STMicroelectronics, today announced a new low-cost front-end solution for Cable TV STBs that supports the DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) 2.0 standard, and is fully compatible with the DOCSIS 3.0 channel-bonding scheme, which delivers a dramatic downstream bandwidth improvement. The new STV0498 complements ST’s long-established STV0297 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) demodulator family, which is now deployed in more than 30 million Cable TV STBs. The STV0498 supports downstream channel bonding, based on the DOCSIS 3.0 specification, and offers aggregate DOCSIS downstream rates up to 120 Mbit/s. By supporting the new standard, the STV0498 will allow manufacturers to produce cost-effective, high-performance STBs for the interactive and video-on-demand services now offered and planned by cable operators.
Integrated Ethernet and Hi-Speed USB interfaces provide a low cost connection to the application’s host computer. Volume production of the new STV0498 planned for Q3 2007.
