Highly integrated satellite SoC reduces power, size, design complexity

Highly integrated satellite SoC reduces power, size, design complexity
Irvine, Calif. — Broadcom Corp. has introduced a single-channel, multi-format high definition (HD) satellite receiver chip that enables manufacturers to develop low-cost satellite set-top boxes (STBs). The BCM7325 satellite system-on-a-chip (SoC) is manufactured in 65 nanometer (nm) process technology and is said to offer the highest level of functionality, fully integrating a single tuner/demodulator, as well as the latest advanced video coding (AVC) decoder that supports multiple video formats.

By reducing the number of components required to develop satellite set-top box products, Broadcom claims to reduce power consumption by more than 50% compared to competing solutions, as well as lowering the system bill of materials (BOM) cost and reducing the complexity and size of next-generation satellite STBs.

The single-chip BCM7325 satellite receiver supports worldwide standards for direct broadcast satellite (DBS) transmission systems based on DVB-S2, 8PSK, Turbo Code, and is backward compatible with the DVB-S standard. With capabilities that go beyond current DVB-S2 silicon implementations for both integration and performance, the BCM7325 offers STB manufacturers a significantly lower cost solution for the development of DVB-S2 capable set-top boxes, said Broadcom.

The BCM7325 operates on a dual-threaded MIPS CPU core running at 333 MHz resulting in over 550 DMIPS of performance. The chip is designed to support UMA and non-UMA memory architectures, utilizing a 400-MHz clock, 32-bit wide DDR2 memory I/F for enhanced performance.

The BCM7325 supports several interfaces for TV output on-chip including HDMI, baseband composite, component or S-Video, and incorporates Broadcom's advanced 2D graphics engine that enables true studio-quality text and graphics.

Availability: The BCM7325 satellite receiver SoC is sampling to early access customers. A fully supported reference design (BCM97325) is also available, and is offered with complete software source code, schematics and Gerber files.

Product information: BCM7325

Broadcom Corp., 1-949-926-5000, www.broadcom.com