Sigma Designs doubles Blu-Ray media processor performance

2010 COMPUTEX TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Sigma Designs, a leading provider of system-on-chip (SoC) solutions used to deliver entertainment and control throughout the home, has announced the availability of its new SMP8646 media processor SoC.

Designed for networked Blu-ray device manufacturers, the new multi-core chipset enables the latest consumer experiences including 3D video, Flash video, Android and the latest over-the-top (OTT) services. The SoC integrates powerful multimedia processing, a robust content security system, multiple on-chip CPUs, and a range of on-chip system peripherals.

“To attract a wider audience, Blu-ray device makers continue to expand the feature set of their Blu-ray players,” said David Lynch, VP and General Manager, Media Processing Group of Sigma Designs.

“With the new SMP8646, Sigma increases the sales potential for its Blu-ray customers by enabling 3D video broadcast playback and the latest over the top functionality at more than twice the speed of previous versions – all at a very competitive price.”

A demonstration of the SMP8646 running Android 2.1 OS on the media processor will be showcased at the Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in suite # 3707 at this week’s Computex 2010 Show, located in Taipei, Taiwan.

The SMP 8646 Blu-ray SoC and cost-effective architecture is software compatible with the Sigma SMP8642 and enables OEMs to easily design a family of different price/performance offerings.

The combination of on-chip processor at 800 MHz and 256KB L2 cache yields an impressive increase in overall performance. Plus, the SMP8646 featuring Sigma’s robust and field-proven multimedia library, secure operating system, OS support environment, and an up-to-date Blu- ray software suite.

“Our Android on MIPS initiative enables our licensees such as Sigma Designs to bring Android to a wide range of consumer electronic devices—enabling the next generation of connected products,” said Art Swift, vice president of marketing, MIPS Technologies.

“Sigma is at the forefront of innovation in bringing Android to digital home devices. With its new SMP8646 media processor, Sigma’s customers can provide the level of performance and functionality needed for the next wave of Blu-ray players.”

The SMP8646 sample chips and related reference designs will be available in Q3 2010. Production silicon will be available in Q4 2010.