SiConnect Powerline Modem Chips Handle Cutting-Edge Multimedia Applications

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007

SWINDON, England — SiConnect, the leader in multimedia-ready home networking, is to begin sampling two new highly integrated powerline modem chips offering consumer electronics OEMs the opportunity to significantly reduce board space, power consumption, bill of materials and cost.

The PLi050A is for high fidelity real time distribution of uncompressed audio, while the PLi050 targets data-centric consumer electronics applications including online gaming, IPTV distribution and in-home Voice over IP solutions.

Both products integrate SiConnect’s PLT050 digital transceiver with a powerline specific analogue front-end to create single chip solutions, enabling reliable self-install in-home connectivity to be embedded into consumer electronics for a total cost that is significantly under $10 per endpoint. The PLi050A also integrates on-chip a pair of I2S interfaces for real-time audio streaming.

To create a complete powerline modem solution, each chip needs just a simple coupler circuit, an optional host interface PHY (Ethernet or USB), and an EEPROM. No external RAM is required.

SiConnect’s latest powerline modem chips embed the company’s patented POEM® technology to deliver all digital modem, baseband signal and control processing functions. The technology has already brought a unique set of technical benefits to powerline communication in the home including high fidelity uncompressed audio streaming, simultaneous running of multiple applications on the same powerline network, Whole Home Coverage™ mesh networking, global EMC compliance and a consumer electronics cost point.

Russell Haggar, VP Marketing at SiConnect, said, “For any cutting edge consumer electronic product design, maintaining a high quality of experience – both during installation and in use – is of the utmost importance. The PLi050 and PLi050A chips demonstrate how POEM’s unique QoS and mesh networking capabilities readily meet the technical challenges and can be cost-effectively applied to mass market consumer appliances. We have already shown our technology working straight out of the box with leading consumer applications such as Apple TV, BT Vision, PS3 and Xbox, and we are looking forward to further extending our portfolio of supported applications.”