Analysis
Broadcom's Connected Digital TV and Blu-ray Disc Platforms Power a Wide Range of LG Devices
Broadcom announced that LG Electronics (LG) has selected Broadcom chipsets for use in its wireless connected digital TVs and Blu-ray Disc® players. LG's HDTVs and Blu-ray players are designed to embody four key characteristics for the average consumer: Easy, Fun, More and Better. LG's popular devices are meant to be very easy to use, which is achieved through a Home Dashboard and intuitive user interface that lets viewers use applications and access a range of premium content all on a single screen. Similar to an Internet portal, Home Dashboard helps viewers select their favorite Internet-based content instantly without having to browse numerous websites.
Highlights/Key Facts:
* There are 30 million U.S. broadband households able to view some form of online video on the TV, according to In-Stat Research. In addition to downloading digital video, close to 90 percent of these households can also stream online video to the TV. Over the next five years, In-Stat forecasts that the majority of consumer electronics devices purchased, including digital TVs, Blu-ray players and gaming consoles, will be web-enabled. This includes 137 million devices expected to ship in the U.S. by 2014. Of these web-enabled devices, 55 percent will have Wi-Fi capabilities.
* LG's SMART TV product line is powered by the highly integrated Broadcom® BCM35230 connected digital TV system-on-a-chip (SoC) platform that offers new options for accessing video content on a TV through the Internet or a consumer's own in-home network. It supports the connected services, dynamic applications and interactive content that are changing the way that consumers use their televisions. Additional features include:
o A high powered dual-core custom MIPS® CPU and graphics processing unit (GPU) for an uncompromised connected TV experience.
o Industry leading video processing solution with advanced functionality including 120Hz, frame rate conversion, deinterlacing and super resolution to enhance the viewing experience on Internet, broadcast and Blu-ray content.
o Integrated connectivity and support for worldwide broadcast standards that provides a low cost global platform for Internet TV.
* The Broadcom BCM7633 single-chip Blu-ray platform powers LG's Blu-ray players and combines proven optical front-end and back-end video decoding and display technology while adding support for 3D and feature-rich Internet-based streaming applications.
* To enable the latest in wireless connectivity features, LG's integrated wireless LAN (WLAN) capabilities utilize the Broadcom BCM43236 on both their DTV and Blu-ray platforms. The BCM43236 is the world's first complete dual-band single-chip 802.11n solution for universal serial bus (USB) applications. As part of Broadcom's Intensi-fi® WLAN portfolio, the BCM43236 enables high performance, small form-factor and cost effective solutions for CE devices, including wireless video streaming. The BCM43236 can also be used as an 'after market' solution to add high performance wireless connectivity to devices without built-in Wi-Fi capabilities. Additional features of the BCM43236 include:
o An integrated 802.11n baseband and media access controller (MAC) with two radios (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) that supports dual-stream operation.
o Accelerange® technology that provides a unique set of hardware and software enhancements to provide higher throughput and more robust wireless coverage in the far corners of a home.
o Complete support of the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ Wi-Fi Direct™ peer-to-peer functionality that is fully interoperable and compliant with the Wi-Fi Alliance® specification.
o An integrated ARM® processor and on-chip RAM that can offload wireless functions from the host processor in consumer devices.