But today, it's all about getting your TV, Blu-ray device and various set-tops directly "connected to the Internet," using "widgets," enabling "Adobe Flash" and actively supporting the "DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)," he concluded in an interview with EE Times.

At its booth, jam-packed with visitors including industry luminaries such as LG Electronics's CTO Woo Paik, known as the father of the digital TV, Broadcom has showcased a plethora of products including a set-top, a large-screen TV and a Nokia mobile phone all talking to one another, downloading, uploading video and sharing photos and using a handset as a remote control -- all running DLNA protocol. Connectivity technologies used in the demo included MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance), WiFi and Ethernet.

The idea is not new. Everyone in the electronics industry has seen, most likely ad nauseam, charts, block diagrams and power point presentations illustrating the home networking nirvana.

But the difference here is that it actually works -- live -- using a mix-and-match of existing and new products, powered by Broadcom chips running a DLNA software stack.

"Integration, integration and integration" continues to be the company's mantra. An example is the company's HD set-top chip. It has now integrated MoCA in the corner of its die, enabling the multi-room DVR scenario pursued by telephone and cable operators.

McGregor said that Broadcom, one of the fastest growing companies in the chip industry today, had the company's strongest financial quarter in Q3, 2008. With the market now in deep recession, the Irvine, Calif.-based company, like everyone else in the industry, worries about an anticipated sharp decline in consumer spending.

But all things considered, Broadcom, backed up by past profitability and cash in the bank, is expected to weather the tempest. The company will continue its storied acquisition and integration strategies, according to McGregor.