Broadcom Announces New Family of High Definition AVC/VC-1 Consumer Video Solutions at the CableLabs(R) Summer Conference

Broadcom Announces New Family of High Definition AVC/VC-1 Consumer Video Solutions at the CableLabs(R) Summer Conference

In Volume Production with Leading Set-Top Providers, Broadcom's Proven AVC Technology is Now Available in Unparalleled Single-Chip Configurations

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM), a global leader in wired and wireless broadband communications semiconductors, today announced a family of AVC/VC-1 high definition (HD) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for cable, satellite and Internet Protocol (IP) set-top boxes and gateway/client architectures. Broadcom has implemented advanced video coding (AVC) (the ITU and ISO joint standard) and VC-1 (the Society for Motion Picture and Television Engineers or SMPTE standard), which employ the latest generation in video compression technology, in the new family of single-chip solutions.

As a result, the Broadcom(R) AVC/VC-1 chip solutions can reduce the required bandwidth for delivering digital video content over service operator networks by a factor of 2 to 3 when compared to the previous MPEG-2 standard. Broadcom is demonstrating its impressive AVC/VC-1 SoCs this week at the CableLabs(R) Summer Conference in Keystone, Colorado.

Announced today is Broadcom's new BCM740x family of single-chip solutions. The new family is built upon the company's field-proven two-chip HD AVC/VC-1 solution featuring the BCM7038 dual-channel HDTV and digital video recorder (DVR) chip and the BCM7411 AVC video decoder/audio processor chip. This BCM7038/BCM7411 two-chip solution is currently shipping in volume production to leading set-top box manufacturers including EchoStar, LG Electronics, Pace, Thomson and Samsung.

France Telecom recently used Broadcom's two-chip solution to deploy a live high definition TV broadcast with MPEG-4 AVC over an ADSL2+ network from the French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros stadium. By integrating this field-proven, two-chip solution into a new single-chip solution, Broadcom is enabling its customers to more quickly and efficiently migrate to more cost- effective and feature-rich technology. At the same time, the new family of SoCs offers Broadcom's customers new features such as enhanced security, copy protection and digital rights management.

The first single-chip AVC/VC-1 HD SoC products available include the BCM7401 and BCM7402. The BCM7401 is targeted at embedded hard disk drive DVR and home gateway applications while the BCM7402 addresses non-DVR or networked DVR client applications. Both chips support the widely adopted H.264 video compression standard (also known as MPEG-4 part 10/AVC) and are also the world's first AVC/VC-1 HD chips to employ integrated secure video processor (SVP) technology. SVP technology provides an open platform for content protection, which enables secure, digital content related interconnectivity between consumer electronic devices over a home network.

"Our new family of single-chip AVC solutions offers our customers significantly new enhanced video compression capabilities," said Brian Sprague, Senior Director of Marketing for Broadcom's Set-Top Box Products. "Content providers need assurances that their products can be delivered securely and will be used as intended, while equipment manufacturers need powerful, cost-effective solutions, and consumers want the final product to look and sound great in their homes. With built-in AVC/VC-1 technology, the BCM7401 and BCM7402 deliver on all of these requirements."

"We are currently using Broadcom's two-chip AVC/HD solution in our DS810 HDTV set-top box" said Neil Gaydon, Pace Micro Technologies Worldwide Sales and Marketing Director. "This is currently the most advanced AVC silicon available and will enable Pace to be first to market with our MPEG-4 AVC/HD set-top box."

"Content providers and consumers will be well-served with Broadcom's new product line incorporating SVP technology," said Dr. Beth Erez, Chairperson, SVP Alliance. "Device manufacturers deploying these chips will be able to offer content providers with the highest level of security and control over their assets. Consumers will also benefit because SVP technology ensures that high quality content will be available to them easily and securely - at home or on their mobile devices."

Product Information

The BCM7401 and BCM7402 each includes a host of advanced technology such as a data transport processor for improved performance, an HD AVC/MPEG-2/VC-1 video decoder, an advanced multi-format audio decoder, 2D graphics processing, high-quality video scaling and motion adaptive deinterlacing, an integrated HDMI/HDCP six video digital/analog converter (DAC), stereo high-fidelity audio DACs, UHF remote control receive, a 450 DMIPS MIPS32(TM) CPU with MIPS16e, application specific extensions, and a peripheral control unit that provides a variety of set-top box control functions.

