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Acer Selects Broadcom's Crystal HD Solution for High Quality, High Definition Media Playback on Select Aspire One Models

Posted on: Tuesday, 2 June 2009, 05:00 CDT

The Broadcom(R) Crystal HD Solution Improves the Netbook User Experience Significantly with Cost-Efficient, Flawless Playback of High Definition Video Content

TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Computex 2009 -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that the Broadcom(R) Crystal HD solution has been selected by Acer to provide high quality, high definition (HD) media playback on a new line of affordable mid-range notebook computers. The Aspire One netbooks are smaller than traditional laptops and ideal mobile companions when users are away from their PCs or want to leave their full-size laptops at home. By implementing Broadcom Crystal HD netbook solutions into the Aspire One netbook platform, Acer provides consumers with smooth, high quality playback of 1080p HD video that offers low power consumption and CPU utilization in addition to seamlessly integrating into the Microsoft(R) Windows XP(R) environment.

"Since the debut of Aspire One netbooks last year, Acer has continued to explore various sources of technology with the goal of enhancing wireless Internet and entertainment on the road," said Campbell Kan, Vice President, Mobile Computing Business Unit, Acer Inc. "Broadcom's Crystal HD solution, designed for high-definition multimedia at home or on the go, enables Acer to address our customers' desire for a light portable entertainment device."

To address the growing consumer demand for high definition content playback on low cost netbooks, Broadcom's Crystal HD Enhanced Media Accelerator (based on the Broadcom BCM70010/BCM70012 HD video decoder chipset) has become the industry choice. Leveraging the company's widely deployed and field proven HD set-top box and consumer media player technologies, Broadcom's Crystal HD solutions provide the highest quality video playback of multi-format (VC-1, H.264 and MPEG-2) high definition content for the mainstream PC, UMPC (ultra mobile PC) and MID (mobile Internet device) markets.

"We are pleased that Acer has selected our Crystal HD solution, leveraging our industry leading proven HD video cores," said Dan Eiref, Vice President & General Manager of Broadcom's Consumer Electronics Group. "Our Crystal HD solutions deliver exceptional performance and low power consumption in a low cost solution to enable a best-in-class netbook user experience. Additionally, Acer's adoption of our solutions will help to popularize a rich multimedia experience in the netbook market segment."

Broadcom's Crystal HD Enhanced Media Accelerator solutions are available in add-in card formats that include PCI Express(R) mini-cards and ExpressCard(R) 34. All products are in full production today.

Product Information

The BCM70010/BCM70012 media PC chipset supports the next generation H.264 and VC-1 video compression algorithms to enable netbooks to playback online high definition streaming and downloaded media content. The chipset is a single-stream HD AVC/VC-1/MPEG-2 video decoder solution capable of full HD real-time decoding. The high performance and low power consumption of this chipset solution reduces CPU utilization and support for mobile platform designs, and fully supports the MPEG-2 standard so that compatibility with existing media (DVD) can be maintained. The chipset supports any compliant resolution from QVGA up to 1920 x 1088.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).

Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2008 revenue of $4.66 billion, and holds over 3,300 U.S. and over 1,300 foreign patents, more than 7,500 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.

A FORTUNE 500(R) company, Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.

Cautions regarding Forward Looking Statements:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the demand for high definition video playback on PC, UMPC and MID products, and our position in that market. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with Broadcom media PC technology include, but are not limited to

• General economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the volatility in the technology sector and semiconductor industry;
• Trends in the broadband communications markets in various geographic regions, including seasonality in sales of consumer products into which our products are incorporated;
• The rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets;
• Competitive pressures and other factors such as the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; and
• The effects of natural disasters, public health emergencies, international conflicts and other events beyond our control.

Additional factors that may cause Broadcom's actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the list that can be found at http://www.broadcom.com/press/additional_risk_factors/Q22009.php.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

Broadcom, the pulse logo, Connecting everything, and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Broadcom Trade Press Contact Broadcom Investor Relations Contact Jessica Ingraham T. Peter Andrew Associate Public Relations Vice President, Corporate Representative Communications 949-926-8008 949-926-5663 jessicai@broadcom.com andrewtp@broadcom.com

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Broadband

Source: PR Newswire

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