STMicroelectronics Achieves Unrivalled Broadband Home-Entertainment Performance That Revolutionizes Consumers' TV Experience

GENEVA, Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications and a world leader in ICs for digital set-top boxes and TVs, announced today details of its breakthrough interactive latest-generation broadband home-entertainment platform, that revolutionizes connected homes by providing users with unequalled performance at extremely low power, capable of a more personalized and socially interactive viewing experience with amazing 3D graphics and easy-to-use smart navigation.

Beyond its outstanding operation, the ultimate high-performance combined digital set-top box and digital TV SoC, supports delivery of value added services and a comprehensive broadband, to offer the industry's most interactive, robust, and secure architecture. The latest-generation home-entertainment platform opens new horizons to operators, and enables them to deliver an entirely new range of services that could include social networking capabilities. The flexible and comprehensive architecture suits easy customization and user interaction of key applications via 3D graphics and  a fast processor for complete networking services, free or pay applications, multiplayer games, web entertainment, audio/video streaming, and social video conferencing where two or more parties can interact while watching a favorite sports program.

Based on the embedded high-performance, low-power, multi-core ARM® Cortex A9 processor, this latest-generation platform offers an unprecedented energy-efficient broadband home-entertainment system, enabling multiple application executing without compromising full HD video quality. In addition, the ground-breaking solution is extendable to support application open-standard framework development built with HTML5, Google® Android™, or Adobe® Air®.

As the concept and demand of TV and rich web entertainment rapidly changes, consumers are demanding operators to include a wider range of broadcast and/or broadband services into their TV experience. The innovative broadband in-home entertainment platform meets this need by enabling users to smoothly access web content and applications on their TV's, mobile phones, tablets and PC's  thanks to the multiple screen convergence.

"ST's new-generation, broadband home-entertainment products are the industry's most powerful combination of performance, extendable architecture and rich software ecosystem and set a new standard for the consumer experience," said Philippe Lambinet, Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager Home Entertainment and Display Group. "In 2013, more than 38% of flat panel TVs shipped will be connected to the Internet via a TV-based browser(1). ST is the first to master a platform that offers unmatched functionality and interactivity combining traditional services with new connectivity options, allowing operators and Content Service Providers (CSPs) to tender rich value-added services to their subscribers and TV manufacturers to deliver new services and enhanced user experiences taking full advantage of the expanding multimedia ecosystem."

Technical Notes for editors

This new-generation broadband home-entertainment platform is based on the ARM Cortex A9 dual-core CPU yields up to 8500 DMIPS (Dhyrstone Million Instructions Per Second).

Higher quality bit streaming is made possible via the HD 1080p30/720p60 Video Encoder with video preprocessing. It leverages on the years of excellence with Faroudja™ quality to provide digital noise reduction, automatic film mode detection, high quality rescale and picture enhancement in terms of contrast, sharpness and color.

ST raises the user experience with the architecture's theater-quality graphics which yield enhanced resolution and make user interaction natural by offering fully projected video support and enable full 3D graphics and 3DTV EPG.

In addition, the platform provides multi-screen convergence for live TV over Home Network, Server-Clients, multimedia sharing, place shifting and Remote UI.

ST's latest-generation broadband platform is sampling now to key customers and will be available in production in 2012. A demonstration of the cutting-edge technology embedded into this ultimate home-entertainment platform will be available by invitation only at IFA, Berlin on September 2, 2011 and at IBC, Amsterdam on September 8, 2011.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics is a global leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications with innovative semiconductor solutions. ST aims to be the undisputed leader in multimedia convergence and power applications leveraging its vast array of technologies, design expertise and combination of intellectual property portfolio, strategic partnerships and manufacturing strength. In 2010, the Company's net revenues were $10.35 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com. 

(1) Display Search: Quarterly TV and Features Report of Q1 2011

SOURCE STMicroelectronics