ViXS 4K HEVC decoder SoC powers Sharp UltraHD 4K recorder and televisions

ViXS Leading UltraHD 4K HEVC Decoder Powers Sharp’s Ultra HD 4K Recorder and Television Product Families

TORONTO, ON — ViXS Systems Inc. (TSX: VXS), a pioneer and leader in media processing solutions, today announced that Sharp Corporation, a leading Japanese multinational company that designs and manufactures consumer electronic products, has chosen the ViXS XCode 6400 System on Chip (SoC) to power Sharp’s latest Ultra High Definition (UHD) 4K Recorder TU-UD1000 products, as well as Sharp’s new UHD 4K line of Digital Television (DTV) products UD20 series. Sharp plans to start initial shipments of the TU-UD1000 AQUOS Recorder and LC-UD20 series AQUOS 4K TV products in June 2014.

The TU-UD1000 4K AQUOS Recorder will support a 4K Trial Broadcasting service via built-in satellite tuners and will be the first consumer products in Japan to support a built-in 4K HEVC Decoder that will have the ability to receive, record, and playback this new 4K service set to be introduced in Japan by June 2014. Also, SHARP’s new AQUOS TV UD20 series (LC-70UD20/LC-60UD20/LC-52UD20), which supports HDMI2.0 (4K60p) with HDCP2.2 in conjunction with the TU-UD1000 recorder, will be capable of receiving and displaying this 4K Trial Broadcast service. The AQUOS UD20 series will also support new 4K VOD services, planned for October of 2014.

By choosing ViXS’ XCode 6400, the world’s first and only commercially available UHD 4K and 10-bit HEVC SoC, Sharp looks to accelerate their UHD product transition and increase their market share around the world. The XCode 6400 is paving the road for the next era of UHD 4K content by being the first SoC to successfully support UHD 4K and HEVC Main 10 Profile at 60 frames per second (fps), enabling content owners, service providers, and consumer product manufacturers to deliver unprecedented video clarity and color to consumers worldwide while reducing bandwidth by up to 50%.

The XCode 6400 SoC can decode HEVC-based content and display output resolutions up to UHD 4K (3840×2160 pixels) at a full 60 fps. ViXS is an active contributor to the HEVC Standard and was a leading proponent of 10-bit media processing during the development of the HEVC technical specifications. The content market is moving quickly to 10-bit HEVC because the higher color bit depth, which brings more than 1 billion colors to life, results in smoother color transitions, greatly reduced color banding, and significantly better end-user video quality.

“Sharp is focused on driving the successful global deployment of our new Ultra HD 4K products, and we needed an Ultra HD and HEVC SoC commercially available now to meet our aggressive timelines,” said Fumitoshi Matsuura, Unit Deputy General Manager LCD Digital Systems Unit 1 & Department General Manager Products Planning Dept 2, Digital Information Appliance Division, Sharp Corporation. “We are extremely pleased to be working with a market leader such as ViXS Systems, whose XCode 6400 has proven to be a reliable and high performance SoC that is ideal for our premium products.”

“ViXS is excited to be chosen by Sharp, a premier consumer electronics company globally, to help expedite deployment of their innovative Ultra HD recorder and televisions,” said Sally Daub, President and CEO, ViXS Systems Inc. “Our team worked hard to bring the XCode 6400 to market ahead of the competition, and we are delighted to see our customers such as Sharp take advantage of our long tradition of market foresight, pioneering designs, and flawless execution.”