e.Digital Corporation (fka EDIG)

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Broadcom and Set-Top Boxes. Thoughts on this?


http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=22493352


BusinessWire, 06/11/2001 09:31

Scientific-Atlanta and Broadcom Collaborate in the Development of Dual-Channel MPEG-2 Encoder Chip for `Watch & Record' Set-Top Boxes


CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 2001--Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq:BRCM) the leading provider of integrated circuits enabling broadband communications, today introduced a dual-channel MPEG-2 encoder chip for next generation personal video recorder (PVR) set-top boxes. The Broadcom(R) BCM7041 dual-channel, digital video/audio encoder and multiplexer is the first single-chip, MPEG-2 encoder to enable the simultaneous compression of two independent video channels and four audio channels.





The BCM7041 supports MPEG-2 video encoding, program/transport stream multiplexing, and MPEG-1 /Dolby Digital AC-3 audio encoding standards. The BCM7041 was developed by Broadcom's Israel design team, formerly with Visiontech Ltd., which was acquired by Broadcom in January 2001.





"Scientific-Atlanta's foresight to offer integrated PVR and dual-channel capabilities in set-top boxes presented a unique convergence opportunity and primary technology development driver for the design team," said Amir Morad, General Manager of Broadcom Israel.





Dual tuner set-top boxes equipped with the BCM7041 will allow the consumer to record one program while watching and time-shifting a different program, or to record two different programs simultaneously that may be viewed later or at the same time within picture-in-picture (PIP). In addition, the viewer may record an interactive show and be able to take advantage of these interactive capabilities at a later time. The BCM7041 offers viewers greater control over the TV-viewing experience, enabling them to freeze a live TV program, instantly replay or rewind a program, or skip ahead in a recorded program to a favorite movie scene or the next big play of a sporting event. The PVR capability can also be used to store the viewer's program preferences and record similar shows for future viewing.





"The need for dual MPEG encoding is becoming a requirement from all MSOs to support `watch and record' PVR. The BCM7041 dual channel encoder is a significant milestone in the evolution of the PVR set-top box market," said Rich Nelson, Sr. Director of Broadcom's Broadband Communications Business Unit. "The BCM7041's ability to simultaneously encode two channels of video and four channels of audio in one chip makes it the most cost-effective solution for the cable industry to offer wide-scale deployment of `watch and record' digital set-top boxes to the consumer."





Scientific-Atlanta will incorporate Broadcom's BCM7041 into its new Explorer 8000 set-tops enabling real-time compression of analog channels. Together with Scientific-Atlanta's interactive television navigator, the encoder will provide the ability to compress two digitized video and four audio streams simultaneously that can be `watched and recorded,' simply recorded or simultaneously played back in a PIP. Having shipped six million Explorer set-tops, Scientific-Atlanta brings the interactive experience home to the consumer.





"PVR enabled set top boxes could become the next ubiquitous subscriber video recording device," says Michael P. Harney, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Scientific-Atlanta's Subscriber Networks Sector. "Broadcom's advanced dual channel MPEG2 encoder, when added to Scientific-Atlanta's Explorer set-tops, will enable subscribers to watch what they want, when they want, and let our customers provide an integrated revenue producing platform at the same time."





According to Forrester Research, digital video recorder sales are expected to reach 53 million units by 2005, which they claim makes it the fastest growing segment in personal technology.





The Explorer 8000 is a powerful member of Scientific-Atlanta's Explorer family and is expected to deliver a wide range of multiple interactive TV applications through a single set-top. In addition to Web browsing, email, t-commerce, and video-on-demand (VOD), the Explorer 8000 model also delivers personal TV capabilities that allow the cable subscriber to re-play live analog and digital TV programs using a built-in 40 gigabyte hard drive. This innovative set-top will also enable the simultaneous viewing and recording of two channels of programming and support HDTV via memory options.





The BCM7041 chip is packaged in a 256 BGA and costs $50 in 10,000-piece quantities. Sample quantities of the BCM7041 are available today as is the BMC97041 reference design with a sample application and software drivers. Broadcom is demonstrating these products at the National Cable Television Association's Cable 2001 tradeshow this week in Chicago.





About Broadcom





Broadcom Corporation is the leading provider of highly integrated silicon solutions that enable broadband communications and networking of voice, video and data services. Using proprietary technologies and advanced design methodologies, Broadcom designs, develops and supplies complete system-on-a-chip solutions and related applications for digital cable set-top boxes and cable modems, high-speed local, metropolitan and wide area and optical networks, home networking, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), carrier access, residential broadband gateways, direct broadcast satellite and terrestrial digital broadcast, digital subscriber lines (xDSL), wireless communications, SystemI/O(TM) server solutions and network processing. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and may be contacted at 949/450-8700 or at www.broadcom.com.





Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation





Reform Act of 1995:





This release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, and reflect management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by us based upon information available to us at this time. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will" and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.





Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with the BCM7041 and BCM97041 products include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the recent significant economic slowdown in the technology sector and semiconductor industry; the timing and successful completion of technology and product development through volume production; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets for digital set-top box and PVR products; delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those markets; the timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the risks of non-qualification or non-certification; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders; the loss of a key customer; the volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume sales; the effectiveness of our expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; changes in our product or customer mix; the qualification, availability and pricing of our products; intellectual property disputes and customer indemnification claims and other types of litigation risk; the availability and pricing of foundry and assembly capacity and raw materials; fluctuations in the manufacturing yields of our third party semiconductor foundries and other problems or delays in the fabrication and assembly facilities; problems or delays that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in achieving higher levels of design integration; the risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations; our ability to retain and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees in the numbers, with the capabilities, and at the compensation levels needed to implement our business and product plans; the quality of our products and any remediation costs; the effect of natural disasters and other events beyond our control; the level of orders received that can be shipped in a fiscal quarter; and other factors.





Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Forms 8-K and 8-K/A, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss some of the important risk factors that may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.





Note to Editors: Broadcom(R), the pulse logo(R), Visiontech(TM) and SystemI/O(TM) are trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. Scientifiic-Atlanta and Explorer are trademarks of Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.





CONTACT: Broadcom Public Relations Contact














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