Broadcom Demos Single-Chip HD Set-Top Box Solution with China AVS Support

Broadcom demonstrated a single-chip solution for high definition (HD) digital set-top boxes that is compliant with China's audio video coding standard (AVS) standard. Broadcom's BCM7405 combines a fast 1100-DMIPS MIPS32/MIPS16e-class CPU, high-speed graphics processing (including video scaling and motion adaptive de-interlacing), a very flexible data transport processor, an MPEG-4/VC-1/MPEG-2/AVS-compliant video decoder, a programmable audio decoder, six video DACs, stereo high-fidelity audio DACs, dual Fast Ethernet ports (one with an integrated PHY), triple USB 2.0, a PCI 2.3/expansion bus, a high-speed DDR2-800 memory controller, and a peripheral control unit that provides a variety of set-top box control functions.


The AVS specification addresses system level content transport, video/audio coding formats and media copyright management. It also provides video coding efficiency that is 2 to 3 times more efficient than MPEG-2 (and equivalent to H.264).


Broadcom noted that AVS was approved as a Chinese national standard in March 2006 and is now being implemented in IPTV trials by China Netcom, a leading broadband communications and fixed-line telecommunications operator in China. China Netcom decided to use AVS in its IPTV roll-outs instead of MPEG-4 or H.264/AVC and is planning to deploy 300,000 AVS-based IP set-top boxes in the Dalian, Liaoning province this year. AVS is also supported by the Ministry of Information Industry in China, who is encouraging companies to make AVS a required part of the STB specification.http://www.broadcom.com