Broadcom's Satellite System-On-A-Chip Provides the Highest Level of System Integration for Low Cost, High Definition Satellite Set-Top Boxes

New 65 Nanometer Solution Features the Latest HD AVC Technology to Support

Multiple Video Formats and a 50% Reduction in Power Consumption

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    IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Broadcom Corporation
 ( BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless
 communications, today announced a new single-channel, multi-format high
 definition (HD) satellite receiver chip that enables manufacturers to
 develop low cost satellite set-top boxes (STBs). The new satellite
 system-on-a-chip (SoC) is manufactured in 65 nanometer (nm) process
 technology and includes the highest level of functionality, fully
 integrating a single tuner/demodulator, as well as the latest AVC (advanced
 video coding) decoder that supports multiple video formats. By reducing the
 number of components required to develop satellite set-top box products,
 Broadcom has reduced power consumption by more than 50% over competing
 solutions, lowering system bill of materials (BOM) cost while reducing the
 complexity and size of designing next generation satellite STBs.
 
     The new single-chip Broadcom(R) BCM7325 satellite receiver enables
 unmatched functionality for direct broadcast satellite (DBS) set-top boxes
 and supports multiple formats including the DVB-S, DVB-S2 and 8PSK
 standards. 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. Built around previous generations of
 Broadcom digital cable and satellite STB chips and technology, service
 providers that deploy set-top boxes designed around the BCM7325 can cost
 effectively provide their subscribers with advanced HD television viewing
 features and improved picture quality.
 
     "Broadcom continues to fuel the satellite industry and is leading the
 technology evolution with highly integrated single-chip solutions that
 reduce power, PCB size and complexity along with overall system cost," said
 Nicholas Dunn, Director of Marketing for Broadcom's Satellite Set-Top Box
 line of business. "The BCM7325 offers the highest level of functionality in
 a single chip and enables service providers to make the most advanced
 features available to their subscribers, providing an enhanced viewing
 experience."
 
     "Digital satellite set-top box shipments are expected to exceed 81
 million units, with a 7.7 percent increase worldwide from 2007 to 2008.
 With the increased proliferation of HD content, it is now essential for
 satellite service providers to continue offering advanced STBs with robust
 features and improved functionality," said Michael Inouye, Research Analyst
 at In-Stat. "With the quickly expanding number of HDTV channels being
 delivered by satellite pay-TV providers, they are rapidly embracing the
 higher capacities enabled by 8PSK modulation for more efficient HD channel
 delivery and Broadcom's BCM7325 is well suited for widespread adoption."
 
     Technical Information
 
     The BCM7325 is Broadcom's next generation satellite set-top box system
 on a single chip manufactured in the 65nm process. It integrates a single
 tuner/demodulator from the BCM4506 front-end device and the latest
 generation of AVC decoder that supports multiple video formats. The BCM7325
 supports worldwide standards for DBS transmission systems based on DVB-S2,
 8PSK, Turbo Code, and is backward compatible with the DVB-S standard.
 
     The BCM7325 operates on a dual-threaded MIPS(R) CPU core running at
 333MHz resulting in over 550DMIPS of performance. The BCM7325 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 and allows
 cost-effective memory implementations.
 
     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, efficiently using its memory and bandwidth.
 
     The BCM7325 is designed using the 65 nanometer process -- the most
 advanced lithographic node for manufacturing semiconductors in large
 volumes today that provides significant benefits over 90 nm and 130 nm
 processes by enabling lower power consumption, smaller size and higher
 levels of integration. For Broadcom, the move to 65 nanometer process
 technology is changing the competitive landscape because of the breadth and
 depth of the communications intellectual property the company possesses.
 Without a broad portfolio of market-leading solutions to integrate,
 competitors are not able to take full advantage of the benefits that these
 next generation processes provide.
 
     Availability and Pricing
 
     The BCM7325 satellite receiver SoC is sampling to early access
 customers. Pricing is available upon request for manufacturers of satellite
 TV set-top boxes.
 
     Broadcom also makes available to early access customers a fully
 supported reference design (BCM97325) that ensures cost efficient design
 and manufacturing, and faster time-to-market. The BCM97325 reference design
 is a development platform for set-top box design based on the BCM7325 and
 is available with complete software source code, schematics and Gerber
 files, and provides detailed design information for manufacturers of
 interactive cable TV set-top box terminals.
 
     About Broadcom's Broadband Communications Group
 
     Broadcom offers manufacturers a range of broadband communications and
 consumer electronics SoC's that enable voice, video and data services over
 residential wired and wireless networks. These highly integrated silicon
 solutions continue to enable the most advanced system solutions on the
 market, 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 and Blu-ray Disc(TM) players, DVD recorders
 and personal video recorders.
 
     About Broadcom
 
     Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader
 in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom(R)
 products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and
 throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the
 industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art, system-on-a-chip and
 software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment,
 digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices.
 These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).
 
     Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies,
 with 2006 revenue of $3.67 billion, and holds over 2,300 U.S. and 1,000
 foreign patents, more than 7,100 additional pending patent applications,
 and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both
 wired and wireless transmission of voice, video and data.
 
     Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and
 research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be
 contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at 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 BCM7325 satellite receiver 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, including seasonality
 in sales of consumer products into which our products are incorporated, 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 satellite set-top box
 applications; delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards
 in those markets; 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; 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; 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; intellectual property
 disputes and customer indemnification claims and other types of litigation
 risk; the quality of our products and any remediation costs; changes in our
 product or customer mix; the volume of our product sales and pricing
 concessions on volume sales; the effectiveness of our expense and product
 cost control and reduction efforts; our ability to timely and accurately
 predict market requirements and evolving industry standards and to identify
 opportunities in new markets; problems or delays that we may face in
 shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in
 achieving higher levels of design integration; 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; the
 risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations;
 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; the timing of
 customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the
 risks of non-qualification or non-certification; the availability and
 pricing of third party semiconductor foundry, assembly and test capacity
 and raw materials; 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 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. Blu-ray Disc(TM) is a trademark of Sony Corporation. Any other
 trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective
 owners.
 
 

      Broadcom Trade Press Contact
      Laura Brandlin
      Senior Director, Marketing Communications
      949-926-5108
      lbrandlin@broadcom.com
 
      Broadcom Investor Relations Contact
      T. Peter Andrew
      Vice President, Corporate Communications
      949-926-5663
      andrewtp@broadcom.com
 
 

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Broadband