Broadcom Raises the Bar in the Mobile TV Market With World’s First
Posted on February 5, 2008
Filed Under News, PC HARDWARE, Semiconductors, mobile media
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Broadcom Corporation
(Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless
communications, today announced the world’s first 65 nanometer (nm) digital
TV single-chip receivers that support the DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcast-
Terrestrial) and DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) standards. The
system-on-a-chip (SoC) receivers set a new precedent for radio performance
and accommodate the stringent power and size constraints of cellular
handsets and other portable devices that offer mobile TV applications. This
technology establishes a critical foundation and adds significant
competitive advantage to Broadcom’s expanding portfolio of state-of-the-art
SoCs. Broadcom’s new mobile TV market solutions will offer compelling
improvements that result in longer battery life, better reception and lower
costs — enabling mobile TV for the masses.
Broadcom will demonstrate its new mobile TV SoCs at next week’s 2008
Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, from February 11th to 14th.
Announced today is the Broadcom(R) BCM2940 mobile TV receiver — a 65nm
monolithic single-chip solution that integrates a dual-mode demodulator and
tuner to support both DVB-T and DVB-H for the high-growth cellular handset
market. Also announced is the 65nm Broadcom BCM2930 mobile TV receiver that
is optimized for DVB-T applications targeting today’s high volume
set-top-box and PC markets, and enables digital TV broadcasts as a
value-added feature on portable platforms. Consumer electronics
manufacturers can use Broadcom’s new solutions to build innovative, robust
and cost effective solutions that will continue to move the handset to the
center of the personal communications and entertainment experience.
Mobile TV Market Poised For Tremendous Growth
DVB-T and DVB-H services are becoming ubiquitous and increasing in
availability on handheld devices, including cell phones and emerging
portable media players, since the screens are large enough to support
standard definition TV. The technology is becoming an integral part of
global broadcasting, setting the standard for satellite, cable, terrestrial
and IP- based services. Services using DVB standards are available on every
continent with over 170 million DVB receivers of all kinds deployed
worldwide.
Having overcome spectrum licensing and regulatory hurdles, the first
large-scale commercial DVB-H network deployments will roll out this year in
Russia and in several European countries. Business models are also evolving
from subscription-based services to “free-to-air” (or advertiser-supported)
broadcasts that provide a dramatically expanded customer base and further
accelerate service deployments.
“The DVB-H standard is open and supported by an industry-wide
consortium, which in turn, should help drive the number of mobile TV users
to nearly double each year until 2012,” said Clint Wheelock, Vice President
and Chief Research Officer for ABI Research. “Low power solutions that
combine superior radio performance and support DVB-H, in addition to the
large footprint of existing DVB-T deployments, will be critical in adopting
these services.”
“By marrying best-in-class mobile TV tuner technology from the Athena
Semiconductor acquisition and our core demodulator IP together with
leading- edge process technology, Broadcom has delivered a compelling
solution to our customers,” said Dino Bekis, Director of New Business
Initiatives for Broadcom’s Wireless Connectivity Group. “These new mobile
TV receivers, coupled with Broadcom’s handset capabilities and evolving
user applications, enable a whole new class of products that will drive
significant revenue growth.”
Industry Leading Performance
The BCM2930 and BCM2940 devices offer significant improvements over
existing mobile TV solutions on several fronts. Utilizing an innovative
design and aggressive process technology implementation, both the BCM2940
and BCM2930 significantly reduce power consumption by up to 40% and
footprint requirements by up to 30% from current handset design budgets.
Additionally, the advanced tuner and demodulator design of both chips
allows for measurably improved reception indoors and in high-speed
environments. With these capabilities, all of which are critical for
commercial success and widespread adoption, the BCM2940 and BCM2930 are the
ideal choices for portable digital TV applications.
Broadcom’s single-chip mobile TV receivers extend its broad portfolio
of mobile and wireless connectivity solutions. Broadcom is a leading
supplier of Bluetooth(R), FM, Wi-Fi(R) and GPS solutions that enable next
generation features in many popular mobile phones and other handheld
devices. In developing the BCM2940 and BCM2930, Broadcom leveraged its RF
expertise and IP portfolio to include a high performance RF tuner and
television demodulator, which are prevalent in Broadcom’s industry leading
and field proven cable set- top box products. Today’s announced mobile TV
solutions will enable new service capabilities that provide significant
revenue opportunities for wireless network providers.
Technical Information
The Broadcom BCM2940 and BCM2930 receivers integrate state-of-the-art
RF tuners with robust, field proven and standards-compliant DVB-T and DVB-H
digital basebands on a monolithic standard digital CMOS die. Ideally suited
for digital TV reception on portable devices almost anywhere in the world,
both devices support VHF III, UHF IV and V bands. The BCM2940 additionally
supports the EU/US L-bands and integrates 4Mb MPE-FEC SRAM to handle DVB-H
parallel/consecutive streams and services. Both offer a variety of physical
interfaces including SPI, SDIO and USB 2.0. In addition, the receivers
functionally:
— Exceed IEC 62002 (MBRAI) specifications for mobile video applications
— Improve signal reception: -98dBm sensitivity DVB-T mode (QEF, QPSK-
1/2) for all UHF/VHF channels, <3 dB noise figure for all bands while
exceeding MBRAI specifications
— Extend battery life: 160mW power consumption (typical conditions),
209mW with significant margin over MBRAI specifications (DVB-T mode).
Very low between time-slice power of <0.8mW (DVB-H mode)
Availability and Pricing
The Broadcom BCM2940 and BCM2930 are available in an FBGA package,
while the BCM2940 is also available in a WLBGA package. Both mobile TV
devices and firmware are now sampling to qualified customers. Pricing is
available upon request.
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader
in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom 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 2007 revenue of $3.78 billion, and holds over 2,500 U.S. and 1,000
foreign patents, more than 7,400 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 http://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
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Broadcom(R), the pulse logo, Connecting everything(R), and the
Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation
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the EU. Bluetooth(R) is a trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Wi-Fi(R) is a
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Broadcom Trade Press Contact
Jessica Ingraham
Associate Public Relations Representative
949-926-8008
jessicai@broadcom.com
Broadcom Investor Relations Contact
T. Peter Andrew
Vice President, Corporate Communications
949-926-5663
andrewtp@broadcom.com
SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Mobile & Wireless
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