Broadcom Announces Full-Band Capture for Satellite TV

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011
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Delivers Breakthrough Digital Tuning for Satellite TV; Full-Band Capture Technology Simplifies Design while Lowering Overall System Cost and Power Requirements:

  • Broadcom’s Full-Band Capture (FBC) technology enables unprecedented bandwidth scalability and flexibility, resulting in more efficient distribution of video streams and IP services to connected devices in the digital home ecosystem.
  • FBC functionality replaces multiple discrete tuners with one system-on-a-chip (SoC) for simpler, smaller, faster and lower power designs.
  • Coupled with Broadcom’s FastRTV®, FBC technology will enable consumers to experience faster channel change, regardless of frequency.

AMSTERDAM — IBC — Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced its Full-Band Capture digital tuning technology enabling design efficiency and scalable bandwidth to the satellite TV market. Broadcom’s new 40nm satellite set-top box (STB) solution, the BCM4528 FBC Multi Demodulator SoC, dramatically reduces overall system cost and power in the home.

Technology Advantages:

  • Broadcom’s FBC technology digitizes the entire 950-2150 MHz spectrum, replacing multiple discrete tuners with only one FBC chip. Advantages include:
    • Bandwidth deployment flexibility: any demodulator can tune to any frequency removing wideband “block” tuner restrictions for a more efficient distribution of video streams and IP services.
    • Reduced power consumption: satellite systems realize more than 50 percent reduction in power savings.
    • Faster channel change: FastRTV® channel change technology paired with FBC provides quick channel change regardless of frequency.
    • Less complexity: achieves more than 65 percent reduction in the number of connections between front-end and back-end devices.
    • Lower system cost: replaces up to eight satellite chips resulting in lower bill-of-materials (BOM).
  • Broadcom’s 40nm BCM4528 is the industry’s first fully integrated satellite solution to support FBC technology and is now shipping to customers.

Dan Marotta, EVP & GM, Broadband Communications Group, Broadcom: “Extending Full-Band Capture to our industry-leading satellite products paves the way for more advanced satellite receivers that lower deployment cost and reduce power consumption. Coupled with Broadcom’s FastRTV technology, SBC technology allows operators to benefit from more efficient use of spectrum while consumers experience an even faster channel change.”