January 10, 2012

At CES: Broadcom Teams With Comcast, Qualcomm

Broadcom is on the move at CES this week, announcing two developments. First, its connected-home set-top-box (STB) platforms now support the Comcast Device Software Reference Design Kit (RDK) and tru2way on-screen guides.

The Comcast RDK is a pre-integrated software bundle that powers tru2way, IP or hybrid STBs. The RDK includes the CableLabs OCAP Reference Implementation software along with other leading open source components.  “By incorporating Broadcom's flagship BCM7425 Dual HD Transcoding MoCA 2.0 Gateway platform, developers using Comcast's RDK can create rich, multi-screen TV home entertainment experiences, the company says.

In addition, Broadcom is teaming with Qualcomm Atheros to endorse HomePlug AV as “the best powerline technology to meet the interoperability, performance, maturity and reliability requirements of carriers and consumer networking OEMs around the globe.”
 
The companies say they have validated the performance and reliability of their solutions when operating together, which support a variety of demanding home networking applications, including simultaneous transmission of multiple broadband HD streams and IPTV content distribution throughout the home; “Tests have verified that their HomePlug AV solutions deliver high performance across a range of real-world, multi-node home deployment cases and applications,” they add.

Notes Dan Rabinovitsj, senior vice president & general manager/Networking Business Unit at Qualcomm Atheros, "With nearly 100 million HomePlug devices deployed, we firmly believe that it is the only viable powerline technology. We are committed to driving the continued rapid adoption of HomePlug technology for the next generation home networking of entertainment, smart energy and home automation applications."