Conexant Systems, Inc., a global firm into semiconductor solutions for broadband communications and digital home, has launched what it claims as the industry's smallest-form-factor, PCI Express(TM) 1.0a-compliant and 1.1-ready audio/video (A/V) broadcast decoder.

The CX23885 is targeted at multimedia applications such as watching television or listening to the radio on a personal computer (PC). PCI Express is a serial bus technology that enables cost-effective and scalable video capture on PCs and other consumer electronics devices. The company also announced that it set a new industry milestone, with cumulative shipments of broadcast decoders and encoders exceeding 50 million units, states an official release.

The CX23885 captures and decodes both analog and digital television broadcasts, and supports worldwide audio and video standards. In addition, the single-chip solution integrates all of the functions required to perform television and external A/V capture, the release adds.

"New technologies such as PCI Express are required to support higher-quality multimedia applications on consumer electronics devices," said division director of Convergence Video products for Conexant Al Servati. "Our new A/V decoder provides manufacturers with a single-chip solution that speeds and simplifies the transition to PCI Express, allowing them to bring products to market more quickly and economically."