Broadcom is integrating EchoStar Technologies' Sling Media place-shifting software into high-performance set-top and gateway chips, which will be among the solutions the company expects to show off at next week's International Consumer Electronics Show.
Broadcom's BCM7425 HD Dual Transcoding Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) 2.0 Gateway system-on-chip now supports Sling Media's licensed software. That will let set-top box and consumer-electronics manufacturers deliver "SlingLoaded" products for watching live and time-shifted TV on a wide range of Internet-connected devices.
Broadcom-powered set-tops and gateways that support the Slingbox software are expected to be available by the third quarter of 2012.
"It's clear that consumers expect a wide array of television viewing options on their favorite wireless devices, and EchoStar's Sling Media technology solution is the gold standard for place-shifting," said Dan Marotta, executive vice president and general manager of Broadcom's Broadband Communications Group. "SlingLoaded support on our high-performance set-top box solutions paves the way for exciting new mobile entertainment experiences."
About 62% of U.S. consumers said they would likely watch live TV on laptops, tablets and smartphones if their pay-TV provider offered the service for no extra charge, according to a survey of 1,025 consumers commissioned by Broadcom and conducted by JZ Analytics in November 2011.
Also at CES, Broadcom expects to introduce its MoCA 2.0 integrated portfolio, including six new set-top box and hybrid IP gateway system-on-chip platforms that support the next generation home-networking specification. MoCA 2.0 provides 400 Mbps of application throughput in a basic configuration, compared with 175 Mbps for the previous MoCA 1.1 spec.
Broadcom's 40-nanometer MoCA 2.0-integrated set-top and gateway chip platforms include: BCM7429 multiroom HD DVR STB SoC; BCM7428 IP HD STB client SoC; BCM7425 dual HD/dual transcoding hybrid gateway STB SoC; BCM7422 dual HD hybrid gateway STB SoC; BCM3325 hybrid IP transcoding gateway SoC; and BCM3322 hybrid IP gateway SoC.
In addition, Broadcom said it is working with Zurich, Switzerland-based Myriad Group AG to support its Alien Vue solution for delivering Android apps to TV. According to Broadcom, the development work lets set-top boxes using legacy operating systems to more easily begin delivering Android-based interactive TV experiences.
