Entropic unveils lineup of fully-integrated set-top box solutions

Entropic Unveils Lineup of Fully-Integrated Set-Top Box Solutions for Satellite Receivers and IP-Clients

LAS VEGAS — International Consumer Electronics Show — Entropic (Nasdaq:ENTR), a world leader in semiconductor solutions for the connected home, today announced its first fully-integrated set-top box (STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) family, the EN7300-series, which integrates High-Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC) decoding, Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA®) 2.0 home networking, dual DVB-S/S2 demodulators using full-band capture satellite tuning and 3D graphics acceleration.

Designed specifically to address the needs of next generation satellite STB and IP-Client devices, the EN7300-series represents the Company’s first silicon system to integrate world-class STB SoC technologies with its third generation MoCA 2.0 home networking system using advanced mixed signal technologies to produce a complete family of low power SoCs that are more integrated and economical compared to competitive solutions.

“Entropic’s launch of the EN7300-series is a significant milestone for the Company,” said Daniel Simmons, senior principal TV technology analyst, IHS Technology. “Premium video distribution is becoming increasingly competitive and complex. Pay-TV operators require cost-competitive, low power integrated system solutions enabling them to utilize the latest advances in encoding, home networking and graphics technologies, to offer high quality, differentiated services.”

Entropic’s EN7300-series delivers high-end features to a broader based market of High Definition (HD) satellite receiver and IP-Client STBs including:

• Increased Video Efficiency: 1080p60 HEVC decoding empowers satellite operators to save transmission bandwidth relative to H.264 or MPEG-2;
• Advanced Home Networking: Mature third-generation MoCA 2.0 RF and MAC/PHY networking to enable net throughput (MAC) rates of 400+ Mbps;
• Eye-catching Graphics: OpenGL ES 2.0 support using ARM® Mali™-400 3D graphics acceleration for attractive user interfaces with multi-plane video and graphics compositing;
• Latest in Mixed Signal RF Technology: Satellite tuning with dual DVB-S/S2 demodulation and all-band MoCA 2.0 receiver using full-band capture ADCs (analog-to-digital converters);
• Lower Power Consumption: Use of 28nm low power process technology minimizes active power consumption in the STB as compared to other integrated SoCs and aggressive standby modes with dedicated power management microcontroller for idle power savings; and
• Lower System Costs: Cost optimized Bill of Material (BOM) through integrated Smart Card controller, 16-bit DDR3 or DDR4 memory interface, integrated audio amplifiers, video filters, ESD protection and all the necessary I/O for a satellite receiver or IP client.

“The EN7300-series is the culmination of the Company’s combined efforts from our STB, MoCA and advanced mixed signal teams and delivers on our promise to offer the Pay-TV market more cost-effective, lower power silicon solutions,” said Patrick Henry, president and CEO, Entropic. “This new product family demonstrates both our commitment to the global Pay-TV market and our focus on advancing the feature-rich set of set-top box receivers and IP-Client devices with the latest silicon innovations required by world-class operators.”

“We believe our EN7300-series puts a new stake in the ground for fully-integrated set-top box SoCs for satellite receivers and IP-Clients,” said Matt Rhodes, senior vice president, Global Marketing, Entropic. “We incorporated the necessary features and technologies global operators expect from an integrated system, but in a much smaller, lower power, cost-optimized package – which better addresses operator demand for High Definition set-top receivers and their transition to next generation gateway/IP-Client architectures in the home.”

Availability

Entropic’s EN7300-series includes the EN731x, a single-chip dual DVB-S/S2, HEVC STB SoC and the EN730x, a single-chip HEVC IP-Client SoC, both available with or without MoCA 2.0. The new product family is sampling in Q1 2014 to early access customers and will be on display at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Entropic’s Meeting Suite at the Wynn Las Vegas, Alsace Ballroom, from January 7 – 10, 2014.