People are now able to easily project their presentation slides, video streams, gaming scenes and other images from their smartphones/tablets onto a big-screen Ultra HD LCD TV and at the same have the mobile devices recharged. An IC design house mastering high frequency serial physical layer circuit design is making this possible with the emerging MHL 3.0 standard using the widely adopted micro USB connection cable in addition to the 60GHz WiHD transmission technology.Leader in audio-visual interface technology and devicesJim Chase, Chief Evangelist at Silicon Image Inc., started his talk by introducing his company, which was founded in 1995 in Sunnyvale, California, and publicly listed on NASDAQ with revenue of US$276.4 million in 2013. Silicon Image owns more than 1,000 patents related to video interface and is an important leader in audio/video interface technologies including HDMI, MHL, and WirelessHD (WiHD).Chase pointed out that many members of the audience may have already been enjoying technology developed by Silicon Image. It is estimated that by 2015, more than 1.3 billion mobile devices, 400 million consumer electronics, and over 500 million personal computers will have Silicon Image's technology and devices built into their systems.According to a report by ABI Research released in fourth-quarter 2013, 10 of the top 15 smartphone manufactures adopted the MHL interface technology, and nine of the top 10 digital TV suppliers used MHL chips. Customers of Silicon Image's MHL chips include well-known manufactures/suppliers of smartphones, tablets, LCD TVs, audio-visual devices, PC, and home electronics.Introducing MHL 3.0 for mobile applications of multi-screen cloud serviceChase explained that MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) is a mobile interface standard for HD display devices established jointly by Nokia, Samsung, Silicon Image, Sony, and Toshiba. An existing micro USB cable can be used to transmit 1920x1080 at 60Hz (1080p60) high definition video combined with 7.1 surround-sound audio, driven by TMDS signals from a mobile device to an LCD TV if they each embed an MHL chip. In the meantime, the mobile device, such as a smartphone, can be charged with the power from the LCD TV through the MHL connection. Over 500 million mobile devices including smartphones and tablets in the world to date have adopted the MHL interface standard.The MHL Consortium announced MHL 3.0 in August 2013, which offers plug-and-play feature in addition to transmission of UHD (3840x2160) signal output with no delay, support for HDCP 2.2 for content protection against piracy, and enhanced 7.1 surround-sound audio. MHL 3.0 also supports simultaneous data transmission and touch screen control. The power consumption is as low as 10W, and the data rate is also higher. With MHL 3.0, a user can connect a smartphone to an in-vehicle infotainment device for control and to output audio-visual content to the on-board display.Chase indicated Internet streaming media provider Netflix started offering UHD video streams in first-quarter 2014 and Sony will begin video streaming services in second-quarter 2014. YouTube and M-GO plan to kick off support for UHD mobile video streaming in 2014. Furthermore, Samsung's UHD TV S9, launched the day before 2014 CES, adopts MHL 3.0 technology from Silicon Image to deliver superior new audio-visual experience with UHD at 60fps. Sony Xperia Z2 smartphone, Xperia Z2 tablet, and XBR 950B series UHD TV are also to incorporate the MHL 3.0 specification.MHL 3.0 UHD solutions by Silicon ImageChase presented Silicon Image's MHL 3.0 connection solutions targeting the UHD ecosystem, including Sil8620 UHD/MHL 3.0 transmitter, featuring parallel operation of USB data transmission and HID control, along with HDCP 2.2 video output; Sil9394 bridge/dock IC, featuring a UHD/MHL 3.0 to HDMI 2.0 bridge, and parallel operation of USB data transmission and HID control, along with HDCP 2.2 video output; Sil6031 multimedia switch IC, supporting UHD video output and switching between an MHL 3.0 port and two USB ports.Chase commented MHL has become a major standard for mobile device connection interfaces. There have been more than 300 MHL-enabled products including TVs, audio-visual devices, desktop PCs, notebooks, smartphones, and tablets, totaling over 500 million units manufactured by 200 suppliers in 16 industries. It is estimated that in 2014, 26% of Android smartphones by 17 manufactures will incorporate MHL technology, and the most affordable MHL phone among those is priced at US$150. In addition, over 40% of digital TVs by 20 suppliers will support MHL in 2014.MHL specification supports connection to big screen TVs for purposes including enhancing home entertainment experience, boosting production through image projection for commercial use, connecting mobile devices to in-vehicle infotainment systems, and promoting development of devices for cloud applications. For example, the ROKU Streaming Stick delivering on-demand video, Dell's Project Ophelia, and Sony's Bravia all incorporate the MHL interface, transforming a digital TV into full-featured Android smart TV.Moreover, automobile electronics manufacturers including Pioneer, Kenwood, JVC, Clarion, Alpine, Sony, SoundMAX, Mitsubishi, Daein Tech, and Harman Kardon are also prepared to launch in-vehicle infotainment devices supporting MHL interface.60GHz WiHD mobile solutionsLG, Panasonic, NEC, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba together with SiBeam, the only IC supplier in the group, were the founding members of the WirelessHD(WiHD) Consortium, established in October, 2006, with Intel and Broadcom joining later on. WiHD (IEEE 802.15c) is a specification for in-room transmission of uncompressed 1080p60 HD display (within a 10-meter distance) in the 60 GHz Extremely High Frequency band with data rates reaching 28Gbps. Eleven manufactures have adopted WiHD technology to develop related