SRSÆ Labs' TruSurroundÆ Technology Embedded In Broadcom Set-Top Box Chips

TruSurroundô Virtual Surround Sound Technology Provides Two-Channel Virtual Surround Sound Playback Of Multichannel Programming

6-Apr-01

SRSÆ Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRSL), a leading provider of innovative audio and voice technology solutions, announced that its proprietary virtual surround sound technology, TruSurroundÆ, is embedded in two set-top box single-chip solutions from BroadcomÆ (NASDAQ: BRCM), the BCM 7020 and BCM 7100 chip families. TruSurround enables multichannel content to be played back over just two speakers by creating ""phantom"" surround speakers to provide a ""virtual"" home theatre listening experience through just two front speakers such as those found in televisions.SRS Labs' TruSurround is included in Broadcom's BCM7020 and BCM7100 chip families as an inactive embedded feature that can easily be enabled by set-top box manufacturers though a licensing agreement with SRS Labs. TruSurround, when enabled, will render multichannel surround sound through only two speakers, delivering an immersive, virtual surround sound audio experience to consumers from stereo (two channel) audio signals. SRS Labs' TruSurround technology is leading virtual surround sound technology featured in brand-name televisions and DVD players from leading electronics manufacturers around the world such as Sony, Toshiba, Marantz, Sylvania, RCA, and Philips.TruSurround is a DolbyÆ-certified technology that allows for virtualized surround sound experience from a two-speaker playback using any multichannel audio source, including Dolby Digital, Dolby SurroundÆ or DTSÆ. With TruSurround, the six discrete channels of digital audio are processed into just two virtual surround sound channels, giving the listener the sensory perception that they are surrounded by additional ""phantom"" speakers. Enabling TruSurround on the BCM7100 and BCM7020 chip families in set-top boxes would provide an immersive, virtualized surround sound experience for consumers playing audio over stereo television speakers or other two-speaker systems while viewing top-rated cable and network shows currently broadcasted in multichannel formats such as Dolby Surround. Shows currently broadcast in Dolby Surround are numerous and include sporting events such as ìMonday Night Football,î the Super Bowl, special events such as the Emmy AwardsÆ, movies on cable movie stations such as HBO and Showtime, and popular television series such as ìThe Sopranos,î ìThe X-Files,î ìThe Practice,î ìFrasier,î ìBuffy The Vampire Slayer,î ìRoswell,î ìSex In The Cityî and many more.""Broadcom's single-chip solutions for cable set-top boxes combined with SRS Labs' TruSurround creates an elegant, simple solution for set-top box manufacturers to provide superior audio enhancement to the end user while utilizing Broadcom's single-chip solution,"" said Joanna Skrdlant, Director of Marketing of SRS Labs. ""Broadcom is a stellar addition to our growing list of chip partners.""Broadcom's new BCM 7100 includes a ""locked"" version of TruSurround and is the world's first single-chip solution for cable set-top boxes that can be used in cable systems around the world. The BCM 7100 is a complete cable set-top box system-on-a-chip including the front-end, back-end, CPU, system control and peripherals. Front-end technology includes an in-band QAM demodulator, an out-of-band demodulator, and an upstream burst modulator. The back-end technology includes an MPEG-2 video decoder, audio decoder, transport engine, advanced 2D/3D graphics controller and an analog NTSC decoder/encoder.SRS Labs' TruSurround is also included in Broadcom's BCM7020 chip and is the first Broadcom product to use the HDTV MPEG technology developed by Armedia, Inc. The Broadcom BCM 7020 high definition, video graphic subsystem is a high performance single-chip solution that supports MPEG-2 video, Dolby Digital and MPEG audio, 3D graphics, and studio-quality 2D text and graphics for SDTV and HDTV television displays. The BCM 7020 can decode MPEG audio streams as well as Dolby Digital streams. It is currently targeted at the SDTV and HDTV cable TV, satellite set-top box and television markets, and is compatible with all of Broadcom's front-end receiver chips for cable TV, satellite, DSL, and wireless applications, enabling it to be designed into virtually any system that supports SDTV and HDTV outputs.For more information about SRS Labs, Inc., visit www.srslabs.com.

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