ViXS Announces XCode 6400, the World's First System-on-Chip (SoC) with Native Support for 10-bit High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) and Ultra High Definition (HD) 4K

Unique and innovative architecture enables high-performance, cost-effective media devices that satisfy consumer demand for superlative quality and painless portability

TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - ViXS Systems Inc. (TSX: VXS), a pioneer and leader in media processing silicon solutions, today announces its most advanced SoC solution for video devices in the pay television and consumer electronics markets, the XCode 6400.  Supporting the latest video codecs and broadcasting resolution standards with ample processing power to handle today's software-intensive networking, display and streaming services, the XCode 6400 enables manufacturers around the world to design innovative consumer devices to push the boundaries of performance with sleek form factor and ultra-low power consumption.  These devices can take advantage of the next wave in bandwidth reduction by using HEVC while significantly increasing display resolution using Ultra HD 4K.

A key feature of the XCode 6400 is native support for decoding HEVC (H.265).  HEVC allows the transmission of HD content using only half the bandwidth of today's AVC (H.264) video streams, and just a quarter of the bandwidth of MPEG-2, with no degradation in video quality.  This significant savings in bandwidth is critical for all categories of content distributors, especially with Ultra HD format deployment.

The XCode 6400 has advanced support for Ultra HD 4K resolutions by incorporating the new 10-bit ITU Rec.2020 4Kx2K UHDTV color space specification and the new HEVC main 10 profile (M10P) requirements specifically developed for 4K broadcast and display.  The SoC can decode over 60 frames per second (fps) and display HEVC UHDTV 4K broadcasting content at full resolution of 3840x2160@60fps in M10P.

At the heart of XCode 6400 is a unique and innovative media processing XCODE architecture that ViXS has been developing and deploying for over a decade.  The media-processing core offloads real-time functions such as transcoding, video streaming, audio processing and content place shifting, resulting in a more cost effective, memory bandwidth efficient and energy saving silicon solution when compared to other architectures relying on central processing unit (CPU), digital signal processing (DSP) or graphics processor unit (GPU).

Complementing the media processing engine is a robust dual-core ARM^® Cortex™-A9 MPCore™ as the main applications processor, delivering 7,000 DMIPS performance.  This stellar processing power will support the comprehensive software stacks necessary for the feature-rich devices that pay television operators and consumer electronics manufacturers must provide to media-hungry consumers.

"The XCode 6400 is a landmark achievement for ViXS, culminating over a decade of research, innovation and customer deployments, and we are excited to deliver first samples later this year," said Sally Daub, President and CEO, ViXS Systems Inc.  "We designed this SoC to address all the key technology evolutions for video, security, and networking so our customers are free to create the most compelling consumer media devices in the market."

Key features of the XCode 6400 include:

• Decoding HDTV and Ultra HDTV HEVC at main and main 10 profile at up to 4Kp60
• Up to 10 x HD decodes
• Up to six 720p30 or four 1080p30 HD transcodes
• Up to six simultaneous video streams to consumer devices such as smartphones and tablets
• Multi-format HD decoding engine supports all popular Internet video formats
• XConnex™ MoCA 2.0 support with backward compatibility to MoCA 1.1
• Advanced hardware-based security technology, including memory scrubbing and sandboxing, that supports the latest conditional access and digital rights management specifications
• ARM Cortex A9 Dual Core applications processor with 7,000 DMIPS performance and media off-loading processor farm with cumulative 8,400 DMIPS performance
• 3D OpenGL ES 2.0 hardware graphics engine
• Optimized DDR3 platform memory
• 40 nanometer low power process and flip chip package featuring advanced power management with active and passive standby modes
• ViXS Xtensiv™ software suite that includes support for Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA®) certification as well as third party middleware stacks

Customer samples of the XCode 6400 family will be available in Q4 2013 with volume production commencing in Q2 2014.

About ViXS Systems Inc.

ViXS is the semiconductor pioneer in designing and developing high-performance media solutions for the consumer electronics and video service provider industries.  With 422 patents issued and pending worldwide, ViXS has been recognized with a number of industry awards for innovation.  ViXS is the world leader in transcoder SoC deployments with over 27 million shipments to date, and still growing.

ViXS has a comprehensive portfolio of products to meet the diverse needs of the global media industry.  Portfolio highlights include the most advanced dense transcoder available for cloud-based solutions, as well as SoC's for home devices capable of doing the most simultaneous number of HD streams in the industry.  Moreover, ViXS is the only company to have integrated transcoding and Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) technologies to create the lowest-cost media gateway capable of delivering premium content to consumer IP devices, such as the iPad, inside and outside of the home.

ViXS is headquartered in Toronto, Canada with global operations and offices in Europe, Asia and North America.  For more information on ViXS, visit our website: www.vixs.com.

SOURCE ViXS Systems Inc.