Zinwell Selects Broadcom DTV SoC for LCD HDTV

Broadcom’s DVB-Based TV Technology, Integrated in Zinwell’s ZAV-350 LCD HDTV, Now Shipping in Europe

BERLIN — IFA 2009 — Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that Zinwell Corporation, a leading Taiwanese provider of LCD televisions, has selected its BCM3556 digital television (DTV) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution designed for digital video broadcast (DVB)-based platforms that address the European market. The Broadcom® BCM3556 video decoder solution integrated in Zinwell’s LCD HDTV ZAV-350, which is currently shipping in Europe, enables superior picture quality, high performance and a host of features that enrich the viewers’ TV experience.

The Broadcom BCM3556 DTV SoC includes an advanced feature set that supports multi-format picture decoding in support of high definition (HD) AVC, H.264, VC-1, AVS and MPEG-2 streams. By supporting H.264, the latest video compression standard, the BCM3556 enables users to view multimedia and HD content with improved picture quality at lower bandwidth when accessing content from other consumer devices in the home. The BCM3556’s support of H.264 also provides access to H.264 broadcast content without the need of an additional decoder within the digital television.

“We are very pleased that Zinwell selected our DVB-based solutions for their latest HDTV product line addressing the growing digital TV market in Europe,” said Dave DiOrio, Vice President & General Manager for Broadcom’s DTV line of business. “The key to success in this market is the ability to meet customer demands for superior picture quality, highly integrated features and outstanding performance. We look forward to our continued collaboration with Zinwell as they deploy our advanced technologies for next generation LCD TVs.”

“We consistently strive to design best-in-class products that further enhance and improve the consumer entertainment experience,” said Richard Lin, President of Zinwell. “Together with Broadcom, our designs will enable superior picture quality and performance on DVB-based televisions.”

Technical Information

The BCM3556 is Broadcom’s next generation DTV SoC solution that features an advanced video decoder, 3D graphics core, Ethernet media access controller (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) device with support up to 1080p HD resolutions. These features, combined with a high level of integration and picture quality, greatly enhance the DTV experience and enable TV manufacturers to reduce overall system cost and improve picture quality, all with a single SoC. Broadcom’s single-chip solution features global connectivity standards such as a digital video broadcast-terrestrial (DVB-T) demodulator, phase alternating line (PAL), sequential color with memory (SECAM) video support, and near instantaneous compounded audio multiplex (NICAM) audio support.

The BCM3556 incorporates a unique 3D color management system, as well as digital, analog and mosquito noise reduction. Also integrated is an advanced picture enhancement processor (PEP) to improve picture sharpness and perform picture post-processing functions. The PEP engine is fully programmable and can be optimized by each TV manufacturer to meet their respective quality requirements. As a result, the BCM3556 SoC enables TV manufacturers with better video quality, sharper images and more accurate color reproduction.