MaxLinear Inc. announced the MxL21x family of Full-Spectrum Capture(TM) (FSC(TM)) receivers supporting two to four QAM/DVB-C video channels and four DOCSIS(R) 3.0 channels. Cable set-top-box OEMs can use the receivers to design less expensive and less complex STBs that deliver both multi-channel broadcast cable TV services, including personal video recording and fast channel change, and high-speed Internet access for over-the-top (OTT) Internet video plus other data services. The MxL21x family features an FSC-based front-end that receives the full 1 GHz cable spectrum.

The devices support two to four QAM demodulators for transport stream output to a MPEG decoder SoC, and a four-channel wideband intermediate frequency (IF) output for connecting to an Intel Puma5(R) DOCSIS cable modem chip. The device features two I2C buses that enable independent control of the MxL21x devices by both the MPEG SoC and the Intel Puma5. This feature allows the MPEG decoder and the DOCSIS modem to exclusively select the channels needed for video and data, respectively, without the necessity for any communication between the MPEG decoder and DOCSIS chips.

With this dual I2C control capability, the STB designer has complete flexibility in the selection of the MPEG decoder, the ability to develop software for video and data applications independently and a reduced bill of materials cost. The MxL21x family (MxL212, MxL213 and MxL214) also supports remote monitoring functions including signal power levels across the full spectrum and channel equalizer parameter settings. This remote spectrum monitoring capability allows cable MSOs to resolve network problems at customer premises remotely, resulting in substantial savings in customer support and network maintenance costs.