Broadcom IPTV Box Enables First Live Broadcast of HDTV Over DSL

Broadcam today announced that its IPTV set top box was used in the world's first demonstration of delivering a live HDTV broadcast over a DSL network. The company's IPTV set-top box reference design platform was used by France Telecom to broadcast the French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros Stadium in France on June 2, 2005.

The demonstration may lead the way toward allowing telecom operators to offer HDTV broadcast and on-demand services over their existing DSL networks, says Broadcom.

In the demonstration, the Broadcom IPTV set-top box reference design platform performed HD MPEG-4/advanced video compression (AVC) decoding and audio/video delivery. MPEG-4 Part 10 advanced video compression is the latest generation of compression technology that reduces the required bandwidth for the transmission of video content, making it possible to offer HDTV broadcast and on-demand services over DSL networks.

The market for IPTV set top boxes is expected to grow significantly over the next several years. In a prepared statement, market analyst Michelle Abraham of InStat, noted "The availability of advanced video compression technology will enable the cost-effective deployment of IP set-top boxes, the market for which InStat is forecasting to grow by 550 % over the next five years."

The Broadcom BCM97398 IP set-top box reference design was used in the demonstration. It features the BCM7411 MPEG-4 HD AVC video decoder/audio processor chip and BCM7038 dual channel HD and personal video recorder chip. The chips enable set-top box vendors to build set-top boxes to support advanced IP-based video and audio services such as high-quality graphical user interfaces, advanced programming guides, built-in Internet browser capabilities, video-on-demand services and digital video recorder features. The BCM97398's scalable architecture also supports hybrid IP/digital terrestrial set-top boxes and a variety of wired and wireless home networking technologies.