Date: 09/02/2010

SoC from Broadcom enables cable operators in offering HD Video

Broadcom has made available a chip called Digital Transport Adapter (DTA) 4.0 system-on-a-chip (SoC) with integrated tuner and switchable content protection feature. This chip supports Comcast's latest DTA 4.0 specification. DTA 4.0 specs enable cable operators in providing additional HD content and more value added services such as video on demand (VoD) and higher speed DOCSIS 3.0 data and voice services.

Cable operators in U.S. need to have DTA to feed digital TV and such content over 74 million analog TV sets in U.S. Broadcom is targeting this market by developing this chip code-numbered BCM7002 DTA SoC, which supports Comcast's latest DTA 4.0 specification as well as the DTA requirements for most North American cable operators.

The key features of this chip are:
Low power and small size due to the 65 nanometer (nm) CMOS process used in making this chip. It meets Energy Star requirements for power consumption, providing very low active and standby power.

It combines 1 GHz SCTE-40+ cable tuner that exceeds the SCTE-40 specification and switchable content protection that allows a single device to be used with multiple content protection systems. As a result, one product can be inventoried and deployed on a number of content protection networks, supporting multiple content protection systems, and moved from one network to another without changes.

The chip measures only 3.25" x 2.25", enabling cable operators to unobtrusively place DTA devices in cable households.

The BCM7002 DTA solution is now sampling to set-top box manufacturers.

Dan Marotta, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Broadcom's Broadband Communications Group said "The BCM7002 leverages our proven track record and market leadership in supplying highly integrated SoC solutions for the DTA market that offer significant consumer benefits including very small form factors and ultra low power requirements. With switchable content protection and an integrated tuner, Broadcom's DTA 4.0 solution is driving market leadership through integration and advanced functionality, and accelerating the time-to-market to deploy DTA adapters throughout North America."