d i g i t a l i n f o t a i n m e n t p r o d u c t s
lnteractive TV Decoders
CX22490/22496
Entry-level interactive TV lets viewers do more
Fast CPU and Graphics
than just watch programs. It upgrades the TV’s
user navigation interface from a simple Electronic
Program Guide (EPG) to a more sophisticated
application for both digital TV programming and
enhanced information services. The services typically
offered include local news and weather, interactive
advertising and simple games.
The CX22490/22496’s powerful 32-bit RISC
processor and advanced video/graphics display
controller provide a platform ideally suited to
support Internet access and interactive multimedia
applications. The CPU core easily handles computa-
tionally intensive host signal processing tasks for
Internet applications, such as codecs for streaming
audio, Internet telephony, speech and video.
Additionally, the CX22490/22496 provides ample CPU
processing power to support implementation
of a complete, low-speed modem datapump and
controller in software.
An enhanced TV set top box requires more
memory than a basic box for TV viewing. Conexant’s
interactive TV decoders feature an innovative, unified
memory architecture that reduces memory costs by
servicing all system requirements in a single, flexible,
external 4 MB SDRAM buffer. System hardware costs
are further minimized by implementing analog
modem return path functionality in software running
on the 175 MIPS embedded ARM940T CPU. This
embedded CPU offers ample resources to power
a 2,400-baud software modem datapump and
controller, in addition to servicing all interactive
TV system requirements.
Low-Cost ICs for Entry-Level InteractiveTV
Conexant’s interactive TV decoders feature all
the major subsystems required to implement the
core system and decoder electronics of a digital
interactive TV set top box. This includes an MPEG-2
A/V decoder (Dolby Digital audio is optional), a 32-bit
RISC CPU, a 2D graphics accelerator, a video/graphics
display compositing controller and a set of peripheral
I/O ports for set top box front and back panel
connectors. For a complete system hardware design,
you only need to add a TV encoder, tuner/demodulator,
modem codec, audio DAC, SDRAM and flash
memory ICs.
Expandable to Advanced Interactive
SetTop Box Platform
Moving beyond the entry level, many operators are
offering a “walled garden” suite of truly interactive
online applications accessible through the TV. They
deliver services using both the digital broadcast
stream and an analog telco modem, typically V.34
or V.90. Interactive applications for this class of
platform include banking and shopping from home,
and possibly limited Internet access and e-mail
This high level of system-on-chip integration delivers
the low-cost system bill of materials sought after
by mainstream digital, multichannel TV operators. At
the same time, our ICs offer an advanced hardware
capability for entry-level interactive or enhanced TV.
CONEXANT [ CONEXANT SYSTEMS, INC ]
