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NewsBot Date: December 6, 2007 06:37:29 PM
Broadcom's Satellite System-On-A-Chip Provides the Highest Level of System Integration for Low Cost, High Definition Satellite Set-Top Boxes
New 65 Nanometer Solution Features the Latest HD AVC Technology to
Support Multiple Video Formats and a 50% Reduction in Power Consumption
IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Broadcom Corporation
(Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless
communications, today announced a new single-channel, multi-format high
definition (HD) satellite receiver chip that enables manufacturers to develop
low cost satellite set-top boxes (STBs). The new satellite system-on-a-chip
(SoC) is manufactured in 65 nanometer (nm) process technology and includes the
highest level of functionality, fully integrating a single tuner/demodulator,
as well as the latest AVC (advanced video coding) decoder that supports
multiple video formats. By reducing the number of components required to
develop satellite set-top box products, Broadcom has reduced power consumption
by more than 50% over competing solutions, lowering system bill of materials
(BOM) cost while reducing the complexity and size of designing next generation
satellite STBs.
The new single-chip Broadcom(R) BCM7325 satellite receiver enables
unmatched functionality for direct broadcast satellite (DBS) set-top boxes and
supports multiple formats including the DVB-S, DVB-S2 and 8PSK standards.
With capabilities that go beyond current DVB-S2 silicon implementations for
both integration and performance, the BCM7325 offers STB manufacturers a
significantly lower cost solution for the development of DVB-S2 capable
set-top boxes. Built around previous generations of Broadcom digital cable
and satellite STB chips and technology, service providers that deploy set-top
boxes designed around the BCM7325 can cost effectively provide their
subscribers with advanced HD television viewing features and improved picture
quality.
'Broadcom continues to fuel the satellite industry and is leading the
technology evolution with highly integrated single-chip solutions that reduce
power, PCB size and complexity along with overall system cost,' said Nicholas
Dunn, Director of Marketing for Broadcom's Satellite Set-Top Box line of
business. 'The BCM7325 offers the highest level of functionality in a single
chip and enables service providers to make the most advanced features
available to their subscribers, providing an enhanced viewing experience.'
'Digital satellite set-top box shipments are expected to exceed 81 million
units, with a 7.7 percent increase worldwide from 2007 to 2008. With the
increased proliferation of HD content, it is now essential for satellite
service providers to continue offering advanced STBs with robust features and
improved functionality,' said Michael Inouye, Research Analyst at In-Stat.
'With the quickly expanding number of HDTV channels being delivered by
satellite pay-TV providers, they are rapidly embracing the higher capacities
enabled by 8PSK modulation for more efficient HD channel delivery and
Broadcom's BCM7325 is well suited for widespread adoption.'
Technical Information
The BCM7325 is Broadcom's next generation satellite set-top box system on
a single chip manufactured in the 65nm process. It integrates a single
tuner/demodulator from the BCM4506 front-end device and the latest generation
of AVC decoder that supports multiple video formats. The BCM7325 supports
worldwide standards for DBS transmission systems based on DVB-S2, 8PSK, Turbo
Code, and is backward compatible with the DVB-S standard.
The BCM7325 operates on a dual-threaded MIPS(R) CPU core running at 333MHz
resulting in over 550DMIPS of performance. The BCM7325 is designed to support
UMA and non-UMA memory architectures, utilizing a 400-MHz clock, 32-bit wide
DDR2 memory I/F for enhanced performance and allows cost-effective memory
implementations.
The BCM7325 supports several interfaces for TV output on-chip including
HDMI, baseband composite, component or S-Video, and incorporates Broadcom's
advanced 2D graphics engine that enables true studio-quality text and
graphics, efficiently using its memory and bandwidth.
The BCM7325 is designed using the 65 nanometer process -- the most
advanced lithographic node for manufacturing semiconductors in large volumes
today that provides significant benefits over 90 nm and 130 nm processes by
enabling lower power consumption, smaller size and higher levels of
integration. For Broadcom, the move to 65 nanometer process technology is
changing the competitive landscape because of the breadth and depth of the
communications intellectual property the company possesses. Without a broad
portfolio of market-leading solutions to integrate, competitors are not able
to take full advantage of the benefits that these next generation processes
provide.
Availability and Pricing
The BCM7325 satellite receiver SoC is sampling to early access customers.
Pricing is available upon request for manufacturers of satellite TV set-top
boxes.
Broadcom also makes available to early access customers a fully supported
reference design (BCM97325) that ensures cost efficient design and
manufacturing, and faster time-to-market. The BCM97325 reference design is a
development platform for set-top box design based on the BCM7325 and is
available with complete software source code, schematics and Gerber files, and
provides detailed design information for manufacturers of interactive cable TV
set-top box terminals.
About Broadcom's Broadband Communications Group
Broadcom offers manufacturers a range of broadband communications and
consumer electronics SoC's that enable voice, video and data services over
residential wired and wireless networks. These highly integrated silicon
solutions continue to enable the most advanced system solutions on the market,
which include digital cable, satellite and IP set-top boxes and media servers,
broadband modems and residential gateways, high definition and digital
televisions, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc(TM) players, DVD recorders and personal
video recorders.
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in
semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom(R) products
enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the
home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry's
broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art, system-on-a-chip and software
solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital
entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These
solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).
Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies,
with 2006 revenue of $3.67 billion, and holds over 2,300 U.S. and
1,000 foreign patents, more than 7,100 additional pending patent applications,
and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired
and wireless transmission of voice, video and data.
Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research
facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at
+1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995:
All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release,
other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our
current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and
business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of
which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be
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not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and
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adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.
Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in
connection with BCM7325 satellite receiver products include, but are not
limited to, general economic and political conditions and specific conditions
in the markets we address, including the volatility in the technology sector
and semiconductor industry, trends in the broadband communications markets in
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customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the
markets for satellite set-top box applications; delays in the adoption and
acceptance of industry standards in those markets; the timing, rescheduling or
cancellation of significant customer orders and our ability, as well as the
ability of our customers, to manage inventory; the gain or loss of a key
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shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in
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compensation levels needed to implement our business and product plans; the
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Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q,
recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange
Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk
factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our
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statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no
obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any
reason.
Broadcom(R), the pulse logo, Connecting everything(R), and the Connecting
everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its
affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU.
Blu-ray Disc(TM) is a trademark of Sony Corporation. Any other trademarks or
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