NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2004--
New Chip Allows Service Providers to Transmit Additional Services over Existing Bandwidth
Conexant Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNXT), a worldwide leader in semiconductor system solutions for digital information and home entertainment networks, today introduced a new advanced modulation satellite receiver with forward error correction (FEC) decoder based on turbo codes. The CX24114 increases satellite throughput by up to 35 percent enabling satellite service providers to transmit additional channels and services using existing bandwidth. The CX24114 can also be used in conjunction with Conexant's CX24118 tuner to create a complete satellite front-end system solution.
"Service providers are continually challenged to provide consumers with a wider range of programming options while keeping costs low," said Jeff Crosby, vice president of Set-top Box Products for Conexant. "Our new satellite solution enables operators to deliver additional services using their existing infrastructure and when used in conjunction with our tuners, provides them with a complete front-end satellite system solution."
The CX24114 demodulator converts incoming analog signals from a tuner into a digital format, assesses the signal for errors, and then outputs a digital data transport stream to an audio/video decoder chip. The device can decode DVB/DSS QPSK and BPSK signals at 1-45 Msps, turbo QPSK at 15-30 Msps and turbo 8-PSK signals from 15-30 Msps. A unique feature of the CX24114 is an automatic acquisition algorithm that searches and acquires the carrier within +/-10 MHz range during initial acquisition and performs a smart search to reacquire during fade condition. The hardware acquisition enables fast channel change between 8-PSK and QPSK modulations.
The CX24114 has two 8-bit analog-to-digital converters that are required for high performance operation. The device is a DiSEqC 2.x compliant demodulator that enables two-way communication between the set-top box (STB) and peripheral satellite equipment such as low-noise block converters (LNB) and switches. It also includes an integrated signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and bit error rate (BER) monitors for channel-performance measurements that simplify production testing. It is fully compliant with digital video broadcasting (DVB), DirecTV (DSS) and DigicipherII (DCII) specifications to support legacy systems and is designed to work with existing and next-generation transponders.
Conexant offers a comprehensive suite of digital set-top box components and system solutions for worldwide satellite, terrestrial and cable entertainment broadcasting networks. Supplementing its STB product offering, Conexant leverages its extensive suite of communications technologies - including high-performance processors, integrated cable modem and sophisticated graphics solutions - to support advanced applications such as personal video recording, interactive television and home networking. Conexant also supports a number of proprietary software solutions, and the new multimedia home platform (MHP).
Pricing and Availability
Sample quantities of the CX24114 are available now, with volume production scheduled this quarter. It is packaged in a 100-pin thin quad flat pack and priced at $20.00 in quantities of 10,000.
