06 January 2009

Broadcom Runs With ARM Cortex-R4 For Blu-ray Players

ARM has confirmed that Broadcom Corporation has chosen the ARM Cortex-R4 processor for use in its next generation Blu-ray player chips. 

The Cortex-R4 processor provides a mix of performance, real-time response and power efficiency, enabling highly cost-effective implementations for Blu-ray players with the highest level of user-responsiveness, quick scene location and reliable playback.  The Cortex-R4 processor has been designed for low power and supports complete power down when the player is in standby mode.
The Cortex-R4 is one of the first deeply embedded processors to be based on the ARMv7 architecture. The Cortex-R4 processor provides key savings in cost and power consumption for system developers, offering substantially higher performance than any other processor with similar die size.

A comprehensive software ecosystem supports the Cortex-R4 processor and the portability of this software is made easy by the consistent ARM Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), enabling a smooth software migration path from the ARM7TDMI processor-based solution.

"We expect that the Cortex-R4 processor used in our next-generation designs will enable Broadcom to provide high -performance, cost-effective and low-power solutions for manufacturers looking to develop Blu-ray players,” explained Dan Marotta, senior vice president and general manager of Broadcom’s Broadband Communications Group. “Reducing prices while providing increasingly high-quality, low-power products is crucial to the growth of next-generation Blu-ray devices."

"This latest agreement further strengthens ARM’s position in next-generation converged home equipment for the consumer market,” added Mike Inglis, executive vice president and general manager of the Processor Division, ARM. “As Blu-ray players prepare for mass market expansion, OEMs need the flexibility to reduce costs while enhancing feature sets and usability. The ARM Cortex-R4 processor helps enable this by providing access to the industry’s widest range of ARM architecture-based software and tools through the ARM Connected Community"

One of the key benefits of the Cortex-R4 processor is its “Dormant” mode where the Tightly Coupled Memories (TCM) and Caches are powered while the rest of the processor is switched off. The Cortex-R4 processor also supports substantial synthesis time configurability that enables designers to match the processor precisely to the application requirements.