NEC puts cores to work in set-top boxes

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Aug 7, 2002

NEC's new multicore SoC for the digital set-top box and digital TV markets integrates two 32bit MIPS cores.

NEC's new multicore SoC for the digital set-top box and digital TV markets integrates two 32bit MIPS cores.

The uPD61120 was launched yesterday in the USA by NEC Electronics.

NEC Electron Devices chose the MIPS32 4Kc core for its uPD61120 chip because it offers the necessary flexibility to get to market quickly with a competitive, cost-effective solution.

The uPD61120 is the latest in a broad range of MIPS-based processors developed by NEC over the past 10 years to drive products such as the Nintendo 64 video game, HP and Lexmark laser printers, and digital set-top boxes from Sony and Motorola Broadband Communications Sector that have helped make the MIPS architecture number one in that market.

According to Semico Research Corp (August 2001), more than 32 million set-top boxes will use 41 million embedded processors in 2002, of which more than 30% will be MIPS-based.

"NEC is extremely pleased to announce the world's first product with a dual-processor architecture as a system LSI device for set-top boxes.

In developing this SoC, NEC was faced with the challenge of how to deliver a product that would offer compatibility with high value-added digital satellite broadcasting, while keeping system costs down", said Shigeo Niitsu, chief manager of the Network System LSI Development Division at NEC Corp.

"We found the solution with the MIPS 4Kc core, which gives us the performance and flexibility we require".

The uPD61120 chip, which offers performance of 225 Dhrystone 2.1 MIPS, is based on NEC's MIPS-based enhanced multimedia architecture.

The device provides audio/video decoding functions and supports digital video broadcast standards in both the USA and Europe, including the Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) standard, a key driver for digital TV in Europe.

"When one of the leading providers of digital entertainment solutions utilises the MIPS architecture to power its newest and most innovative SoCs for set-top boxes, the end user is the beneficiary with a rich, high-quality experience", said Kevin Meyer, vice president of marketing at MIPS Technologies.