products/applications. The WiHD specification was finalized in 2008 with products entering the market in 2009.Chase indicated the 60GHz WirelessHD specification is a wireless transmission solution that prevents interference with 2.4/5GHz WiFi frequency band with minimum delay. It is limited to point-to-point in-room or indoor transmission. The WirelessHD specification also uses smart antenna with direction of arrival (DOA) estimation to enhance transmission performance. After acquiring SiBeam in May 2011, Silicon Image has become one of the few companies capable of providing 60GHz wireless transmission technology.Chase mentioned the third generation WiHD transceiver module, developed with Sil6310 WiHD chip, comes in a PCBA with only half the length of its previous generation, thereby offering lower costs, less power consumption, and compact design space. The UltraGig6400 chip, in a compact 10mm x 7mm SIP package, is even reduced in PCBA dimension by a further 50% from the third generation. UltraGig6400 integrates built-in Sil6400, antenna, and other RF transceiver devices. Sil6400, targeting mobile devices including tablets and smartphones, features a maximum power consumption as low as 500mW to deliver powerful wireless transmission of audio-visual signals with low cost and low energy consumption for mobile devices.Alienware's M14 gaming notebooks, Epson's EH projector, Sony's HMZ-T3W head mount display, and wireless A/V transmission boxes including DVDO Air3 and Gefen wireless adapter are among the products that currently adopt WiHD solutions from Silicon Image.Jim Chase, chief evangelist at Silicon Image

Since Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, the industry has clearly moved toward the direction of mobile Internet. Shipments of tablets have exceeded those of notebooks, but the tablet growth has already lost its momentum. Smartphones and emerging wearable devices are still the focus of the mobile market. Platform providers' operation strategies and business models will determine whether they can continue to play a key role in the mobile Internet and Internet of Things (IoT) industry.iPhone and iPad set mobile Internet in motionJoanne Chien, director and senior analyst at Digitimes Research, indicated that the development of mobile Internet device market and industry took off after Apple launched its iPhone in 2007. The iPhone competed with traditional mobile phones, as well as notebooks. The launch of the iPad in 2010 unleashed a second wave of competition between tablets and notebooks. From 3G to 4G LTE mobile communication amid the growing popularity of white-box tablets and smartphones, the entire industry has changed even more dramatically.Digitimes Research estimates that approximately 234 million tablet computers were shipped worldwide in 2014, which exceeded the global notebook shipment volume and accounted for 20% of the mobile device market. The volume of 1.24 billion smartphones shipped this year is a clear indication where the mainstream is. Notebooks will face competition from the Intel tablet/notebook combo devices as well as the 12-inch large-screen tablets. In the future, it is possible for a smartphone to become a mobile computing center with the tablet, notebook, and keyboard serving as smartphone accessories. However, smartphones will face competition from large-screen phablets, such as the Asus Fonepad, and white-box tablets with phone call functions from China.Samsung, Apple, Lenovo, and Sony are the big players among the world's top 20 brands of mobile devices. There are nine other Chinese brands among the top-20, with Huawei in sixth place. Taiwanese brands Asus, HTC and Acer are 11th, 14th, and 15th, respectively. Meanwhile, Taiwan brands are losing ground in the tablet and smartphone markets. The growing popularity of transformer tablets and large-screen tablets has created much pressure on Taiwan firms.Tablet and notebook markets turn sluggish; smartphone growth remain strong with China white-box vendors rising fastChien indicated that the combined quarterly shipment volume for notebooks and tablets increased from 7.364 million in first-quarter 2012 to 9,764 million in fourth-quarter 2013. Tablet shipments showed a slowing growth with an annual increase of only 12.1%. The ratio of notebooks in the combined shipment volume slipped quarter-by-quarter. Meanwhile, since the second half of 2013, notebook shipment growth has been driven mainly by low-cost models.She also pointed out that it remains to be seen whether shipments for detachable 2-in-1 tablets can break two major thresholds: 5 million units in 2014 and over 10 million units in 2015. The key is the price and size (whether 12-inch and larger models will be launched), and whether vendors other than Acer and Asus will actively invest in this area.In terms of brand-name tablet shipments worldwide from 2012-2014, the top vendor, Apple, has seen decreases, while second-place Samsung has seen increases. The shipment volumes for third- place Lenovo and fifth-place Asus have exceeded 10 million units. The shipment volumes for sixth- place Amazon and seventh-place Acer have been stable, while fourth-place Google, eighth-place Microsoft and ninth-place HP have all seen declines. The tablet market will be dominated by the top-3 hardware brands in 2014.Intel has stepped up its efforts, investing more in R&D, providing marketing subsidies, and reducing the prices of its processors. It is estimated that shipments for tablets that use the Intel Atom Z processors will reach 29.08 million units in 2014. Annual shipments for Windows 8/RT tablets will decline to 3.5 million units. If Microsoft cancels the Windows 8/RT licensing fees, the detachable models and the 7-inch low-cost models will gain more grounds. And Digitimes Research estimates that the shipment volume for white-box Windows tablets will exceed 9.9 million units in 2014.In terms of smartphones, China-based brands have been rising fast: Lenovo