Broadcom's new SoC for digital terrestrial converter for Japan's Digital TV

Broadcom has announced high integrated digital terrestrial converter box system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions designed for Japan's upcoming transition to digital TV broadcast transmission. Featuring an ISDB-T tuner, Broadcom's single-chip solutions address Japan's analog broadcast shut-off program and also meets the requirements for ISDB-T digital programming worldwide.

The Japanese government plans to convert 50 million households to ISDB-T (according to In-Stat market research), and is targeting July 24, 2011 for complete digital conversion of all homes in Japan. This cost effective device is targeted for this market.

Highlights/Key Facts:
By integrating FUJISOFT FSDTV Middleware Slim software support, Broadcom's technology is fully compliant with Japan's ARIB (Association of Radio Industries and Businesses) specification, enabling these solutions to meet cost, performance and quality requirements for Japan.

The Broadcom BCM7530 ISDB-T MPEG-2 HD receiver includes digital converter box functionality in a single-chip meeting Japan's digital terrestrial converter box requirements.

The Broadcom BCM7540 ISDB-T MPEG-4 AVC HD receiver includes all of the functionality of the BCM7530 while adding the ability to receive satellite broadcasting, support for MPEG-4, AVC and HDMI, and DVR capabilities expanding into other ISDB-T standardized countries.

Both ISDB-T digital terrestrial converter box solutions feature an integrated tuner, digital channel demodulator and HD decoder enabling. The other key features include:
Dynamic power management controllers that provide very efficient power management capable of managing and shutting down unused system components in real-time.
Ultra small and unobtrusive digital-to-analog (DTA) form factors.

Minoru Yoshida, Executive Managing Director, FUJISOFT said, "We look forward to our continued partnership with Broadcom to enable a smooth transition to ISDB-T digital programming in Japan. Broadcom's highly integrated and scalable digital converter box technology offers manufacturers reduced complexity and overall cost while accelerating time-to-market and lowering power consumption in a small form factor that meets the stringent requirements of the Japanese government."

Gerry Kaufhold, Principal Analyst, In-Stat said, "The transition from analog to digital television represents the most significant advancement of television technology since color TV was first introduced. As Japan looks to convert 50 million households to all-digital ISDB-T TV programming by July 2011, the transition will enable increased content and quality to be broadcast and will free up frequency spectrum for other communications applications."

Charlie Lou, Product Line Manager, Broadcom's Cable Broadband line of business said, "Our ISDB-T digital converter box solutions leverage our proven track record and market leadership in supplying highly integrated SoC solutions for the global DTA market that offer significant consumer benefits such as small form factors and low power consumption. As Japan prepares for a digital transition in 2011, our technology will provide a cost effective solution in Japan while also addressing the expanding worldwide digital transition requirements for ISDB-T programming in other countries, such as Brazil."