Broadcom Introduces Industry's First End-to-End Chipset For Terrestrial HDTV

Chipset Provides TV And Set-Top Box Makers With Technology For Superior HDTV Reception And Display

27-Oct-00

Broadcom Corporation, the leading provider of integrated circuits enabling broadband communications, announced the availability of the industry's first end-to-end chipset for receiving and displaying terrestrial high definition television (HDTV). With the introduction of this highly integrated chipset, Broadcom is enabling the transition from traditional analog TV reception to HDTV reception, providing consumers with crystal clear, digital quality video and CD quality audio.The Broadcom chipset provides television and set-top box manufacturers with the highest performing Vestigial Side Band (VSB, the North American standard for terrestrial HDTV) receiver and a 2D/3D video-graphics subsystem for Standard Definition Television (SDTV) and HDTV displays.This new system solution is made possible by combining the new BroadcomÆ BCM3510 HDTV/CATV (Cable TV) receiver with Broadcom's previously announced BCM7020 single-chip set-top box system. The BCM3510 is an integrated VSB and QAM receiver, which supports both the North American ATSC Grand Alliance broadcast television standard and North American cable TV standards. Through extensive independent testing, Broadcom's BCM3510 has been proven to be the highest performing VSB receiver available. The BCM3510 takes performance to a new level with power consumption reduced to less than one watt, simplified ease of use and improved algorithms for handling difficult multi-path channel conditions.Robert Graves, Chairman of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), commented on this announcement, ""The ATSC is delighted to learn of the introduction of Broadcom's second-generation, high-performance VSB receiver. When the ATSC promotes the benefits and advantages of VSB systems worldwide, we include Broadcom VSB receivers because of their superior performance in diverse terrestrial television reception environments. This latest contribution from Broadcom epitomizes the kind of innovative improvements that manufacturers are making in ATSC receivers.""""Our chipset offers television and set-top box manufacturers a complete solution for receiving and displaying terrestrial HDTV,"" said Rich Nelson, Broadcom's Senior Director of Marketing, Broadband Communications Business Unit. ""This will allow manufacturers to introduce next-generation products, with superior reception and user features, accelerating HDTV adoption in the market. This is right in line with FCC Chairman William Kennard's vision for the widespread availability of digital television to American consumers."" In an October 10, 2000 speech, Kennard said: ""Congress should direct the FCC to adopt a requirement that, by a given date - say January 1, 2003 - all new television sets include the capability to receive DTV (digital television) signals. In addition to accelerating DTV deployment, this order would make DTV technology much more affordable by unleashing market forces and economies of scale to drive down the cost of equipment and receiver chips in both sets and converter boxes.""BCM3510 FeaturesThe BCM3510 is a highly integrated single-chip receiver for the ATSC standard. The receiver contains an on-chip A/D converter with automatic gain control to simplify system design. It provides the highest performance in dynamic multi-path conditions with a full implementation, 46 millisecond equalizer. A patented, high-performance notch filter automatically eliminates NTSC co-channel interference. In addition to the VSB receiver, the BCM3510 implements a fully compliant ITU J.83 Annex A, B and C QAM receiver enabling a ""cable-ready"" digital TV solution in a single package at no additional cost. The user interface to the BCM3510 is managed through a high-level application programming interface (API) using an on-chip micro-controller. This simplifies system software development, and reduces time-to-market for system development. The BCM3510 delivers outstanding performance and consumes less than one watt of power.BCM7020 FeaturesBroadcom's BCM7020 video graphics decoder and graphics system, introduced in December 1999, provided the industry with its first 2D/3D video-graphics subsystem that supports both SDTV and HDTV standards for North America, Europe and Japan. It can decode multiple video streams simultaneously, enabling new services such as multiple camera angles and picture-in-picture. The BCM7020 supports all 18 ATSC North American formats. In addition, this video graphics subsystem decodes analog TV formats worldwide, for the seamless integration of digital and analog television.BCM93510 And BCM97020 Reference DesignsTo enable complete HDTV system development with the BCM3510 and BCM7020, Broadcom offers the BCM93510 and BCM97020 reference designs. This combined system is a stand-alone HDTV receiver with an ATSC-compliant tuner, the BCM3510 VSB/QAM receiver, and the BCM7020 HDTV video graphics decoder. The reference designs are delivered with complete software source code, schematics and Gerber files, providing detailed design information to manufacturers of integrated TV platforms and stand-alone HDTV decoders.Pricing And AvailabilityThe BCM3510 is available in sample quantities today. It is priced at $20 in 10,000 piece quantities and is packaged in a 128-pin PQFP. The BCM7020 is now available, priced at $50 in 10,000 piece quantities, and is packaged in a 420-pin TBGA.For more information about Broadcom, visit www.broadcom.com.

Read More:
http://www.broadcom.com