Cavium Networks (NASDAQ:CAVM), a leading provider of semiconductor products that enable intelligent processing for networking, communications, and digital home applications, today unveiled its comprehensive solution for home media distribution and wireless display applications. Known as WiVu?, Cavium's solution is designed to enable multi-room and interactive content distribution and access via any network at home, both wired and wireless, on a wide range of CE devices. There are two fundamental differentiations that make WiVu? unique. First is Cavium's PureVu? high performance video processors that use patented technology for low latency compression and robust, high fidelity media transmission. Second is the solution's full alignment with major consumer industry trends, leveraging popular video processing and network connectivity technologies, such as H.264 and 802.11 Wi-Fi, which are already getting integrated into a wide range of CE devices. No need for integrating new radios, creating proprietary compression schemes, or forming new alliances.

When it comes to accessing and managing their content at home, consumers are looking for a solution that is simple to use, and allows access to any content at any time. They also want to do so without compromising their viewing experience, or their ability to interact with the content. Every solution in the market today is forcing the consumer to accept some sort of a compromise, including in-room only operation due to line-of-sight requirements, inability to co-exist with existing Wi-Fi networks, limited interactivity due to excessive compression latency or lack of a back-channel support, and inherent limited compatibility and scale resulting from reliance on proprietary wireless radios. WiVu is the first comprehensive solution to address the consumers' need without forcing such compromises, while addressing a broad set of applications and devices.

?Cavium's WiVu leverages the latest notebook technologies such as embedded DisplayPortTM and Display Mini-Card (DMC) to provide a compelling high performance Wi-Fi based wireless display solution for multi-room and interactive applications?, said Bruce Montag, Chairman of the Video Electronics Standards Association and Distinguished Engineer at Dell, Inc.

Key Components of WiVu?

  • Focus on Standards
    • Widely deployed technologies, including H.264, Wi-Fi, HDCP 2.0 and IP transport
    • Commitment to industry's standardization efforts for Wi-Fi based wireless display applications
  • High Performance
    • Pristine 1080p video quality using PureVu? 2D and 3D video processor technology
    • Highest video transmission quality for all types of content, including movies, text and graphics
  • Interactive
    • Super Low Latency (SLL?) technology to address a wide range of fully interactive applications including virtual desktop and gaming
    • Support for back-channel over Wi-Fi to provide support for IR bridging, keyboard & mouse, touch-panels, and gaming controllers.
  • Multi-room
    • Video Quality of Service (QoS) called SMART (Secure Minimum-latency Adaptation and Retransmission Technology) for robust multi-room transmission.
    • SMART incorporates an advanced rate adaptation and retransmission scheme that uses information from the Wi-Fi channel, as well as feedback from the receiver, to optimize the behavior of the transmitter for the varying conditions of the channel.

"We are finally starting to see a rising consumer and OEM demand for wireless HDMI solutions integrated into CE devices," said Randy Lawson, principle analyst and manager at iSuppli. "While a standards battle is brewing in the background, Cavium's focus on video quality and QoS, as well as the company's approach with WiVu resonates with the OEMs due to its alignment with technologies already getting integrated into a broad range of CE devices."

Enabling a Wide Range of Applications

Cavium's WiVu? solution is designed to target a wide range of CE devices and consumer applications. The current implementations of the PureVu? processors already enable OEMs to incorporate WiVu? into many devices including DMC module for notebook and desktop PC, flat panel TVs and monitors, portable displays, blu-ray/DVD players, A/V receivers, STB, tablet and smart phone docking stations, virtual desktop, and stand-alone transmit and receive adapters for legacy CE devices.

Cavium has also developed a series of full hardware and software reference platforms to enable its partners and customers to build WiVu? based solutions quickly, and to build differentiated products for their target market segments. Cost optimized, turn-key reference designs are available for the DMC module, as well as stand-alone transmit and receive adapters. Cavium's ODM partners have been using the associated design files to implement their own prototypes for promotion to their OEM customers.

?As one of the largest ODMs shipping into the wireless display and home video distribution market today, we are very familiar with the market dynamics, technologies, and the players positioning to gain market share,? said Maverick Lee, Director of R&D for Wireless Devices at Pegatron. ?Cavium's WiVu technology offers a unique combination of high video quality over standard WiFi, multi-room coverage, and full interactivity that is in-line with major market requirements, and very suitable for adoption by top PC and CE OEMs.?

About Cavium Networks

Cavium Networks is a leading provider of highly integrated semiconductor products that enable intelligent processing in networking, communications, and digital home applications. Cavium Networks offers a broad portfolio of integrated, software-compatible processors ranging in performance from 10 Mbps to 40 Gbps that enable secure, intelligent functionality in enterprise, data-center, broadband/consumer and access and service provider equipment. Cavium Networks processors are supported by ecosystem partners that provide operating systems, tool support, reference designs and other services. Cavium Networks principal offices are in Mountain View, CA with design team locations in California, Massachusetts, India and Taiwan. For more information, please visit: http://www.caviumnetworks.com.

Cavium Networks
Angel Atondo, 650-623-7033
Marketing Communications Manager
angel.atondo@caviumnetworks.com