STMicroelectronics Launches Second Generation AVC and VC-1 Decoder Enabling the Secure Digital Home to become a Reality

STMicroelectronics Launches Second Generation AVC and VC-1 Decoder Enabling the Secure Digital Home to become a Reality

STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), the world’s leading supplier of ICs for Set Top Boxes (STBs)*, announced today the STB7109, the company’s second-generation high-definition AVC and VC-1 decoder. Building on the success of the STB7100, the world’s first single-chip AVC and VC-1 decoder launched in January 2005, the STB7109 includes all the features of that device with the addition of improved security, connectivity features and support for emerging DVD format and security standards.

Advanced high definition decoder improves consumer equipment security and connectivity

Taking advantage of the greater compression ratios provided by AVC and VC-1, high definition content can be encoded, broadcast and distributed around the home much more efficiently than has been possible with MPEG-2 material. To support this, the STB7109 embeds a high speed Ethernet interface, enabling it to be a central part of the home network in appliances such as cable, satellite, IP and terrestrial STBs, DVRs, DVD players and recorders, home gateways and media servers.

“As the complexity of today’s system on chip devices increases and the process geometries become smaller, SoC designers and manufacturers must cooperate ever more closely in order to succeed,” said Christos Lagomichos, Group Vice-President and General Manager of ST’s Home Entertainment Group. “ST is uniquely positioned in this respect as the only supplier of advanced video decoders to have both design and fabrication capability in house.”