ViXS and Quantenna Bring 4K Ultra HD TV to Life Without Wires

ViXS XCode^® Media Processor Sets New World Standard for Video Processing and Wireless Transmission

TORONTO, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - ViXS Systems Inc. (TSX: VXS), a pioneer and leader in media processing silicon solutions, announces today that working together with Quantenna Communications a leader in ultra-reliable Wi-Fi networking for whole-home entertainment, have jointly developed a next generation reference design for transmitting and receiving wireless UltraHD 4K TV.

Demonstrated at both the Quantenna and ViXS meeting rooms at CES Quantenna's 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology has been added to the XCode 6400 reference design platform, the world's first system-on-a-chip (SoC) that can decode and display UltraHD 4K p60 HEVC at 10-bit. Ideal for wireless set-top boxes, the XCode 6400 family now features Quantenna's award-winning QSR1000 4x4 802.11ac Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) chipset, giving it the wireless speed, stability and fidelity needed for 4K TV.

Quantenna's QSR1000 provides unsurpassed data throughput of up to 1.7Gbps, with dynamic digital beam-forming that intelligently strengthens connectivity, improves efficiency and extends wireless coverage range beyond that of any other solution. ViXS's breakthrough video technology decodes more than 60 frames per second (fps) and displays HEVC Ultra HD TV 4K broadcasting content at full resolution of 3840x2160@60fps in both Main and Main 10 (M10P) profile.  In addition when decoding  HEVC at HD resolution up to 1920x1080 the XCode 6400 requires only half the bandwidth of today's AVC (H.264) video streams and just a quarter of the bandwidth of MPEG-2.

"UltraHD 4K stands for the utmost in picture quality, and that's what the XCode 6400 delivers," said Sally Daub, President and CEO of ViXS Systems Inc. "The XCode 6400 has set a new cost effective benchmark for true-to-life images, ultra-low-power operation and unsurpassed efficiency. Now Quantenna's industry-leading QSR1000 chipset enables us to provide that same spectacular experience with the freedom of a wireless connection."

"For service providers and set-top-box manufacturers, wire-quality Wi-Fi is no longer an option it's a necessity," said Dr. Sam Heidari, CEO of Quantenna. "Our unique 802.11ac 4x4 MIMO architecture is a natural match for 4K video, reaching farther and performing faster and more reliably than any other. The QSR1000 adds a whole new dimension of performance to the ViXS XCode 6400, the best-in-class SoC for 4K Ultra HD TV."

The XCode 6400 reference design will be available in Q1 2014.

ViXS will demonstrate the power of its XCode 6400 family at the 2014 International CES, January 7-10, at the Las Vegas Convention Center (South Hall 2 - MP25953).

About ViXS Systems Inc.

ViXS is the pioneer and market leader in designing revolutionary media processing semiconductor solutions for the broadcasting and consumer electronics industries, with over 428 patents issued and pending worldwide, numerous industry awards for innovation, and over 28 million media processor shipments to date. ViXS is driving the transition to Ultra HD 4K across the entire content value chain by providing professional and consumer grade chipsets that support the new High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard up to Main Profile 10-bit, reducing bandwidth consumption by 50% while providing the depth of color and image clarity needed to take advantage of higher-resolution content. ViXS' XCodePro 3xx family is ideal for Ultra HD 4K infrastructure equipment and the XCode 6xxx family of system-on-chip (SoC) products achieve unprecedented levels of integration that enable manufacturers to create cost-effective consumer entertainment devices.

ViXS is headquartered in Toronto, Canada with offices in Europe, Asia and North America. VIXS^™, the ViXS^® logo, XCode^®, XCodePro™, XConnex™ and Xtensiv™ are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ViXS. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.  For more information on ViXS, visit our website: www.vixs.com.

About Quantenna Communications, Inc. 

Quantenna is a leading developer of 802.11ac and 802.11n Wi-Fi semiconductor solutions that deliver the performance, speed and reliability of wired Ethernet for multimedia data anywhere in the home. Quantenna pioneered the delivery of seamless video over Wi-Fi and set the performance standard for delivering wire-like quality HD video reliably throughout the connected home, for which it has amassed a list of major awards, including being named a "Top 5 Start-Up for 2013" by The Wall Street Journal. Founded in 2006, Quantenna has shipped millions of its Wi-Fi chipsets being deployed by major telco, cable and satellite service providers and operators worldwide including AT&T, Bell Canada, Swisscom, Telefonica, France Telecom and Belgacom. Quantenna is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices worldwide. For additional information, visit www.quantenna.com.

Quantenna™ is the trademark of Quantenna Communications and its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. Wi-Fi® is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Any other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE ViXS Systems Inc.