NEC Electronics Announces System LSI Chips That Enable Reception of Global Television Broadcasts on Personal Computers

NEC Electronics Corporation today announced eight new MPEG encoder chips (part number μPD61250-7) that target personal computer TV tuner markets to enable OEMs to build powerful multimedia PCs to receive and record world-wide digital and analog television broadcasts. These highly integrated silicons include: (1) digital TV composite encoding circuitry to receive digital TV broadcasts in Japan, America, and Europe; (2) high quality video decoder, sound multiplex decoder, and MPEG2 encoder to receive analog audio, video signals and global TV broadcasts; and (3) a high-performance encryption engine to secure protected digital MPEG content, preventing illegal duplication of digital data.

 As the line between consumer and personal computer technologies becomes blurred, PC OEMs are striving to provide TV capabilities. The latest personal computers require many video functions, including Internet search for videos and video recording, and a growing number of them now include a TV tuner. NEC Electronics is a pioneer in this arena and has a long history of helping to bring television broadcasts to PCs. The company’s proven μPD61153B and μPD61154B, introduced in April 2004, are examples of high-quality MPEG encoder solutions.

 Television broadcasts in America, Europe, and Japan are rapidly migrating from analog to digital formats. These latest products expand the feature sets of μPD61153B and μPD61154B, and will build on their success to allow PC OEMs to provide many flexible, state-of-the-art TV tuner solutions to their customers, regardless of the broadcast format, digital or analog.

The main product highlights include:

(1) Supports global digital TV broadcasts
The devices include complex encoding circuitry and card interface circuitry for the digital TV broadcasts of various countries in order to support formats in Japan (ISDB), North America (ATSC), and Europe (DVB).

(2) Supports global analog TV broadcasts
The devices include a high-quality worldwide video decoder supporting NTSC, PAL, and SECAM formats, as well as an audio decoder for sound multiplex signals in major countries. A proven, high-performance MPEG2 encoder is integrated to convert digital video and audio data into MPEG data.

(3) Prevents Illegal duplication of digital data
A powerful encryption engine is integrated to protect sources of MPEG digital data such as ISDB, ATSC, and DVB broadcasts, as well as data generated by MPEG2 encoders, providing a secure system to prevent illegal duplication of protected contents.

(4) Flexible Interface Options
The host interface is PCI Express 1.1, allowing double the data transfer rates of PCI interface. Eight direct access channels also provide plenty of headroom for high-bitrate requirements for digital and analog TV data transfer.

Pricing and Availability
Samples of the μPD61250-7 are available now. Volume production is scheduled to begin in August 2007. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Please see the attached sheet for product specifications.

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