now ranks number three, while sixth-place Huawei may make it to the top-5. China-based vendors' combined shipments - both to the domestic and overseas markets - will increase to 405.1 million units in 2014 from 23 million units in 2010. Xiaomi Technology unique online marketing has made it the number-one domestic brand in China, which has prompted other foreign and domestic brands, such as Asus, Huawei, Coolpad and ZTE, to create sub-brands specifically for the online sales. However, their online efforts have been hampered by conflicts with their distribution operations, such as pricing schemes, in physical retail channels.The third wave of mobile Internet to be driven by wearable devices and IoTChien indicated that the wearable device industry and IoT will jointly lead the third wave of restructuring of the mobile Internet market in 2014. Wearable devices form a personal "Internet of You" for individual users, and its value lies on services such as the seamless, self-tracking, and environmentally integrated personal data analysis and prediction.The key to success for the wearable industry may be down to two factors. First, the business model: vendors must design services that appeal to consumers and may have to offer subsidies for both services and hardware. Second, the personal link: wearables are devices whose appeal is built on functions and appearances, brand value and image, as well as marketing gimmicks (which, for instance, separate them from conventional electronics outlets and move them into boutique-like stores). She believes that the Google Glass and Wear, the iWatch that is expected to be launched by Apple, and other vertical integrated applications can help the entire wearable industry go beyond the electronics market.US mobile platform operatorsChien indicated that the three major mobile platforms (Microsoft, Google, and Amazon) have their own focus: Microsoft's core business is software licensing; Google's revenues come mainly from advertising; and Amazon focuses on online retail and digital content.In terms of business strategy, Amazon works like a combination of Google, Apple and WalMart. It has launched its own "Googlized" online shopping Android platform (Amazon.com) and related devices (such as smart TVs and smartphones). They also support other mobile device platforms, allowing its own applications or digital content marketplace to spread out across different platforms.Google's strategy is to drive down the prices for segments that it cannot dominate, flexibly adjust the strategies for its own-brand devices at any time, and expand hardware brand vendors' involvement. It subsidizes hardware vendors or channel retailers so that prices can be driven down to boost unit sales volume. At present, Google has high market shares in the mobile phone and tablet markets, but its market shares are low in notebook, wearable device, home automation, and robot markets.After acquiring Nokia's mobile phone business, Microsoft has built a core operation surrounding its Devices and Studios unit with support from three other major engineering departments. But Nokia still offers Android-based Nokia X series smartphones, the search engine Bing and the Here map service are still licensed to other Android device makers and the Office Mobile is still licensed to the Apple iPhone and other iOS devices. This is creating conflicts for Microsoft's mobile device and service plans.Chien concluded that services and transformation of mobile devices have become Microsoft's new focus. Google and Amazon still focus on online advertising and online retail. On the hardware side, Microsoft remains the leader in terms of revenues generated by own-brand shipments, followed by Amazon, and then Google. Google is still leading the wearable device market; Amazon stays focused on the smartphone segment in the meantime; and Microsoft's mobile platform has lagged behind and its share remains low, which will affect its development in the wearable device market.Joanne Chien, director and senior analyst at Digitimes Research

USB 3.0 provides 5Gbps of data throughput, which is 10x faster than USB 2.0, and USB 3.0 provides additional power for charging mobile devices. It has been rapidly adopted into all mainstream PCs and many peripheral applications today. While USB 3.0 breaks new grounds and enables several new applications, there are still some areas where USB 3.0 does not provide enough performance, and that is when dealing with fast SSD and UHD video transmissions. With various other transmission interfaces, such as the MHL, HDMI, Display Port, Wi-Di/Wi-Gig, and Thunderbolt, facing challenges, the USB-IF has developed the next-generation USB 3.1 specification that provides a 10Gbp transmission speed and has also developed a new USB connector specification called Type-C that is optimized for mobile devices. The new connector is able to provide enhanced video and audio transmissions as well as increasing the charging current. With the combination of USB 3.1 and the new connector, mobile devices may become unified with a common interface.PC is transitioning towards personalized computingDavid Hsu, Associate VP of Product Marketing for VIA Labs, Inc. (VLI), indicated that VLI has positioned itself as a USB 3.0 market leader for the past five years. The USB Type-C connector has generated much buzz in the industry and was actually jointly proposed by Apple, Google, Intel, and Microsoft to the USB-IF Association based on the mobile device trends. And VLI was the only IC firm from Taiwan invited to discussions arranged by USB-IF.While there has been much speculation about the possibility of the personal computer (PC) market consolidating with only tablets and notebooks remaining, Hsu believes that the trend of the future should be observed in terms of personalized computing. All of the mobile devices are still actually based on the PC platform with CPUs, chipsets and peripheral support. But it's like buying