HEVC set-top box SoC devices fit compact HDMI stick

7th January 2015

Broadcom

Barney Scott

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Broadcom has introduced the world's first HEVC Set-Top Box (STB) SoC devices with integrated MHL 2.0. Broadcom's BCM7250 and BCM72502 chips bring full-featured set-top box functionality to compact HDMI stick and popular streaming media player box formats, allowing carriers to deliver services wirelessly anywhere in the home, while taking up less space and with fewer wires with MHL powering.

These compact reference designs also include integrated 802.11ac WiFi capabilities. This includes the BCM4366, a 4x4 MU-MIMO device which Broadcom claim is the fastest in the world, offering outstanding connectivity performance.

The BCM7250 is targeted at the popular OTT streaming media player form factor, and the BCM72502 is specifically designed for HDMI stick or dongle applications. The BCM7250 family and reference platforms provide 2x2 and 4x4 5G WiFi connectivity options via a high-speed PCIe interface.

The 4x4 5G WiFi option is powered by Broadcom's BCM4366 device, which has been designed from the ground up to enable broadcast-quality video delivery over WiFi. The BCM4366 incorporates a host of features targeted specifically to improve the robustness of wireless video transmission and provide wireline-quality performance over WiFi.

This enables equipment manufacturers to develop secure, compact designs with reliable wireless content delivery and provides operators with solutions for easy customer installation without adding wires. Broadcom's devices integrate advanced security engines that support a range of conditional access and digital rights management technologies.

This provides service providers and equipment manufacturers with the capability to securely support full IPTV multicast services, unlike existing devices that are typically limited to OTT streaming services. As a result, operators can offer a range of services, from full-service IPTV with multi-room gateway/client architecture to a standalone dongle for an entry level OTT offering using the same platform.

“This family brings a boost in capabilities to what has been primarily an Over-The-Top (OTT) segment of the market,” said Rich Nelson, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Broadband & Connectivity Group, Broadcom. “Operators are looking for ways to offer differentiated services on these compact devices and the BCM7250 and BCM72502 with HEVC technology, coupled with our latest video-grade WiFi, makes this possible.”

The Broadcom BCM7250, BCM72502 and BCM4366 are currently sampling.