Microsoft had always promised that once it got its Mediaroom IPTV set top chips working smoothly from its first two chip partners, Sigma and ST Micros, it would open up the business to a wider list of chip companies, and now Broadcom is adding its name to the list.
The deal was announced at CES in Las Vegas this week, and will include Microsoft and Broadcom working together to port the Mediaroom IPTV client software onto its BCM7405 system on a chip (SOC).
The chip will allow service providers and set top makers to support whole-home DVR, high-performance user interfaces, and photo and music sharing, the two companies said.
Broadcom’s BCM7405 is built in low-power 65 nanometer geometry, and supports VC-1 and H.264 codecs out of the box as well as new video compression standards, including as China’s AVS. It also offers support for multiple conditional access and digital rights management, including Windows Media Digital Rights Management, as well as the extra hardware support require for Mediaroom security.
Broadcom also announced a digital television (DTV) design platform at CES allowing consumers to access personal videos, photos and music from their television.
Microsoft used the CES show to announce that it will deliver more than 1 million Mediaroom set tops by some time in the first quarter, through 20 service providers. It also said it now had the DVR Anywhere capability working and ready to ship, where a DVR can play on any TV in a home, with a viewer moving freely from one to another.