a car: consumers' needs will give rise to various additional purchase choices.Pros and cons of various interfaces: An attempt to create the perfect peripheral connectionHsu mentioned that today's tablets already have four-core or even eight-core CPU computing capabilities. The only difference is that tablets do not have the powerful peripheral expansion capability as that of PCs or notebooks. If USB 3.0 hubs can be used to connect the related peripherals, tablets can do any work that any PC or notebook can do. Hsu showed a table comparing the applications and conveniences provided by the various peripherals. The widely known consumer interfaces currently on the market are HDMI, Display Port, MHL Wi-Di (Cast), Bluetooth, Wi-Gig, Dock Port, and Thunderbolt. The list provided compared these interfaces in terms of data transmission, audio transmission, video transmission, power charging, peripheral input, hardware cost, etc. The results indicated that each interface has its own strengths and application preferences, but they are still not perfect when compared to the USB 3.0 and USB Type-C connector.USB 3.0 performs better in terms of data transfer, audio, external power supply, and peripheral input; and its hardware cost is low. The only area where it has mediocre performance is in video transmission, where CPU compression is required. The new USB Type-C connector has made significant improvements on video transmission, and can synchronize data transmission and sound/video output without delay. It supports stronger charging functions, and is expected to become the unified and perfect peripheral interface choice that can satisfy all of the application needs.Current market conditions of USB 3.x and the new USB specificationsHsu indicated that the transmission speed of USB 3.1 will increase to 10Gbps and will adopt the 128b/132b encoding. The theoretical transfer rate is 1 GB/s, which is 2.4 times faster than the actual tested speed of 400MB/s provided by USB 3.0 with 5Gbps and 8b/10b encoding. The new USB Power Delivery (UPD 2.0) can provide 5/12/20V of voltage and 3/5A of current output, with the overall charging power at 35/65/100W.The newly designed USB Type-C connector can integrate the user experiences and offer "one connector for all mobile devices." Its interface size is 24-pin, 8.3 x 2.5 mm, supporting tens of thousands plug times and having waterproof and non-directional plug-and-play features. The type-C connector supports 5V/3A output (15W), and can provide an even higher power charge output when additional power delivery chips/circuits are used. It does not need OTG controller chips to perform USB primary/secondary control switching, can directly incorporate DisplayPort signals, and supports UHD (3840 x 2160) video output.VLI will launch USB 3.1-related products this year and is expected to launch Type-C connector products next year. Type-C will bring significant convenience in the future for mobile phone and tablet users. A single port that can transmit data, high-definition videos and audios to both mobile phones and tablets, as well as providing fast power charging.VLI's hub chips roadmapCurrently, in terms of USB 3.0/3.1 hub product planning, VLI has already begun mass producing the VL811+ chip for the USB 3.0 four-port hub that supports smart charging. Based on the same designs, the VL812 chip also contains built-in DC-to-DC transformer circuits. Before the USB 3.1 Type-C specification was finalized, VLI already proposed the VL210 chip to develop the fourth generation hub products. This product will have one USB 3.0 and three USB 2.0 ports. The target market segment is docking station devices for smartphones and tablets to provide excellent charging capabilities while integrating the human interface device (HID) controls. Users can have a universal docking station that is not restricted by an organization; provides USB 3.0 to VGA output as well as USB audio output; accepts touch panel/keyboard/mouse inputs; and supports OTG as well as the USB host ACA charging functions.It is anticipated that the VL818 chip launched by the end of 2014 will have a built-in 100/1000 Mbps Ethernet and provide a 5Gbps 4-Port hub, SD 3.0 card reader, smart charging functions, and intelligent control features. VL820 will be launched in the first quarter of 2015, which will support USB 3.1 4-port products.Hsu stressed that VLI has won the official Know Good Hub (KGH) certification by the USB-IF Association two years in a row as well as Microsoft's Windows 8.1 and Windows RT WHQL certifications. VLI has launched the WHQL-certified Microsoft USB Test Engineering Board (SuperMUTT Pack) for R&D on its official website for US$249.Finally, Hsu mentioned that there are currently SDP, CDP, DCP, and vendor-specific USB charging specifications. The main focus of the exclusive charging specification is charging modes that provide greater than 1.5A of current. The VP200 charging chips mass produced by VLI adopt the 16QFN (3x3mm) package design; have the Power Switch/Data Switch circuits, adjustable current limits, auto-detected D+/D- modes; support the BC 1.2 DCP/CDP/SDP protocol as well as Apple 2.4A and Samsung's fast charge models. They can be used as USB fast-charging ports in desktop and notebook PCs.In addition, the VP201 charging chips adopt the ESOP 8 package with automatic current limit adjustment and large current power drop compensation features. They support DCP models as well as Apple 2.4A and Samsung 1.2V models. They can be applied to car chargers, power chargers, mobile power banks, and charging stations. It is anticipated that VP202 samples unveiled the third quarter will adopt the SOT 23-6 package. They provide exclusive dual-port USB charging electrical control circuit, support DCP models, Apple 2.4A and Samsung 1.2V models. They can be applied to car chargers, power chargers, mobile power banks, and charging stations.David Hsu, Associate VP of Product Marketing for VIA Labs, Inc.

