nowadays, people are developing segmented transmission and playback technologies for video—it's called streaming media. It's designed for network transmission. It doesn't even require complete downloading; it can start playing immediately."
Sun Guoqiao thought for a moment about the concept of streaming media.
Once he realized it could solve many problems purely through software design, he immediately recognized that his current project might not be that useful after all.
He couldn't help but feel a bit dejected, tossing his pencil aside and staring blankly at the diagram.
Seeing this, Su Yuanshan knew the guy was feeling discouraged, so he smiled and said, "But your project still has a lot of value."
Sun Guoqiao forced a smile. "Don't comfort me. The way you put it, it's like taking off my pants just to fart..."
"Haha, no, really. Think about it—if your chip could support streaming media decoding, wouldn't it be able to play videos transmitted over the Internet?"
Sun Guoqiao nodded thoughtfully. "In theory, yes. But... Internet transmission speeds are so slow. Even if what you said about streaming media happens, decoding chips like that might not exist yet. Plus, if you already have a network, wouldn't you already have computers? Who would bother connecting an extra machine to a TV or monitor just to play videos? Seems pointless."
"Not necessarily." Su Yuanshan smiled. "The domestic Internet is slow, sure, but it doesn't mean it's slow overseas. As for pairing with a TV or monitor—what if it's for playing TV programs instead?"
Sun Guoqiao froze, furrowing his brows and thinking for a long time before hesitantly asking, "You mean... put TV programs on the Internet? Not using cable?"
"Exactly..." Su Yuanshan nodded. "Don't worry about current Internet speeds. In the future, they'll become faster than today's LAN speeds. Your current design really has potential. You could even market it overseas someday. By the way, that resistor on the lower left might be off."
"Huh? Which one?"
"The 100-ohm one. I think the resistance value is too low."
Su Yuanshan grabbed a pencil and a notebook and quickly helped Sun Guoqiao calculate it with formulas.
Set-top boxes were invented quite early in the West, but they never really became mainstream immediately. Even domestically, they wouldn't become common until nearly a decade later...
And even then, set-top boxes would clash with "certain vested interests" and cause a powerful gaming company to fall from grace.
Still, in the end, set-top boxes would indeed become mainstream.
Now that someone had stumbled into this field, Su Yuanshan didn't mind giving a little push.
Even if the project ended up gathering dust, it would still help accumulate technical know-how and patents—both valuable things.
...
As the sky darkened, more and more freshmen entered the self-study room.
Ye Ruda and Yu Shuyun arrived together.
In a major where over 80% of the students were male, the two girls stood out immediately.
Ye Ruda was heading toward an empty seat in the middle aisle when Yu Shuyun suddenly gasped.
"Daier, look."
Following Yu Shuyun's finger, Ye Ruda looked toward the last row of the classroom.
There, she saw Su Yuanshan and Sun Guoqiao deep in discussion, heads almost touching, one constantly scribbling with a pencil.
"Aren't those two from your special scholarship year?" Yu Shuyun whispered.
Ye Ruda nodded, her eyes narrowing into crescents, a smile playing on her lips.
"Old Yu, I'm going over to have a look."
Yu Shuyun immediately wore an "I totally get it" expression, grabbed Ye Ruda's book, and shoved her toward the aisle. "Go, go."
Ye Ruda walked toward the last row and sat down with one seat separating her from Su Yuanshan.
She folded her hands on the desk, tilted her head slightly, and gazed at Su Yuanshan with a soft smile, watching the side of his face.
This guy's side profile is so handsome... she thought to herself, smiling gently.
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