Entropic Communications and TOPFIELD Co., Ltd. Partner On Next-Generation Digital Video Recorder Design

Entropic’s EN4020 Multi-Mode Silicon Tuner Delivers the RF Performance for Digital Set-Top Boxes and Advanced Multi-Tuner DVRs

SAN DIEGO — Entropic Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:ENTR), a leading provider of silicon solutions to enable connected home entertainment, announced today that the EN4020, its new multi-mode hybrid RF CMOS silicon tuner, has been selected by TOPFIELD, a leading manufacturer of DVR and set-top boxes (STBs) for digital video receivers including DVB Systems for CATV and DVB-T. TOPFIELD will incorporate Entropic’s EN4020 silicon tuner in its next-generation set-top box design.

Accelerating Development Cycles

TOPFIELD is a leading innovator in the design and development of digital set-top boxes and digital video recorders with over 100 models delivered and deployed in the field over the last 10 years. The company is a leader in the design and manufacture of products that comply with the DVB standard, including digital satellite television receivers, digital terrestrial receivers and digital cable set-top boxes. TOPFIELD’s products have obtained many certifications and are sold widely to the export markets in Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. TOPFIELD is working with Entropic Communications on the development of a new generation of set-top boxes and DVRs for digital cable (DVB-C) and digital terrestrial applications.

“The rapid conversion from analog cable to digital broadcasting has resulted in higher performance requirements by broadcasters and cable operators. Demand for accelerated development cycles from operators and retailers has also increased as they adopt new conditional access and other enhanced features,” said Mr. Yong-Cheol Lee, CEO of TOPFIELD Electronics. “We are seeing higher demand for more integration and increased performance requirements. Entropic’s EN4020 digital cable tuner delivers high performance even in older cable networks and provides our engineering teams with more efficient design and manufacturability.”

Delivering Digital Performance Requirements

As cable broadcasters throughout Asia and Europe upgrade their cable plants and transition to digital broadcasting technology, digital cable set-top boxes and DVRs are being rapidly deployed. High-performance silicon tuners are key to the design of new set-top boxes capable of delivering digital video to cable subscribers. The EN4020 silicon tuner with patented AdaptiveTune™ technology has proven performance advantages in the emerging digital networks where excessive interference from legacy analog signal and terrestrial signal leakage into the cable can cause major performance limitations that can degrade picture quality. Entropic’s AdaptiveTune feature allows key characteristics of the tuner to be programmed via software to optimise front-end performance for different environmental conditions. The EN4020 contains all front-end functions and requires no external SAW filters or amplifiers.

“Digital broadcasting is increasingly gaining momentum in all markets around the world. Entropic’s programmable RF tuner solutions help simplify design and manufacturing of these digital set-top boxes,” said Patrick Henry, CEO of Entropic Communications. “We are proud to be working with leading set-top box manufacturers, like TOPFIELD, to jointly develop cost-effective digital set-top boxes that meet the difficult requirements of operators and broadcasters.”