The video surveillance industry, which is closely tied to security in our everyday lives, is currently undergoing a transition from traditional analog CCTV to digital IP camera technologies. The surveillance industry is also showing a clear trend toward mobile applications, wireless applications, as well as home-oriented applications. The primary goal for the current video surveillance industry is to find a way to secure key components and software/hardware integration technologies, incorporate integrated software and cloud services, integrate tablets and mobile phones, and to penetrate into the average home, thereby making mobile applications even more widespread.During the first session in the Mobile Technology Forum, Kyle Chang, President of AverLogic Technologies Corp., gave a speech titled "The Next Step for the Security and Surveillance Industry." He first introduced AverLogic's history: It was established in Taiwan in 1998 and began listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in December of 2012 (ticker number 6198). AverLogic has two R&D centers, one in the Taipei Neihu Technology Park and the other in Silicon Valley, the US. Its main products include video frame buffer memory (FIFO), video conversion ICs, LCD display controller ICs, and surveillance system controller ICs. Its current customers include Pelco, Philips, Sony, and so on. Many of the companies listed in ASMAG's 2013 Top Security 50 are loyal users of AverLogic's ICs.With many years of experience in the video surveillance market, Chang subsequently introduced the status and issues of surveillance industry in terms of the scale and product categories of the professional video and surveillance market, distribution in the 2014 professional video surveillance market, primary functions and applications of current video surveillance products, issues that remain to be solved in terms of network IP cameras, and issues that remain to be solved in the overall video surveillance industry.Digital surveillance products are mainstream in the marketAccording to data from IMS Research, the scale of the video surveillance product market will grow from more than US$10 billion in 2011 to over US$25 billion in 2016. Further estimations indicate that out of the video surveillance camera products of 2014, 41% will be traditional analog surveillance cameras, 47% digital network surveillance cameras, and 12% of other types; in 2016, digital network surveillance cameras will account for 55% of video surveillance cameras, while traditional analog surveillance cameras will drop to 35%.Regional analysis of the professional video surveillance market shows that the scale of the Asia-Pacific market is the largest, accounting for 30% of the global market. Western Europe accounts for 27%, North America 22%, and all other areas 21%. The top 50 suppliers account for 83% of total sales in the overall global market.Chang indicated that out of the main functions of current video surveillance products and applications, mainstream digital IP cameras primarily provide high resolution, multiple video streaming, as well as remote access and storage, while the primary functions of digital video recorders (DVRs) include high-capacity storage, the ability to connect to traditional CCTV analog cameras, and the ability to connect to and receive video from digital IP Cameras or even 720p/1080p HD cameras. DVRs are also capable of providing remote access and storage, and overall system integration of the surveillance environment, with primary applications found in public environments (such as apartment building communities) as well as in fixed installation locations.Of all professional surveillance products, IP cameras are closest to mobile devices. The problems with current IP cameras include difficult installation, high power consumption, occupying network bandwidth, complex software configurations, as well as backend storage equipment being extremely large and complex. The issues the entire video surveillance industry is facing are: (1) Fierce market competition, with products lacking segmentation and differentiation. (2) Lack of optimization for specific applications. (3) Requiring installation and operation by professional personnel. (4) Lack of suitable solutions for the average-home market. These are all issues that need to be addressed and overcome.He pointed out that judging from the trends in the current video surveillance market, there is extremely high demand for home-oriented applications. In addition, with the widespread penetration of mobile phones and tablets, the availability of wireline networking and 4G LTE mobile communications, as well as the gradual maturing of the technological environment, professional video surveillance vendors must think about their next move in terms of avoiding specification wars, creating a new innovative market, solving current problems, and advancing towards mobile, wireless, and home-oriented applications.Video surveillance becoming mobile and penetrating into the average homeChang pointed out that video surveillance solutions vendors have already developed technologies that take advantage of 3G UMTS/4G LTE mobile communications, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n wireless LAN, Bluetooth, and RF components, compressing real-time video, transmitting it to the Internet, and displaying images on users' the smartphones or tablets. With the rise of 4G high-speed mobile communications, cloud applications, and IoT, the bottleneck of insufficient network bandwidth will gradually be eliminated.With the earlier introduction of CIF (352x240) and Sony 960H CCD image sensor devices for IP cameras, there is now a race to support 720p HD, 1080p FHD, and UHD specifications. He pointed out that the next step for the video surveillance market will be to advance toward mobile device utilization, wirelss connection and home-oriented applications. . Video surveillance products will be required to