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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Broadcom Becomes Only Silicon Vendor to Combine Best-in-Class Wi-Fi(R) and Video Platforms
2009 International CES - Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) , a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that it has become the first silicon vendor to integrate market leading Wi-Fi(R) and video chipset platforms, paving the way for the next generation of connected digital televisions (DTVs), Blu-ray Disc(R) players and cable/satellite/IPTV set-top boxes (STBs). As a top supplier of both Wi-Fi and digital video solutions, Broadcom is providing consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers with a series of "video over Wi-Fi" reference designs that provide a superior video experience over a wireless connection.
With the growing popularity of in-home networks and the increasing availability of Internet-based video, many CE vendors are adding Wi-Fi to provide easy access to digital content on video products throughout the home. By providing CE manufacturers with video platforms that offer fully integrated Wi-Fi hardware and software, Broadcom is eliminating the need for complicated systems integration efforts. As a result, Broadcom's customers can deliver connected products that use Wi-Fi to bring entertainment applications such as iTunes(R), BD-Live(R) and Netflix(R) to a large screen.
802.11n is currently the only wireless technology with sufficient bandwidth, coverage and quality of service (QoS) for multimedia applications. Broadcom has optimized its 802.11n technology and video over Wi-Fi designs to overcome the technical challenges of using wireless protocols for IPTV, providing the industry's first integrated carrier-grade solution for IP set-top boxes. When combined with DLNA(R) functionality, Wi-Fi-enabled devices provide consumers with a transparent way to access and share media between TVs, PCs, cell phones and other devices throughout the home.
"Broadcom is the only chipmaker that can combine best-in-class technologies to deliver an end-to-end platform for wireless video distribution," said Bill Bunch, Director of Broadcom's Wireless Media line of business. "We've made it simple for our customers to add video over Wi-Fi capabilities to consumer electronics products while taking advantage of the high performance processors, 3D graphics and MPEG-4 high definition (HD) capabilities native to Broadcom's DTV, Blu-ray Disc, set-top box and IPTV platforms."
"We are pleased to continue our collaboration with Broadcom on our next generation Blu-ray Disc platform featuring Netflix streaming(BD390)," said Mr. Tae-Ki Shin, Vice President from LG Electronics. "With the ability to stream superior quality video simultaneously over Wi-Fi, now more than ever, customers can easily enjoy premium content on their Blu-ray Disc players."
Optimized for IPTV
Broadcom's new video over Wi-Fi reference designs provide better wireless performance to support the most demanding video applications, including IPTV. Today's Wi-Fi networks have difficulty handling the special kind of multicast traffic and protocols used by IPTV carriers worldwide, resulting in frequent video glitches that consumers find unacceptable. Broadcom has optimized its 802.11n solutions to deliver enough bandwidth to support at least three HD streams and four standard definition (SD) streams, while maintaining robust performance throughout the home. To reduce throughput variation and packet errors, Broadcom employs a combination of advanced PHY techniques including maximum likelihood decoding, rate and antenna selection algorithms and packet error correction technology. Its Wi-Fi solutions also help to avoid performance-degrading interference by using the extra channels available in the 5 GHz band. These unique hardware and software features are now available on five of Broadcom's IP/satellite/cable set-top box designs, as well as its digital TV and Blu-ray platforms.
"Adding Wi-Fi to video display products provides convenient access to media content located throughout the home and enables consumers to leverage broadband connections for IPTV services on devices that are not located near a DSL or cable modem," said Kurt Scherf, Vice President and Principal Analyst, Parks Associates. "As video equipment manufacturers strive to keep up with demand for these wireless features, it makes sense for them to choose solutions that integrate proven connectivity technologies into their existing platforms."
Broadcom's video over Wi-Fi reference designs provide the flexibility to build a variety of wireless-enabled video products by combining 802.11n components and HD video/audio system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions. In addition to mixing and matching silicon components, manufacturers can leverage the software from Broadcom's most popular 802.11n reference designs (BCM94323U USB adapter, BCM94322MP Mini PCI adapter, and BCM94717 family of access point, video bridge and MII adapters) in the following consumer video platforms:
Digital TV platforms that include the recently announced BCM3549 and
BCM3556 solutions and combined platforms resulting from the AMD digital
television acquisition, such as the complete 120 Hz advanced video
coding (AVC) connected TV platform;
Blu-ray Disc player platforms including the BCM7440 and BCM7601; and
Cable, satellite and IP set-top box platforms with Broadcom's
highly-integrated SoC solutions.
Availability
Broadcom's video over Wi-Fi reference designs are sampling to early access customers. Pricing is available upon request.
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).
Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2007 revenue of $3.78 billion, and holds over 3,000 U.S. and over 1,300 foreign patents, more than 7,500 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.
Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at http://www.broadcom.com.
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