Cavium Networks has announced customer sampling of a new family of PureVu-3D 1080p system-on-a-chip (SoC) H.264 video processors. The PureVu-3D CNW53XX processors utilize Cavium's high performance WiVu wireless display technology and leverage all the benefits of Cavium's CNW56XX processor family introduced earlier this year, including industry leading Super-Low-Latency (SLL) compression technology, HDCP content protection, and intelligent video quality-of-service and networking capabilities to bring 3D wireless display functionality over standard Wi-Fi to a variety of consumer electronic devices, such as flat panel TVs, Blu-ray players, PCs, and gaming consoles. Pin-compatible and software-compatible with their 2D counter-parts and highly integrated, the new CNW53XX processors minimize the system Bill-of-Material (BOM) cost and design effort for OEM/ODMs looking to offer a common platform for their 2D and 3D wireless display line-ups. Demonstrations will be shown in Cavium's booth 8L66 at the CEATEC Conference being held in Makuhari Messe, Tokyo from October 6th - 8th 2010.

According to market reports from Display Search, 3D TV market penetration is expected to grow from a 5% share of the total flat panel TVs in 2010 to just under 40% in 2014. At the same time, other reports show that Hollywood studios increased their production of 3D movies by 150% in 2009, with similar jump in production planned for 2010. This rapid rise in adoption of 3D capability into various CE devices is creating a large demand for silicon platforms that can support higher processing performance and more intelligent compression technology to address the high bandwidth requirements of 3D content. With its 1080p 3D processing capability, 2ms H.264 compression latency, and advanced video quality-of-service (QoS) for robust transmission over Wi-Fi, Cavium's PureVu-3D video processors are ideally suited to bring 3D wireless display capability to a wide range of CE devices, and to address the quality and interactivity requirements of any 3D content, including 3D movies and games.

As the excitement builds around the wireless display market and in-home video distribution applications, and the OEMs sift through a flurry of proprietary point-solutions with inherent technical limitations, Cavium's standards-based WiVu wireless display technology offers uniquely differentiated features that are in-line with market requirements for widespread adoption. Leveraging widely deployed standards-based technologies, such as H.264 compression, 802.11 Wi-Fi transmission, IP transport, and HDCP content protection, as its foundation, Cavium's wireless display technology offers the scalability and compatibility needed for adoption into mainstream CE market.

In addition, Cavium's SMART video QoS features ensure reliable and robust video transmission over a standard 802.11 Wi-Fi channel, resulting in optimum user experience, even in high traffic wireless environments. The combination of these video QoS and the built-in error resiliency features, along with the compression efficiency and Super Low Latency (SLL) capabilities of the PureVu video processors, enables a solid multi-room wireless video performance, which can seamlessly operate within the constraints of existing home Wi-Fi networks, while addressing a wide range of highly interactive applications, including gaming.

And now, with the addition of the PureVu CNW53XX family, Cavium is bringing all the benefits of its wireless display technology to mainstream 3D CE devices. With support for various 3D video input formats outlined in the 3D Blu-ray specification and supported by HDMI 1.4 standard, Cavium's CNW53XX processors are capable of supporting a wide range of applications, including 3D movies and gaming, as well as various devices, including Notebook PCs, TVs, Blu-ray players and gaming consoles.

"With the increasing number of movies and gaming content getting produced by the entertainment industry and the number of 3D CE devices coming to the market this year, we expect to see a rise in demand for 3D streaming of wireless video," said Lars Herlitz, GM of the Multimedia Group at Cavium. "Our CNW53XX processor family is well positioned to meet this demand at a very competitive solution cost point."

Cavium's PureVu CNW53XX 3D video processor family consists of the following members:

--  CNW5302: This encode/decode SoC is ideal for external stand-alone 3D transmitter and receiver dongle designs to enable existing CE home devices with wireless display capability. It can also be used for integration into a variety of 3D CE devices, such as 3D TV panels, Blu-ray players, gaming consoles.

--  CNW5321: This encode-only variant operates in a co-processor mode and has the size and the power characteristics suitable for integration into notebook and desktop PCs.

Availability and Pricing The CNW53XX family is currently sampling. Various members of this processor family are available in a range of packaging options, speed grades and price points.