include features that facilitate home caregiving, health management, the ability to connect with mobile devices, the ability to integrate with wearable devices, the ability to integrate with 3G and 4G networks, as well as support for IoT applications. New and innovative markets for vendors to develop include the smart home market, the outdoor recreation and entertainment market, the wearable devices market, and the personal healthcare information market.Securing key video surveillance technologiesAs Chang pointed out, key technologies required by the current video surveillance market include the ability to integrate transmission interfaces such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, RF component, as well as 3G and 4G mobile communications. Required technologies also include the ability to optimize power consumption and computing performance, microcontrollers that are just right for the job, as well as video codec processing technologies that support JPEG, MP4, H.264, H.265, 1080p FHD, and UHD. Finally, integrated software services need to be combined with integrated cloud services in order to meet market requirements. AverLogic's newly introduced AL582 video processing IC solution features rich video interface and video conversion, high-performance HD H.264 compression and decompression, environmentally-friendly and energy-saving, highly integrated SoCs, multifunctional control interface/network interface/storage interface, as well as comprehensive technical support and software development kits.In response to the video surveillance market trending towards mobile, wireless, and smart -home-oriented applications, AverLogic's newest AL582 video processing ICs can be used in IP cameras, dedicated mobile monitors, dome security cameras, DVRs, as well as professional infrared cameras, integrating with cloud services vendors to allow users to achieve video surveillance, home/child/pet monitoring, and remote control/home automation via their mobile phones, tablets, and cars. It also enables recording real-time video from wearable devices, such as smart glasses, and transmitting those videos wirelessly to the cloud as well as to mobile phones, thereby creating even more value for the customer.Kyle Chang, President of AverLogic Technologies

People's living environments have changed from the ancient caves to the buildings, mansions, and skyscrapers along with the evolution of the technological civilization. Homes are no longer just shelters or recreation areas for listening to music or watching TV. We have now entered a new era where low-cost, low-power, high-density, miniaturized wireless connectivity solutions are the norm. We can combine all ICT devices at home using multi-screen cloud applications, such as those for automatic appliances, remote voice and gesture control, and wearable devices. These innovations will give birth to more wireless applications and create unlimited business opportunities.Definitions of homes and the evolution and evolvement of designsVijay Nagarajan, Director of Product Marketing for the Wireless Connectivity Group of Broadcom Corporation, noted in a recently speech how human habitations have evolved from the caves in 100,000 BC to the common three-story brick buildings in the early 20th century, which later evolved into taller buildings with elevators, and then multi-floor skyscrapers that were connected by foot bridges.In addition to the residential patterns, people's demand for audio-visual content has also been growing rapidly. According to a May 2013 Cisco VNI research, it is estimated that the total global Internet traffic bandwidth will reach up to 786Tera bps by 2017, which is equivalent to having 720 million people streaming HD (1280X720p) videos simultaneously or having video clips with lengths totaling five million years played through the Internet each month. By the end of 2017, the total global Internet traffic will reach 1.4 Zettabytes.Nagarajan cited a well-known smart home in 2014 as an example to explain the concept: a smart home generally has a 50-inch or larger LCD TV with a Blu-ray player in the TV cabinet, and the air conditioning, lighting and curtains are all controlled through touch-enabled human-machine interfaces. According to predictions made by research institutions such as ABI and Juniper Research in 2013, a total of 70 million wearable devices will be sold by 2017, and a total of 30 billion devices will be wirelessly connected to each other by 2020.Accordingly, Broadcom estimates that in 2020, smart homes not only will have connected TVs, desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones; even the washing machines, refrigerators, ovens, cooktops, kitchens, etc. will all be connected to the Internet and interconnected to each other wirelessly.As we approach the Internet of Things, connectivity is vitalNagarajan indicated that connectivity is vital regardless whether it is through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC or MCU; and they must satisfy the unique features of low-power, low-cost, and smaller size. Broadcom proposed the Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED) platform concept in April 2013 to provide customers with a comprehensive flexible and customizable solution to help build a broader Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.At present, WICED comprises three application platforms: WICED Bridge, WICED Beacon, and WICED Audio. Whether it is for health care, home automation, or wearable devices, WICED is able to provide complete application solutions.Nagarajan played a short WICED video to introduce the states of home networking applications, including: gesture-control smart rings developed by Nod Labs; Samsung's Galaxy Gear smart watch and smartphone remote-controlled air-conditioning systems; the Leap PAD Ultra Wi-Fi-enabled low-power education tablets for children; Nest Labs' mobile phone-controlled smoke and lighting controllers, as well as