ARM Community: Changing Home Entertainment with Dazzling Graphics and Cool Google Apps - ARM Community

The growth of internet TV and the increased demands on DTVs and STBs started a new era of the home application market. At the various home application exhibitions, the key OEMs are all displaying their latest SmartTVs and STBs, such as Samsung, LG, HiSense and Skyworth. Look at these products closely and you’ll find they are ARM powered! The growing momentum not only has placed the SmartTV at the center of home entertainment, but also changed the structure of the market players.

ARM open source support with Android™ and Linux
With close and continuous collaboration with Google on the ARM architecture and Android system, this combined hardware and software solution attracts more and more Apps developers and enables faster development cycles. ARM launched the Solution Center for Android (SCA) in 2009, which is a centralized resource for the wide range of companies and individuals innovating with Android on the ARM architecture. With more than 175 partners, the SCA is a powerful support for developers working on ARM.

At the heart of Android is Linux, which ARM has also been investing dedicated support. Linaro, founded by ARM, Freescale, IBM, Samsung, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments last year, aims to deliver an optimized ARM Linux-based platform, which provides a smooth software development experience.

Meeting the increasing demand for graphics with Mali
Along with the open source application momentum, the increasing demands for improved graphics further drive the home electronics market. ARM Mali Graphics Processors deliver the highest quality, cutting-edge multimedia solutions that support a wide range of industry standard open APIs. These GPUs provide compatibility and enable developers to develop, port and run applications across multiple platforms. The Mali™-400 MP has been widely used in the SmartTV’s in the market. Not satisfied with the growing success, ARM launched a new generation of Mali GPUs with the Mali-T604 last year, which supports an increased range of APIs for GPU Compute as well as graphics, delivering faster and more power efficient solutions for the future of SmartTV.

ARM Powered Home products
The advanced technology from ARM has already penetrated the European and US markets, and is experiencing a rapid growth in APAC markets, especially in China. During the 3^rd annual Home Application Seminar in June, many Chinese exhibitors displayed their digital TV solutions based on ARM Cortex™ processors and Mali GPUs. The biggest OEMs in China, such as Hisence, Skyworth, have all adapted ARM Cortex-A9 + Mali-400 MP solutions. Below are some recent examples:

Samsung 3D Smart TV
This smart TV allows you to easily access apps from Samsung Apps, a growing collection of web-connected apps specifically built for your TV that connects you to your favorite digital content. These functions and 3D experience benefit from a Cortex processor and Mali GPU-based SoC. SmartTV emphasizes the function of sharing, so software support is the key. Thanks to the Samsung customized Linux Operating System, there are loads of resources that ARM partners can use for Apps development resulting ultimately with consumers benefitting from the wide selection of apps.


HiSense XT68/69 Series Smart TV
HiSense Smart TV provides extensive connectivity functions in addition to supporting the recent wave of 3D TVs in the home. It utilizes Amlogic Multimedia Smart Processor, powered by Cortex-A9 and Mali-400 MP. The operating system is an Android™ based solution, that has been optimized for TV and supports ARM Processor-based devices. The majority of Android games support the OpenGL ®ES interface for which Mali is optimized. Thanks to the SCA, Android Apps developer can search or share Android expertise, solutions and services about the ARM platform, including: Development Tools, Application Development, Turn Key Solutions, Middleware Services and Training. As the resources continue to increase, each partner in the ARM ecosystem benefits from the additional solutions, products and expertise.

Skyworth 3N Convergence Box
Skyworth 3N Convergence Box supports 3 networks integrated services. With Hisilicon’s Hi3716 Super Smart SoC (Cortex–A9 processor-based SoC) inside and a Linux Operating System, this 3N Convergence Box has outstanding hardware performance and powerful HD decoding ability. The features include support of cable TV, VoIP, internet access, 1080p HD decoder and 3d stereo. In addition, Novel SuperTV provides a Conditional Access (CA) system that works in conjunction with another ARM processor based SoC.

Samsung 3D Smart Blu-ray Player
This product integrates the Cortex and Mali processor-based SoC and Linux Operating System. A Smart Hub brings a world of online content to the home entertainment system. Video and music on demand are all in easy reach. It also uses viewing habits to zoom audiences to the content they’re seeking and to recommend new delights with the latest Samsung Apps. The 3D graphics capability brings it to life and shows an amazing dimension that will surely capture audiences’ imagination.

The DTV and STB for today’s consumer is becoming more complex. There are more performance and feature demands being placed including Internet connectivity, 3D graphical user interface and lower electric power consumption. ARM’s Cortex-A series with frequencies of up to 2 GHz per processor and Mali GPUs with exceptionally high pixel fill and geometry processing rates are the integrated solution set to meet the new content demands and have enabled the transition from HDTV to Smart TV. Additionally, the ARM Connected Community provides a wide range of OS, Middleware and tools support. As a result, all of the major semiconductor vendors in the STB and DTV market, including Samsung, Mediatek, Panasonic, LG, and Trident now have access to ARM’s technology and we expect to see increasing penetration of ARM-based devices in this market, as indicated in another blog Interview with ARM’s Home Team on Digital TVs and Set-Top Boxes (STBs).

Wenjun Zhang, Corporate Marketing Contractor, Connected Community Team, ARM. She is working on maintaining and developing the ARM ecosystem. Using social media channels and ARM website platform, she makes effort to share ARM tech-related information among partners and connect them in the ecosystem.