Sigma Designs to Showcase DOCSIS 3.0 Multi Channel and tru2way™ Set-Top Box at NCTA Cable Show 2008

Thursday, May 15th, 2008
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Sigma Designs Extends Its Telco IPTV Set-Top Box Expertise to Cable IP Set-Top Box and HDTV Manufacturers

MILPITAS, Calif. — Sigma Designs (Nasdaq:SIGM), a leader in digital media processing system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for consumer electronics, leveraging Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) cable TV technology and VividLogic’s tru2way™ software, has announced demonstrations of its DOCSIS 3.0 multi channel and tru2way™ set-top box at the NCTA Cable Show 2008. field proven cable TV technology and VividLogic’s comprehensive tru2way™ software for set-top boxes (STBs) and cable TV ready HDTVs, announces demonstrations of its DOCSIS 3.0 multi channel and tru2way™ set-top box at the NCTA Cable Show 2008, May 18-20 in New Orleans. The demonstrations will take place at Sigma Designs’ stand in the CableNET zone and in VividLogic booth #3929.

“The cable TV industry is upgrading its infrastructure to enable higher speed downstream and upstream communication. The switched digital system in a Cable TV plant provides an unlimited number of high definition channels and video-on-demand functionality to the consumer,” said Ken Lowe, Sigma’s VP of strategic marketing. “Sigma Designs will leverage its expertise in the Telco IPTV set-top box market to support IP-Cable STBs and HDTV manufacturers. We are proud to offer consumers more competitive choices in their home entertainment experience.”

Sigma’s Cable-IP Set-Top Box Demonstrations

Sigma Designs will be showcasing the DOCSIS 3.0 (1.X and 2.0) based STB powered by Sigma’s SMP8634 Secure Media Processors, capable of:

  • Fast upstream and downstream communication
  • High speed cable modem for Internet connectivity
  • Web browsing
  • Tru2way™ middleware for downloadable EPG and interactive Java applications
  • Decoding of multiple video streams for simultaneous viewing and recording
  • Multi standard decoding (MPEG-2, H.264, VC-1)
  • Unlimited Cable TV channel lineup on “IPTV like” switched digital video & VoD cable plant
  • Support IPv6 128 bits addresses

More about Sigma’s DOCSIS 3.0 (1.X and 2.0)-based Set-Top Box

Texas Instruments developed the Puma-5 DOCSIS 3.0 based chipset used in the Sigma Designs set-top box. VividLogic developed the Open Cable Host (OCHD 2.0) based tru2way™ middleware that includes OCAP, MCARD, DSG, IEEE-1394, DVR and other OCHD 2.0 components, being ported to run on the Sigma Designs’ SMP8634 media processor.

Optimized for triple play and next generation IP services, TI’s Puma 5 family has been developed to support DOCSIS 3.0 enhanced performance and features. New DOCSIS 3.0 features such as channel bonding enable ultra high downstream bandwidth rates of at least 160 Mbps in the residential data and voice services configuration. In addition, the solution offers 320 Mbps in video and business services configuration.

“TI is excited to deliver the Puma 5 to this video segment,” said Irvind Ghai, Director Connectivity and Cable Business at TI. “As the market leader in DOCSIS 3.0 based technology, Texas Instruments is happy to bring the differentiating capabilities of this technology to next generation Cable set-top boxes.”

“We are delighted to work with Sigma Designs and TI in porting our Open Cable Host (OCHD 2.0) based tru2way™ software to Sigma Designs’ set-top box reference platform,” said Shiva Patibanda, CEO VividLogic Inc. “Our comprehensive tru2way™ software solution will accelerate time-to-market for Sigma Designs and TI customers.”

Industry estimates show that Sigma’s SMP8634 chip is in approximately 80% of the IPTV set-top boxes worldwide, more than any other semiconductor offered to the industry, making Sigma a leader in global IPTV services.