self-learning temperature controls; the MyQ Garage smart garage sensors developed by Chamberlain Company with which users can open/close the garage door remotely using a smartphone and receive alerts when the garage has been broken into; the Wi-Fi home control system developed by Honeywell whereby uses can use a tablet/cell phone to control home lighting, air conditioning, as well as gardening automation where the paths of sprinkler sprays can be adjusted through the Internet; and the LIFX LED lamps whereby the color temperatures, light colors, and brightness, and the switching on/off can be controlled via a mobile phone and Wi-Fi.Routers - the nerve center of the connected homeNagarajan mentioned that the router is the most critical device for home networking. For example, multimedia devices such as multimedia players, remote controls, headphones, digital TVs, network storage devices, home appliances, set-top boxes, 3D glasses, printers, game consoles, Blu-ray Disc players, thin clients, and personal health care devices must use a router as the gateway in order to be interconnected.At present, routers must be able to transmit video signals and data, meeting the needs of a full range of networking devices, and covering home automation applications as well as behind-the-scene operation features. In the future, routers must have faster connection speeds and broader scopes in order to enable easier connectivity and access to wireless services. And the 5G Wi-Fi wireless networking technology will be the best solution to meet the needs of home networking.The 5G Wi-Fi wireless networking technology, or officially the 802.11ac standard, uses a higher frequency spectrum and wider operating bandwidth. It has evolved from the BPSK to the 256-QAM modulation and decoding technology, providing the Gbps wireless networking speed. It has also incorporated the STBC as well as LDPC data recovery and beam forming technologies. This technology can provide greater coverage, and stronger reception signals for terminal devices, and increase stability.Creating the world's fastest wireless routerNagarajan indicated that Broadcom proposed the 5G Wi-Fi XSTREAM router architecture in April of this year. The router uses the five- core 2.96GHz microprocessor architecture; has two sets of 80MHz operation bandwidth channels; provides two sets of 3x3 11ac and one set of 3x3 11n operation channels; implements six antennas/six data streams; and adopts advanced technologies such as SmartConnect, AnyBeam, and TurboQAM. Compared to that of the commercially available Wi-Fi certified devices, the 5G Wi-Fi XSTREAM router architecture can provide double or even triple the connection performance and can enhance the MU-MIMO multi-antenna multi-user operating performance by up to 50%.In a comparison demo, Nagarajan connected six devices (two MacBook Pros, one 1x1 11ac Galaxy S4, one 2x2 11ac Galaxy S5, and two 1x1 11n iPhone 5s) to the fastest 802.11ac router on the market today and to a new router based on the 5G WI-FI XSTREAM architecture new router. The devices were connected to the two routers simultaneously. The connection rates for the routers indicated that the XSTREAM architecture can at least double the actual connection speeds for each connected device, and can at least triple the actual connection speeds for each connected devices that support the 3x3(3Streams) 11ac, such as the MacBook Pro.Finally, Nagarajan mentioned that the six-antenna RT-AC3200 router launched by Asus in June at COMPUTEX TAIPEI is the best example of Broadcom's 5G WI-FI XSTREAM architecture. With its six streams of 11ac (433x6 = 2,600 Mbps) and three streams of 11n/TurboQAM (150x3 x 1.33 = 600 Mbps) total connection bandwidth, it is the wireless router with the fastest connection rate/total bandwidth in the world.Vijay Nagarajan, Director of Product Marketing for the Wireless Connectivity Group of Broadcom Corporation

Marvell Semiconductor who started up in hard drive controller has actively expanded its procut porfolio of storage devices, networking and communications, connectivity, mobile communications and consumer electronics. It has been offering software and hardware designs for six types of end devices for five categories of cloud, providing completed services for silicon component vendors, manufacturers, software developers, as well as system integrators, in achieving its "Smart Life and Smart Lifestyle" vision.Software and hardware integration for six types of end devices in five cloudsAccording to Weining Gan, Chief Solution Architect at Marvell Semiconductor, Marvell was established in Silicon Valley in 1995, and is the world's top-five fabless semiconductor company with branches in Silicon Valley, Shanghai, Israel, Europe, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and Korea. Its products span across storage, networking, communications, connectivity components, mobile communications and consumer electronics sectors shipping billion chips sold each year.Marvell focuses on six types of end devices used in five types of cloud environments: 1. Smart TVs; 2. PCs/Chromebook laptops; 3. Tablets; 4. Mobile phones; 5. Wearable devices; and 6. IoT equipment. It is also engaged in products for operator router equipment in Internet infrastructure clouds, CE routers for enterprise users, 4G LTE/Wi-Fi network connectivity components for the mobile cloud, as well as broadband modems for home clouds. A total of 70% of global SSD controller ICs are from Marvell, and it introduced the first ARM server to the market. Marvell is also the second-largest silicon component supplier for data centers.End-to-end mobile cloud hardware and software solutionsSilicon components used in mobile devices, such as PC/Chromebooks, tablets, mobile phones, wearable devices, and IoT devices, include application processors, graphics controllers, cellular modem ICs, RF radio ICs, Wi-Fi 802.11 wireless networking ICs, Bluetooth chips, NFC ICs, GPS chips, microcontrollers, and