Broadcom Introduces Entry Level HD Cable Set-Top Box Platform

New 40nm System-on-Chip Helps Drive Global Transitions to HDTV

BEIJING — CCBN — Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced the availability of new 40nm HD cable set-top box (STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions to meet the growing global demand for entry-level HD STB platforms.

Engineered for the fast growing entry-level international HDTV cable market, the new Broadcom® BCM7581 and BCM7582 feature unprecedented levels of integration and advanced technology to meet the needs of cable operators across the globe. Leveraging Broadcom’s industry leading portfolio of digital cable solutions, these new products add higher performance processing while lowering power consumption to Broadcom’s lowest cost HD STB platforms.

Key Features

With a highly integrated, scalable and cost-effective design, the 40nm BCM7581 and BCM7582 cable STB platforms reduce design complexity, power consumption, size, and overall system costs to enable greater deployment of HD digital cable boxes throughout the world. Key integrated features include:

• High-performance CPU with Floating Point Unit and 2D GPU supporting all popular middleware and user interface solutions.
• 1GHz DVB-C tuner with the advanced RF receiver technology to support the widely varying cable systems worldwide.
• FastRTV® fast channel change technology to uniquely reduce channel change time improving customer satisfaction.
• High-performance audio processor supporting all popular advanced audio formats and Broadcom automatic volume leveling technology.
• Dynamic and very efficient power management system capable of managing power usage in real-time exceeding international power efficiency requirements.
• Fully integrated Ethernet port that support cable interactive services, either as the interface to Broadcom’s DOCSIS® modems or to Ethernet over Cable (EoC) modems.
• HDMI 1.4a and component outputs that support HD displays.
• Advanced pay-TV security supporting all international cable markets.

Availability

The Broadcom products mentioned above are now shipping.

Quotes

Zhang Changli, President of Research Institute, Wasu Digital TV Media Group:

“HDTV is taking off in China with an increasing supply of premium content including more than 10 HDTV channels and the first 3D TV channel launched in January of this year. To deliver great quality TV content to our subscribers, we really need the high-performance and cost-effective set-top box chip solutions like Broadcom’s BCM7581 in our deployment.”

Xu, Jiahong, CEO of iPanel:

“We are excited to partner with Broadcom in China’s cable set-top box market and integrate our middleware on Broadcom’s market-competitive BCM7581 chip platform, Broadcom’s high-integration and high price-performance solution is very attractive to Chinese cable operators that see a strong demand for HD set-top boxes in China.”

Flora Wu, Principal Analyst, BDA:

“The Chinese government plans to convert 202 million households to digital programming before 2015, paving the way for the expanded network capacity needed to provide additional HD content and advanced services.”

Dan Marotta, Broadcom’s Executive Vice President and General Manager, Broadband Communications Group:

“Broadcom’s technology is poised to quickly transition analog programming to HDTV while meeting stringent cost and power requirements. For higher quality consumer experiences worldwide our technology also enables connected home capabilities for a multi-screen TV experience as operator’s transition to advanced services.”