January 8, 2013« back to press releases

Marvell and Global Consumer Electronics Leader Hisense Introduce New Generation of Smart TVs and Set-top Boxes for Google TV

Marvell’s award-winning ARMADA 1500 series SoC platform continues to lead the way for global OEMs to deliver high-performance, low power and affordable Smart TV devices for the mass market

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, Jan. 8, 2013 – Marvell (Nasdaq: MRVL) today announced that the award-winning Marvell^® ARMADA^® 1500 Series SoC platform (88DE3100) is at the core of new Google TV products from Hisense, including the Hisense Pulse and the XT780 Smart TV series. Hisense’s expanding US footprint underscores Marvell’s role in a growing global ecosystem for Google TV-enabled entertainment. Marvell and Hisense will demonstrate the new products, including the XT780 which has been recognized as a CES Innovations 2013 Design and Engineering Award Honoree, at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in booths 31423 (South Hall 3) and 7243 (Central Hall), respectively.

“Our vision, belief, and tireless effort have enabled a breakthrough in Smart TVs and Google TVs with high-performance, high-quality, low power, and cost effective semiconductor solutions for revolutionary entertainment experiences on the Big Smart Screen in homes around the world. Today, Marvell is extremely proud to see our hard work and collaboration with Google and our partner companies lead to the milestone of Hisense’s entry into the Smart TV market worldwide,” said Weili Dai, Co-Founder of Marvell. “I believe it will accelerate the adoption of big smart screens to the masses similar to the movement that led to the wide adoption of smartphones worldwide. We are very pleased to see Hisense, a leading global manufacturer, showcase the best that Marvell and Google have to offer on a world stage at CES, representing the company’s foray into the US market.”

The Hisense Pulse with Google TV offers true plug-and-play versatility, with easy set up and connectivity right out of the box. Built on Android, Google TV brings TV-optimized versions of your favorite Google services: Chrome, Google Play, Search, TV & Movies and YouTube. Similar to Google’s well known web search functionality, Google TV enables a new way to find the most relevant television content. Google TV can intuitively search and sort through millions of channels and shows across live television, content services, your home network, apps, and the web, discovering and delivering what is most meaningful to each viewer. Hisense will also be releasing a series of Smart TVs leveraging the Google TV platform in the first half of 2013, ranging in size from 42 inches to 65 inches with a Qwerty remote control and touch pad. The new Google TV series will include breakthrough features such as Social TV and support for second screen displays.

“Hisense is very pleased to leverage Marvell’s turnkey Smart TV technology and the popularity of the Google TV platform as we set out to introduce our Smart home solutions to the US market,” said Peter Erdman, Vice President of consumer electronics, Hisense USA of Hisense. “The ARMADA 1500 chipset allows us to offer Smart TV products at an extremely competitive price point without sacrificing speed or quality. We’re confident consumers will enjoy a world-class digital entertainment experience made possible by the combined technical contributions of Hisense, Google and Marvell.”

Powerful, energy-efficient, ultra-scalable and affordable, the ARMADA 1500 Series SoC platform contains Marvell’s highest-performing ARM v7-compatible PJ4B SMP super-scalar dual-core CPU. The chip is designed to enable PC-like processing power to support Web browsing with support for Flash™ and other key technologies – with the aid of more than 6000 Dhrystone MIPS of computing horsepower, FPU v3.0, 512KB of L2 cache and NEON. With advanced, cell phone-like power management, the platform is also incredibly energy-efficient.

The ARMADA 1500 also contains Marvell’s award-winning Qdeo^® video processing for state-of-the-art HD and 3D video, including scaling, noise reduction, de-interlacing, low bit-rate Internet video enhancement and FRC and color/contrast enhancement. The chip offers VMeta™, a multi-format video decoder that can decode up to two simultaneous 1080p streams as well as a host of other video formats and containers.

About Hisense USA Corporation

Established in 2001, Hisense USA Corporation is a Georgia based subsidiary of the Hisense Company Ltd., headquartered in Qingdao, China. Hisense USA offers a broad range of highly affordable consumer electronics products in the North American market, including televisions, refrigerators, air-conditioners, dehumidifiers, beverage coolers and freezers. In 2010 Hisense established an R&D center in Georgia to enable localized product development and innovation.

Hisense USA sells into retailers across North America, including hhgregg, Best Buy, Walmart, Costco.com, Canadian Tire and more. Around the world, Hisense has production bases in South Africa, Algeria, Egypt and sales offices in the USA, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Hisense products are exported to over 130 countries and regions throughout the world.

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