sensor hub ICs, said Gan.Licensed frequency band RANs such as those of 4G/LTE involve the microwave equipment required for the backhaul network and PON equipment and front-haul base station technology for the future cloud RAN. Metropolitan transmissions backbones take advantage of IP RAN (L3 VPN) and PTN (L2 VPN) technologies, as well as LTE back-end Evolved Packet Core (EPC). In unlicensed (Wi-Fi) RAN architecture, a portion of the customer front-end goes through the 4G LTE or WiFi and transitions to wireline IP RAN/PTN backbone network at intermediate base stations. For the last mile, it goes back to 4G LTE/Wi-Fi to the broadband modem or small cell of the user.Backbone networks connecting nations and continents use IP/MPLS multiprotocol label switching and OTN/DWDM fiber-optic long-range transmissions technologies. Marvell provides silicon components used by the aforementioned technologies including high-performance multi-core processors, network processors, integrated packet processors, high-capacity switching fiber-optic equipment, high-speed Ethernet switches, high-speed Ethernet physical layer IP, 10G PON passive fiber-optic network components, as well as H.hn G.fast components.Gan pointed out that the data centers operators such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Baidu, and Tencent, regardless of what clustering architectures they use, all require silicon component such as high-performance multicore processors, network processors, integrated packet processors, high-capacity fiber-optic switching equipment, high-speed Ethernet switches, as well as high-speed Ethernet physical layer components.Evolution of data centers and status of market ecosystemThe data center industry ecosystem, Gan pointed out, is composed of system software, application software, maintenance services, silicon components, system design and contracted manufacturers. Traditional data centers first went through system design by system vendors who also selected the system software and maintenance services. Then, they looked up to silicon component suppliers to provide ICs components, contract manufacturers to establish production contracts, application software developers to be responsible for a portion of the maintenance services. Server and computing systems vendors include those from IBM, HP, and Dell; storage device vendors include EMC, NetApp, and Hitachi; networking and communications equipment were provided by Cisco, Juniper, Brocade, and etc.Data centers designed under traditional vendor differentiation can increase the value of system developers but are not able to reduce subsequent data center operating costs, which is why the new "vanity free" design concept is impacting the entire industry ecosystem. With silicon ICs/components, CM/ODM, and maintenance services determined during the system design phase as well as system software implemented based on open source codes integrated with in-house software, vanity free data center designs can significantly reduce early-phase costs as well as operating expenses.Gan said that the most famous vanity free project is Facebook's Open Compute Project (OCP) which establishes one of the most efficient computing infrastructures at the lowest possible cost. Its servers are vanity free in order to reduce the cost of computing nodes, while the design of its storage system is also segmented to include low-cost storage device areas, thereby building a highly energy efficient data center. Virtual IO is used to design open and scalable computing resources, with remote control management tools designed to ensure solid hardware management. In addition, certification standards are also designed for solutions providers.Between April 2011 and April 2012, OPC open computing centers totaling 300,000 square feet in floor space were built in Prineville, Oregon, and Forest City, North Carolina, respectively. In 2014, another OCP data center opened in Lulea, Sweden which occupies a plot of land totaling 968,000 square feet. At the end of 2014, there will be 1.4 million-square foot OCP data center in Altoona, Iowa. Vanity free design brings an additional 38% of energy efficiency in computing and save an additional 24% in costs.Marvell buildse end-to-end industry ecosystemGan also pointed out that Marvell has built a consolidated end-to-end industry ecosystem centered around customer demand. Marvell provides fundamental silicon solutions as well as box-level solutions for manufacturing services to the CM/OEM/ODM. Marvell also engages in application-level solutions in collaboration with independent software vendors.He concluded that Marvell provides complete silicon components, software and hardware resource including multicore application processors, system software, wireless networking components, and Ethernet physical layer connectivity components for mobile phone, as well as the packet processors needed by switches, the network processors needed for network packet control, and control panels, thereby enhancing the end user experiences.Weining Gan, Chief Solution Architect at Marvell Semiconductor

From the Xiaomi tablet running on NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor to Asus' 5-in-1 Transformer notebook, a new mobile device specification war is raging. The various new technologies, such as 4K Ultra HD, USB 3.1 Type C, 802.11ac, WiGig, and WiHD will bring new technological challenges to product developers. In collaboration with the organizer of Computex Taipei 2014, Digitimes organized the "DTF2014 Mobile Summit" on June 4 at the Taipei International Convention Center. There were guest speakers from Broadcom, Marvell, VIA Lab, Wilocity, Corning, AverLogic, Silicon Image, and DTS, discussing a wide range of topics. They analyzed technology and applications trends, showing R&D engineers how they could incorporate the latest mobile technologies and designs into their product developments.Digitimes Mobile Summit, Computex Taipei 2014