Consumers expect to enjoy their media everywhere, moving from their televisions to their computers to their smart phones. A pair of solutions from Broadcom lets these users enjoy their videos across these platforms. First, a combo chip adds dual-stream, dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity to consumer electronics. Second, an integrated wireless dongle design brings Wi-Fi Display (now called Wi-Fi Miracast) to existing digital TVs and media boxes.

The BCM43242’s advanced dual-band multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Wi-Fi technology enables integrated video streaming and over-the-top capabilities in consumer devices. Its dual-stream technology supports advanced error correction and simultaneous Wi-Fi connections to two devices. So, smart TVs can simultaneously access Internet content and stream high-bandwidth video from a smart phone, tablet, or PC. Furthermore, the chip can enable peer-to-peer transmissions in the 5-GHz band, with more spectrum and less congestion in that frequency range for improved quality video streaming and smart-phone-to-TV video sharing.  

With integrated Bluetooth 4.0, the BCM43242 will enable consumer products to use advanced remotes, game controllers, stereo headphones, keyboards, 3D glasses, and other interface devices. Broadcom Bluetooth also can stream audio to home stereos, enable voice recognition in remote controls, and connect smart phones and other devices to the consumer electronics ecosystem. The chip includes Broadcom’s InConcert coexistence technology, optimized for digital television use cases, to enable uninterrupted Bluetooth connectivity while maintaining high Wi-Fi throughput.

According to Broadcom, the wireless dongle design taps the BCM43236 dual-band Wi-Fi chip and the BCM2835 VideoCore media processor to enable cost-effective adapter products that add Wi-Fi Display capabilities to existing consumer devices with an HDMI port. The ability to use digital TVs to view video content is driving Wi-Fi Display’s adoption, the company says. Consumers then can use Wi-Fi and video encoding technology to move the mobile user interface from a small screen to a bigger display while maintaining control via the mobile device’s touch screen.

The dongle platform features Broadcom’s Wi-Fi solutions, which support zero packet loss, minimize latency for interactive use cases, and mitigate interference while maximizing screen resolution and picture quality, the company says. These advantages suit Broadcom’s Wi-Fi technology for Wi-Fi Display applications, where latency and packet loss can degrade the user experience, according to the company. Also, VideoCore enables vivid graphics and HD video playback with minimal power consumption, Broadcom says.

Broadcom has integrated support for the technology into several of its smart-phone platforms, including the BCM28155 3G HSPA+ dual-core system-on-a-chip (SoC). Handsets based on Broadcom smart-phone platforms including the BCM4334 smart-phone combo chip also will be able to offer these media streaming capabilities. Broadcom plans Wi-Fi support for all of its future dual-core smart-phone platforms as well.

The BCM43242 is sampling to Broadcom’s early access customers, with full production expected in the fourth quarter of 2012. The integrated Wi-Fi Display dongle design also is sampling, with the BCM43236 Wi-Fi chip and BCM2835 media processor shipping in production quantities.

Broadcom