Prime Electronics selects Sigma Designs G.hn chipset for STB

Monday, June 2nd, 2014
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Prime Electronics Selects Sigma Designs’ G.hn Chipset for Its Next Generation Set Top Box

  • Whole Home Coverage, Easy Installation, Improved Throughput Enabled With Embedded G.hn Powerline Technology

MILPITAS, CA — Sigma Designs® (NASDAQ: SIGM), a leading provider of intelligent system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for Smart TV, Smart home and IP-based set-top-boxes, announced today that Prime Electronics and Satellites (“Prime”), a leading manufacturer of state of the art set top boxes has selected Sigma Designs’ G.hn CG5200 family of chipsets for their newest set top box design. With the increased demands for bandwidth, QoS, remote management and coverage, Prime wants to take advantage of the robustness of the G.hn technology to deliver the most reliable and stable Multi-screen, Home Networking services possible by embedding Sigma’s CG5200 directly into their set top box.

Prime is using Sigma’s G.hn MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) powerline chipset which enables whole-home coverage over all power lines, phone lines, and coaxial wires. Sigma Design’s solution significantly reduces installation costs as there is no need for professional installers. The set top box can be shipped directly to the customer because it is designed to be fully-functional once it is plugged into a power socket. The power cord serves as both the power feed as well as the G.hn communication port. Any power socket that is equipped with Sigma’s CG5200 G.hn series is a part of the mesh network and can handle media-streaming.

“We are pleased to work with Sigma Designs because they not only have a great reputation in powerline in both legacy and G.hn technology, they have deep experience with ISPs and Telcos and in the IP STB business,” stated Prime’s General Manager, Daniel Hsieh. “We think both companies could leverage each other’s experience in both STB and home networking devices to satisfy those customers’ needs.”

“Sigma is excited to deliver the G.hn technology through a new home device. Embedding the technology into the Prime set top box is the next logical step in creating the most seamless media experience for the consumer,” said Nadav Katsir, vice-president of Sigma Designs’ Home Connectivity business unit.

The G.hn CG5200 chipset family includes:

  • Whole home coverage utilizing all existing wires
  • Optimization for IPTV and Multicast systems for video and audio traffic
  • Embedded IP Stack for TR069 remote management and diagnostics capabilities
  • PHY rate up to 1 Gbps per medium (coaxial, phone, power)
  • G.hn MIMO/SISO over power line – extending coverage, rates, and best immunity to interferences
  • Smooth and seamless migration from Home PNA to G.hn over coax
  • Customer self-install
  • Support of ITU-T G.hn standards (G.9960/1/2/3/4)
  • Support of HomePNA™ 3.1(ITU-T G.9954 standard)