The video compression technology, designed for high-definition video transmission and storage applications, is a key driver for satellite TV, IP set tops and high-definition DVD recorders scheduled for launch in 2005.

Service providers and consumer system companies have been eagerly awaiting H.264 chips as a catalyst for high-definition video products and broadcast services.

While Conexant (Newport Beach, Calif.) is claiming the industry's first H.264 decoder ICs, it also has plenty of company as it aims for the lead in the emerging market. Rivals include Broadcom, STMicroelectronics and Sigma Designs. These competitors are reportedly either "already sampling" or "ready to sample" H.264 chips.

Citing pent-up demand, Christos Lagomichos, general manager of ST's Home Entertainment Group, called initial demand for H.264 chips "incredible." Lagomichos said ST began sampling its own H.264 decoder chips earlier in the current quarter.

Leveraging its June acquisition of Amphion Semiconductor Ltd. (Belfast, Northern Ireland), Conexant has rolled out a family of H.264 chips based on Amphion's high-definition H.264 hardware video decoder core.

The first two chips to be sampled in early December include high- and standard-definition versions of fully-compliant H.264-only decoders. Both chips are fabricated using a 0.13-micron process technology.

Conexant's H.264-only decoders are stand-alone chips, not integrated into Conexant's own MPEG-2-based SoCs for set-top boxes or other digital consumer systems. Jeff Crosby, vice president of Broadband Media Processing for Conexant, said, "By providing the H.264 function in this separate IC, it can be married with our SoCs, which are optimized for the different segments."

Conexant is planning to integrate the H.264 and multiformat decoder capabilities into SoCs that are scheduled for sampling at the end of 2005, Crosby said.

ST is claiming a leg up on its competitors, with a highly integrated H.264/MPEG-2-based set-top IC that takes advantage of ST's proprietary 0.09-micron process technology. "Our competition today is only capable of providing a two-chip solution — main set-top box device and companion coprocessor for H.264 video decode," ST's Lagomichos stressed. "ST is not doing a companion device, but going straight to a single 90-nm chip for the most cost-effective H.264 complete set-top box solution."

ST's H.264 decoding solution is built around "our own unique advanced ST2xx family VLIW Processors and some dedicated hardware acceleration," added Lagomichos.

Meanwhile, Conexant's CX2418X family of H.264 chips are based on the ARM926EJ-S core integrated with H.264 hardware engines. Syntax parsing and control firmware are hosted by the on-chip ARM9 microcontroller.

Conexant is currently sampling its high- and standard-definiiton versions of stand-alone H.264-only decoder ICs, with volume production scheduled for the second quarter of 2005. The chips are priced at $20 each in quantities of 10,000.