Entropic Communications and Earda Electronics Partner to Deliver Digital Video Over Cable (DVB-C) Tuner Modules

China’s Largest Tuner Module Manufacturer Has Selected Entropic’s RF4800 Single Chip Silicon Tuners For Network Interface Modules for DVB-C Set-Top Box Applications

GUANGZHOU, CHINA — Entropic Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENTR) a leading provider of silicon solutions to enable connected home entertainment, today announced that Earda Electronics Ltd. has selected Entropic’s RF4800 single chip silicon tuners for their digital cable tuner modules. Earda is China’s largest manufacturer of silicon tuner modules for the Digital Terrestrial (DVB-T) and Digital Satellite (DVB-S) markets and is focused on meeting the demands of the rapidly growing Digital Cable (DVB-C) set-top box market.

Addressing the Demands of Cable Operators

Earda is a well-known and established Chinese brand with the reputation for designing and manufacturing digital tuner modules that comply with the DVB standard. As Chinese cable broadcasters upgrade their cable infrastructure to utilize digital cable technology, there is a need for high-performance digital cable tuners and set-top boxes that can deliver digital video to their subscribers.

“Up to now, Chinese set-top box manufacturers could only meet cable operator requirements by utilizing expensive discrete tuner modules from traditional suppliers,” said Mr. Jeffrey Geng, General Manager of Earda Electronics. “With Entropic’s tuner, we are now able to offer the Chinese set-top box vendors a compact, high performance DVB-C tuner module based on advanced silicon tuner technology.”

RF4800 Advanced Silicon Tuner Technology

Entropic’s RF4800 is a single chip silicon tuner for DVB-C TV and set-top box applications that provides all required RF and analog signal processing from the antenna to the demodulator IC input. The IC includes a front-end Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) and Automatic Gain Control (AGC), a band-pass tracking filter, frequency conversion, staged gain control, and channel filtering blocks. Other circuits included are the synthesizer, a separate loop-through amplifier, and a combiner for a remodulated TV signal. The tuner supports 6, 7, and 8Mhz programmable channel bandwidths. In addition, the RF4800 features AdaptiveTune™ control technology and improves receiver performance while reducing the bill-of-material component count.

“With our advanced RF silicon solutions and subsystems expertise, we can provide a variety of tuner solutions to our customers,” stated John Graham, VP of Marketing at Entropic Communications. “Entropic’s RF4800 single chip silicon tuner is the core of a production-ready RF front end for Earda’s tuner modules. We are pleased to work with Earda to provide a fast time-to-market, robust, and easy-to-deploy solution for bringing digital terrestrial and cable-compatible consumer electronics devices to market.”