ITV

Tag: Broadcom Corporation

  • Broadcom announces VideoCore mobile multimedia processor support for Microsoft Windows Media Video

    Broadcom announces VideoCore mobile multimedia processor support for Microsoft Windows Media Video

    MUMBAI: Broadcom Corporation has announced that its VideoCore mobile multimedia platform now supports Microsoft Windows Media Video. Microsoft’s implementation of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineer’s 421M video compression standard is popularly referred to as VC-1.

    With integrated Windows Media Video support, Broadcom’s VideoCore mobile multimedia technology will enable new mobile TV services that will be rolled out in 2006. Support for VC-1 on the Broadcom VideoCore family of processors means that these devices are ready to be incorporated into next generation cell phones and portable media players designed to receive DVB-H and other forms of mobile TV content.

    “Windows Media Video is a key technology in the evolving mobile TV environment. Ensuring support for VC-1 broadens the range of applications and end devices we can enable with our VideoCore processors, which are emerging as the multimedia solutions of choice for advanced mobile media players,” said Broadcom director marketing Multimedia Mobile Multimedia business unit Robert Swann.

    “The Windows Media platform offers efficient content delivery capabilities that are key to making broadcast TV on mobile handsets a reality. Broadcom is providing an optimized video solution for handset manufacturers who are building new business models for mobile TV. By supporting VC-1, Broadcom’s family of VideoCore processors will be capable of delivering the highest quality mobile video experience to consumers,” said Microsoft Corp director of Windows Digital Media Kevin Unangst.

    Mobile TV has attracted considerable interest as a new service offering for mobile devices, extending the recent trend toward video viewing on portable devices into the realm of live, broadcast television. ABI Research estimates there will be as many as 104 million users of mobile TV technologies by 2009, a trend that Broadcom technology is helping to enable.

    Based on Broadcom VideoCore technology, the BCM2702, BCM2722 and BCM2724 chips support a complete range of standards for multimedia applications, including VC-1 and H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC) video codecs, and a complete range of audio codecs such as AAC+, WMA and BSAC. This flexibility and programmability make the processors ideal for any mobile TV standard being deployed and make a truly worldwide multi-standard mobile TV receiver possible.

    In addition to supporting a broad range of technologies, VideoCore processors provide industry-leading power performance with the capability to decode both VC-1 and H.264 video while consuming less than 150mW. This unrivalled performance for a programmable solution will allow for extended mobile TV viewing times and battery life when compared to conventional software-based products.

    VideoCore features a power-efficient, two-dimensional digital signal processing (DSP) architecture that is particularly effective at low-power multimedia processing. By being fully programmable, VideoCore technology enables developers to program and re-program different applications in software rather than requiring new chip designs for each new product.

  • Broadcom launches front-end cable TV set-top box chip

    MUMBAI: Broadcom Corporation, dealing in wired and wireless broadband communications semiconductors, has announced the industry’s first front-end cable TV set-top box chip with integrated channel bonding technology. 
    The company has announced is the new Broadcom BCM3255 set-top box chip that incorporates this channel bonding technique. This new chip can support up to 120 Megabits per second (Mbps) downstream data rates, enabling next generation media centers to support an all-IP network platform, such as Comcast’s RNG family of devices.
    Channel bonding is a Docsis 3.0 feature that dramatically increases the transmission speed of a cable TV network, enabling multi service operators (MSOs) to migrate to an all- Internet Protocol (IP) network platform. 
    Addressing voice, video and data, the all-IP network enables MSOs to provide significant benefits such as additional cable and local broadcast channels, content flexibility and improved network efficiency. Channel bonding combines several Docsis channels together to significantly increase data rates when compared to the speed of today’s cable modems.
    Moving to an all IP-based platform for voice, video, and data content helps to decrease MSOs network operating costs while enabling the network to support fast high-definition video downloads, high bit rate services and other IP voice and video services.
    “Increasing the speed and performance capabilities of the cable network is a key element for MSOs as more and more telecommunications operators install fast, fiber-to-the-curb networks,” said Broadcom’s Broadband Communications Group senior vice president and general manager Daniel Marotta. 
    “Our new cable TV set-top box chip sets a benchmark for the industry enabling MSOs to deploy new set-top boxes and media centers today that can support the transition to an all-IP network.”
    “Channel bonding is a key technology that will enable Comcast to continue our migration to an IP Platform,” said David Fellows, Comcast Cable CTO. “The integration of channel bonding in silicon, like the Broadcom solution, is a significant step towards combining the power of DOCSIS and IPTV.”
    Broadcom designed its new BCM3255 set-top box chip to interface with its BCM7400 dual high-definition (HD) advanced video coding (AVC)/VC/MPEG-2 decoder chip. The BCM7400 has also announced, is a single-chip backend solution that supports the latest video compression technologies, including AVC (the ITU and ISO joint standard) and VC-1 (the Society for Motion Picture and Television Engineers or SMPTE standard) for HD programming.
    The BCM3255 and BCM7400, when combined with multiple BCM3420 tuners, provide manufacturers with a complete HD AVC, digital video recording (DVR) cable TV media center design that can support channel speeds of up to 120 Mbps with multiple HD AVC streams, advanced downloadable conditional access system (DCAS) security features, up to 1600 DMIPs processing power, and a complete home networking management package.
    Broadcom packaged this complete solution into the BCM7400CAB reference design to provide its customers with a turnkey solution for next generation set-top box designs.