LSI's Broadcast PC Drive

Electronic News, Nov 23, 1998

ASIC chipmaker furthers CE portfolio

Milpitas, Calif.--LSI Logic has introduced a broadcast PC reference design that allows PC OEMs and board designers to create PCI-based add-in cards that broadcast multimedia streams--from television signals to data services--from a variety of sources including cable, satellite, DVD or terrestrial.

LSI is promoting the reference design as the first stage of the convergence between PCs and other consumer electronics with a heavy emphasis on the PC portion. Observers speculate that there will be multiple offerings that range from PC functions being integrated into consumer electronics applications or consumer functions being integrated into PCs. This is more of a PC-oriented reference design that suggests users will want more from their PC than just Internet access and word processing, LSI noted.

Although many chipmakers have already written off the broadcast PC as a passing phase in the first efforts of the digital convergence (EN, Nov. 16), LSI believes this will spawn a whole new category of applications, services and other content creations in the PC space. Many PC OEMs are hoping and planning that the digital convergence will include many offerings such as the LSI reference design so that the sluggish PC sales will pick up and OEMs will be able to sell more computers into the home as well as the office.

Many consumer electronics chipmakers, however, are focusing their efforts (and chips) on the consumer electronics set-top boxes with PC functions or other consumer applications with integrated PC functionality rather than PCs with some consumer functions. There are some that are doing one or two development efforts and those might rule the roost for the near future. Some of the other manufacturers with a reference card or TV-tuner add-in card for PCs include Philips Semiconductors, Panasonic, LG Electronics and ATI Technologies. Intel is also working on its own tuner card and working with others as well to move this market forward.

LSI Logic's drive to the PC/DTV will enable an all-digital information delivery systems, the company claims, to receive media-rich content. The design is compliant with Microsoft's PC 99 video and broadcast requirements and is based on LSI's mass-produced set-top box and DVD player designs. The reference design includes schematics, PC board artwork, parts list, software development tools and Windows driver software. Also it supports future broadcast PC designs as well including applications such as DVD RAM, connectivity through 1394 serial bus connections and other consumer multimedia devices.

All of the reference designs accept NTSC or PAL video formats and offer separate tuners for satellite and cable broadcasting. The L64021 digital video decoder allows users to receive information from satellite or cable TV or DVDs and decoder it with multi-channel surround sound from the PC.