Satnews Daily
September 9th, 2009

SatBroadcasting: SoCs For Sat STBs Debut From Broadcom


Broadcom logo (090909) Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM) has announced new single-chip, multi-format HD satellite STB solutions featuring an integrated Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA(R)) 1.1 core. With these new system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions, service providers worldwide will be able to offer whole-home digital media distribution and connected TV services that enable subscribers to securely access, store and share multiple types of digital media content including HDTV programs, video-on-demand, multi-room digital video recorder (DVR) programming, Internet content, user-generated video, music, photos and voice over Internet protocol.

With support for the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) Interoperability Guidelines, the new satellite STB SoCs facilitate the easy sharing of digital content between DLNA-enabled devices. Other features include a 3D graphics engine for an advanced user interface along with support for the Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) to deliver interactive TV applications, the Adobe Flash Platform for the Digital Home enabling a rich web-based TV video experience and the RVU Alliance's pixel accurate Remote User Interface (RUI) technology that allows an identical user experience on multiple devices.

Announced are the Broadcom BCM7340 and BCM7342 single-chip satellite receivers for direct broadcast satellite (DBS) STBs and support multiple worldwide formats including the DVB-S2, DVB-S and 8PSK standards, with backwards compatibility to the DVB-S standard. The BCM7340 and BCM7342 satellite receivers each feature dynamic power management controllers that provide a very power efficient ecosystem, capable of shutting down unused system components in real-time. Even in these low power modes, the SoCs continue to remain aware of network events both in the home and from multiple service provider access points, enabling them to quickly respond to network and user inputs. Both chips offer support for Energy Star(R) and are European Code of Conduct compliant. The BCM7340 and BCM7342 are similar in their respective feature sets; however, the BCM7342 MoCA-integrated satellite solution acts as the media center to enable service providers to offer multi-room DVR capabilities while the BCM7340 acts as a thin media client, allowing multiple users to store, time shift or access content from media servers or residential gateways for playback on STBs anywhere in the home.