Broadcom launches hybrid video cable gateway

Set-top box chipset manufacturer Broadcom has launched a new high-performance hybrid cable gateway set-top box solution for whole-home connectivity and content sharing.

The  BCM7145 platform combines DOCSIS 3.0 and Gigabit wireless gateway functionality with HEVC video decoders and a quad video transcoder. This enables ‘TV everywhere’ video services on four wireless mobile devices simultaneously, including smartphones and tablets.  A dual-core CPU also supports multiple applications running simultaneously.

By integrating H.265/HEVC video decoder technology, the hybrid gateway device transmits high quality video at one-fourth the bandwidth required by MPEG-2 HD, enabling the delivery of UltraHD content using similar bandwidth as today’s MPEG-2 1080p HD, Broadcom said.

“Broadcom’s new BCM7145 is a giant step forward in set-top box gateway chip design and is a key enabler for an all-IP cable platform,” said John Gleiter, Broadcom’s vice president of set-top box marketing.