Also featured within the BCM7401 and BCM7402 is an integrated Broadcom security processor that manages a variety of on-chip encryption/decryption and copy protection operations, including support for OpenCable(TM) and for the new secure video processor technology. The new AVC/VC-1 single-chips also include advanced connectivity features such as dual USB 2.0/1.1 ports, a serial ATA (SATA) port (BCM7401 only), and an Ethernet port. In addition, Broadcom has worked with third-party content protection and encryption providers to offer, with requisite licensing, superior connectivity security.

Pricing and Availability

The BCM7401 and BCM7402 are currently available in sample quantities to early access partners. Each of the chips is packaged in a 676-pin BGA. The BCM7401 and BCM7402 and are priced at $30 and $27, respectively, in quantities of 10,000.

Broadcom's Broadband Communications Business Group

Broadcom offers manufacturers a range of broadband communications and consumer electronics SoCs that enable voice, video and data services over residential wired and wireless networks. These highly integrated silicon solutions continue to enable the market's most advanced system solutions, which include digital cable, satellite and IP set-top boxes and media servers, broadband modems and residential gateways, high definition and digital televisions, HD DVD players and personal video recorders.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a global leader in wired and wireless broadband communications semiconductors. Our products enable the convergence of high- speed data, high definition video, voice and audio at home, in the office and on the go. Broadcom provides manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices with the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on- a-chip and software solutions. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).

Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with annual revenue of more than $2 billion. The company is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., with offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at 1-949-450-8700 or at http://www.broadcom.com/.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward- looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with video compression and set-top box products include, but are not limited to, general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the volatility in the technology sector and semiconductor industry, trends in the broadband communications markets in various geographic regions, and possible disruption in commercial activities related to terrorist activity or armed conflict in the United States and other locations; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets for HD consumer video applications; delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those markets; our ability to scale our operations in response to changes in demand for our existing products and services or demand for new products requested by our customers; intellectual property disputes and customer indemnification claims and other types of litigation risk; our ability to specify, develop or acquire, complete, introduce, market and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a cost-effective and timely manner; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders and our ability, as well as the ability of our customers, to manage inventory; the gain or loss of a key customer, design win or order; the availability and pricing of third party semiconductor foundry and assembly capacity and raw materials; our ability to timely and accurately predict market requirements and evolving industry standards and to identify opportunities in new markets; the quality of our products and any remediation costs; competitive pressures and other factors such as the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; our ability to retain, recruit and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees in the positions and numbers, with the experience and capabilities, and at the compensation levels needed to implement our business and product plans; problems or delays that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in achieving higher levels of design integration; the timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the risks of non-qualification or non- certification; changes in our product or customer mix; the volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume sales; fluctuations in the manufacturing yields of our third party semiconductor foundries and other problems or delays in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our products; the risks of producing products with new suppliers and at new fabrication and assembly facilities; the effectiveness of our expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; the risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations, particularly in light of recent events; the effects of natural disasters, public health emergencies, international conflicts and other events beyond our control; the level of orders received that can be shipped in a fiscal quarter; and other factors.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason.

Broadcom(R), the pulse logo, Connecting everything(R), and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. CableLabs(R) and OpenCable are trademarks of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. MIPS32(TM) is a trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

An equipment demonstration at a CableLabs' event does not constitute CableLabs' endorsement of that equipment.

Broadcom Press Contacts
Laura Brandlin Director, Marketing Communications
949-926-5108
lbrandlin@broadcom.com

Broadcom Investor Relations Contact
T. Peter Andrew Sr. Director, Investor Relations
949-926-5663
andrewtp@broadcom.com

Broadcom Technical Contact
Joseph Del Rio
Product Marketing Manager, Set-Top Box Products
408-501-8391
delrio@broadcom.com

Source: Broadcom Corporation

CONTACT: Press: Laura Brandlin, Director, Marketing Communications,
+1-949-926-5108, lbrandlin@broadcom.com, or Investors: T. Peter Andrew, Sr.
Director, Investor Relations, +1-949-926-5663, andrewtp@broadcom.com, or
Technical Contact: Joseph Del Rio, Product Marketing Manager, Set-Top Box
Products, +1-408-501-8391, delrio@broadcom.com, all of Broadcom Corporation

Web site: http://www.broadcom.com/

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