Irvine, Calif. — Integrated circuit manufacturer Broadcom said it has developed the industry’s first single-chip solution that combines support for both Blu-ray and HD DVD optical disc formats.
Broadcom said its system on a chip (SoC) “not only significantly surpasses current chip technology in integration and performance, but will further the advancement of high-definition media players.”
The chip has an advanced feature set, coupled with a software stack that is compliant with both Blu-ray and HD DVD specifications, providing OEMs with a complete platform for future generation media players that support both disc formats, as well as other home entertainment and network applications.
Blu-ray and HD DVD are the next generation of optical disc formats for recording, rewriting and playing high definition video and digital data.
The Broadcom BCM7440 Blu-ray/HD DVD SoC integrates multiple core MIPS architecture, a multi-stream HD video decoder, dedicated graphics engines, DSP-based audio processors, a security processor, DDR2 interfaces, integrated video and audio outputs and an array of system and network connectivity interfaces.
The BCM7440 is supported with a complete reference design, the BCM97440 and software stack, which includes support for all Blu-ray and HD DVD profiles.
“Broadcom is simplifying the development of next-generation Blu-ray and HD DVD products with a proven, complete single-chip solution that offers OEMs both a time-to-market advantage and cost-effective design,” said Peter Besen, Broadcom Communications Group, consumer electronics VP.
“Broadcom’s product vision for a universal Blu-ray/HD-DVD solution solves one of the thorniest issues facing consumer electronics manufacturers in the high definition DVD market today,” said Gary Shapiro, CEA president/CEO, in a statement.
The BCM7440 incorporates the decoding, processing and memory functions for both Blu-ray and HD DVD media players, eliminating the need for manufacturers to build two different hardware platforms. The chip supports the wide variety of mandatory audio and video compression standards required for Blu-ray and HD DVD optical disc formats, including H.264/AVC, VC-1 , MPEG-2, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Tru-HD and DTS-HD. The BCM7440 also provides full backwards compatibility for current DVD video titles as well as DVD-R, DVD-VR and audio CDs, the company said.
The BCM7440 is shipping in sample volume quantities to early access customers. Pricing was not disclosed.
