Sigma Designs introduces Ultra HD frame rate conversion chip

Monday, January 6th, 2014
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Sigma Designs Introduces FRCX for 2nd Generation Ultra HD TVs by Combining as Many as Five Chips Into a Single Device

  • The New FCRX Raises the Bar With New Ultra HD (4Kx2K) Upscaling and 120Hz Frame Rate Conversion Capabilities

MILPITAS, CA — CES LAS VEGAS — Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM), a leading provider of System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions for home entertainment, connectivity and, converging multimedia delivery, today announced the FRCX, a single chip Ultra HD frame rate conversion chip, at CES 2014. Designed for large-size LCD and OLED panels beyond 50 inches where high quality frame rate conversion, judder removal and Ultra HD upscaling are critical features, the FRCX combines the functionality of as many as five devices into a single chip. This reduces overall BOM costs and improves performance for OEMs that need to deliver cutting-edge Ultra HD TVs at competitive price points.

“Average panel size for HDTVs is on the rise and the resolution is rapidly changing from FullHD to Ultra HD for large screen sizes,” said Mustafa Ozgen, GM of Home Multimedia for Sigma Designs. “2014 will see 32 million units of large screen size TVs of 50 inches or above being sold worldwide according to NPD’s DisplaySearch. The FRCX will enable OEMs to meet the technical and cost demands of large size TVs by setting a new benchmark in integration of many capabilities into a single device while providing best video processing performance. Our engineering team has been hard at work to overcome the challenges of integrating so many Ultra HD functionalities into a single chip while providing the best video upscaling and ME/MC features for 2nd generation Ultra HD TVs. 1st generation Ultra HD TVs had to compromise on many aspects of the product such as BOM cost, HD to Ultra HD video upscaling and frame rate conversion performance due to lack of FRCX like devices in the market.”

Industry analyst firm Display Search has projected a 12.7 Million unit Ultra HD TV shipments in 2014. As a result, OEMs that want to participate in this segment of the market must reduce costs while still delivering critical video processing features. The FRCX achieves this, by combining a unique Ultra HD Super-resolution engine, high performance video upscaler to upscale HD video to Ultra HD resolution, and an industry leading Motion Estimation/Motion Compensation (ME/MC) Frame Rate Conversion (FRC) and 3D TV technologies. It is a true Ultra HD video processor that supports input frame rates up to Ultra HD 60fps, and output frame rates up to Ultra HD 120fps.

In addition to its performance, the FRCX chip has flexible input interfaces such as LVDS, VbyOne and HDMI. This allows FRCX to be easily used with Sigma’s own Ultra HD TV SoCs or with other TV SoCs and mobile application processors available from OEMs in-house design teams or from other 3rd party chip suppliers.

Sigma is demonstrating the first 4K Ultra HD 120-Hz broadcast workflow, powered by Harmonic ProMedia™ Xpress transcoder. The transcoded UHD 24/30/60 fps content is played back on Sigma Designs’ 120-Hz UltraHD Platform. The demo will be shown at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, taking place January 7 – 10, in Sigma Designs’ Suite 2990 at the Las Vegas Hotel.