Semiconductor (ICs, silicon IP, microchips, …) News

Socionext releases 8K-capable live video encoding unit
Jul 17, 2019 – Socionext has released its e8 streaming encoder. The e8 generates live 8K video streams to enable the expanded use of high-definition video in an increasingly wide range of applications. It will be available worldwide in September 2019.
News categories: Socionext, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Semiconductor, Worldwide

EU opens antitrust investigation into Broadcom
Jun 26, 2019 – The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether, in TV and modem chipset markets, Broadcom may be restricting competition through exclusivity practices, in breach of EU rules.
News categories: European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, Digital TV, EU, Regulation, Semiconductor, Set Top Box

Atari VCS home gaming and entertainment platform unveiled
Jun 13, 2019 – Atari has made further announcements about its Atari VCS home gaming and entertainment platform. As well as gaming, the Atari VCS is optimized for video entertainment. The system is 4K HDR capable and supports video apps such as Netflix, Hulu, and Showtime.
News categories: Atari, Digital TV, Games Console, OTT, Semiconductor, Set Top Box, USA

Microsoft previews Xbox in the cloud and Project Scarlett console
Jun 9, 2019 – At the Xbox E3 Briefing, Xbox demonstrated its commitment to console gaming with a preview of its next generation machine due to arrive in 2020. Attendees were also among the first in the world to play Xbox One games streaming on smartphones and tablets.
News categories: Xbox, Phil Spencer, Digital TV, Games Console, OTT, Semiconductor, Set Top Box, USA, Worldwide

Sony and Microsoft to collaborate on cloud for D2C entertainment and AI
May 16, 2019 – Sony and Microsoft have announced that Sony will use Microsoft Azure datacenter solutions for its game and content streaming services, and that the two companies will explore joint development of cloud solutions for the future.
News categories: Microsoft, Sony Corp, Satya Nadell, Kenichiro Yoshida, Big Data, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Semiconductor, Worldwide

IDC expects worldwide semiconductor revenue to drop 7.2% in 2019
May 15, 2019 – After three consecutive years of growth, with year-over-year growth of 13.2% in 2018, the latest update from IDC forecasts that worldwide semiconductor revenue will decline to $440 billion in 2019, down 7.2% from $474 billion in 2018.
News categories: IDC, Mario Morales, Market Research, Semiconductor, Worldwide

Amphion extends IP family to support AV1 video decoding up to 4K/UHD
May 9, 2019 – Amphion has announced an AV1 decoding extension to its Malone family of high performance video decoders for SoC implementation. AV1 is the video coding format capable of delivering up to 30% better compression rates versus formats such as HEVC and VP9.
News categories: Amphion, Stephen Farson, Digital TV, Silicon IP, Worldwide

Semiconductor industry facing major downturn in 2019
May 7, 2019 – Conditions in the global semiconductor market have deteriorated rapidly since the start of the year, according to IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO). The worldwide microchip industry is set to suffer a 7.4% drop in revenue this year.
News categories: IHS Markit, Myson Robles Bruce, Market Research, Semiconductor, Worldwide

Arteris IP interconnect licensed by Samsung for DTV chips
Apr 23, 2019 – Arteris IP has announced that Samsung’s System LSI Business has renewed multiple Arteris IP FlexNoC Interconnect licenses for use in multiple high-performance digital TV (DTV) processing chips utilizing Samsung’s latest semiconductor technology process nodes.
News categories: Arteris IP, Samsung, K. Charles Janac, Jaeyoul Lee, Digital TV, Korea, Silicon IP, Smart TV, Worldwide