News and Events

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 21, 2008

DIVA CONSORTIUM UNVEILS A NEW INTERFACE STANDARD FOR NEXT-GENERATION INTERACTIVE DIGITAL TV AND CE NETWORKING

DIVA Bi-directional Interface Technology Demonstrated to Work Over a Single CAT6 Cable

Guangzhou China - At the China Digital Living Forum & Showcase 2008, the formation of the DIVA consortium was formally unveiled to the Chinese consumer electronics industry. The China Video Industry Association (CVIA) announced its support of the DIVA Consortium’s efforts to create a new interface for next-generation interactive digital television and consumer electronics (CE) networking. DIVA’s interface technology promises to combine uncompressed high-definition video, multi-channel audio, and high-bandwidth, bi-directional data transfer over a single cable. Once connected with DIVA, CE devices will be networked locally so they can be easily set up and controlled from any TV on the DIVA network—passing video, audio and bulk data between devices.

“We are excited that DIVA enables interactive digital TV and networking among CE devices in future digital homes,” said Mrs. Weimin Bai, Secretary General of CVIA. “Combining uncompressed and compressed AV interfaces and home networking with a secure, personal domain-based content-protection technology will allow Chinese CE makers to take the lead in developing products for a fully connected interactive digital home. We are especially pleased that this next-generation interface technology is originating in China and looking forward to becoming a successful global standard worldwide.”

Key DIVA Technology Features

Unlike current industry interface standards, DIVA technology combines a reliable, high-speed, bi-directional data channel with an uncompressed video and audio channel to allow users to connect, configure and control various home CE devices from their digital TVs.

DIVA technology enables an 8B/10B encoded forward channel for transporting uncompressed video up to 13.5Gbps, which is capable of handling video transmissions well beyond 1080p resolution with deep color and high refresh rates. In addition, DIVA enables a high-speed, bi-directional hybrid data channel that can operate at up to 2.25 Gbps, and can be divided into sub-channels that transport audio, control, and bulk data. The protocol for the hybrid channel can be bridged to other wired and wireless interfaces, allowing DIVA interface products to easily connect to a home network that is comprised of a variety of devices. At the China Digital Living Forum & Showcase 2008, the DIVA protocol was demonstrated working over a single CAT6 cable, with only 8 wires (four differential pairs) to show its potential for rapid and cost-effective adoption.

Major Chinese CE Companies Support DIVA

The DIVA Consortium's charter members (called the Promoters Group) include major CE and home appliance manufacturers such as TCL Corporation; Chang Hong Electric Co.; Skyworth Group; Hisense Electric Co.; Konka Group; Haier Co.; SVA Information Industry Co.; Panda Electronics Co. and Synerchip Co., Ltd.

Ms. Weisong Gao, Director of R&D at Hisense said, “DIVA technology enables compatibility with both existing wired and emerging wireless multimedia interfaces. There are a number of issues regarding inter-device communication that are difficult to resolve with today’s wired interfaces. DIVA will address these concerns so home networks can be set up to seamlessly utilize both wired and wireless connections.”

Dr. Weidong Huang, Senior Engineer of TCL said, “For consumer electronics manufacturers, today’s digital interfaces are point-to-point connections that are limited in their ability to accommodate a network of devices. We look forward to offering the ability to connect multiple source devices to multiple displays, to monitor and control various digital home appliances from the TV in the living room, and to organize various personal and mobile entertainment devices in the same home network.”

David Lee, Executive Chairman of Synerchip, and one of the chief architects of the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) notes, “By merging multimedia and data communication over a single interface, the DIVA standard is poised take digital home networking to a new level, fulfilling the promise of making DTV the center of the home entertainment network.”

For more information on DIVA, please visit: http://www.diva-interface.org

For more information on the China Digital Living Forum & Showcase 2008, please visit: http://www.dtvn.cn/szjt/forum.shtml

CVIA contact: +86.10.6820.7282
Synerchip contact: Steve Yum, 408.516.4285 , syum@synerchip.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 30, 2008

TOP CHINESE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS (CE) COMPANIES JOIN FORCES TO BUILD
NEXT-GENERATION DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS INTERFACE

China’s Video Industry Association Supports the Creation of the DIVA Consortium to Promote Standardization of a New Interface for Interactive Digital Television and CE Networking

Beijing China - A group of leading Chinese consumer electronics (CE) companies today announced the formation of an industry consortium whose mission is to build and drive the adoption of the next-generation interactive television and home CE networking interface known as DIVA, or Digital Interface for Video and Audio. The DIVA Consortium’s charter members (called the Promoters Group) include major CE and home appliance manufacturers such as Sichuan Chang Hong Electric Co.; Qingdao Haier Co.; Hisense Electric Co.; Konka Group; Nanjing Panda Electronics Co.; Skyworth Group; SVA Information Industry Co.; TCL Corporation; and Synerchip Co., Ltd.

In addition to the transmission of uncompressed video and audio data, DIVA technology embeds a reliable, high-speed bi-directional data transmission channel to allow the consumer to locate, connect and control various CE devices from a DIVA-enabled digital television (DTV). As consumers increasingly integrate more electronic entertainment devices and digital appliances, the DIVA interface will help streamline and simplify the connections among all technologies, offering ease of connection and use while maximizing their entertainment experience. Leveraging a single interface, which integrates multimedia and data communication, the DIVA standard promises to upgrade home networks to a new level—making DTVs the center of the home entertainment network.

For CE manufacturers, today’s digital interfaces are point-to-point connections that are limited in their ability to accommodate a network of devices. DIVA is offering the ability to connect multiple source devices to multiple displays, to monitor and control various digital home appliances from the TV in the living room, and to organize various personal and mobile entertainment devices in the same home network.

The organization of Chinese CE manufacturers—the China Video Industry Association (CVIA)—has agreed to fully support the DIVA standard. In fact, CVIA’s leadership in the Chinese electronics industry and abroad will aid in consistent adoption of DIVA as it moves toward becoming an industry standard—ensuring interoperability among the different brands implementing this technology.

The DIVA Promoters Group will demonstrate the DIVA bi-directional technology at the China Digital Home Industry Association Summit Conference on May 21, 2008 in Guangzhou, China; and expects to release the specification by the end of 2008.

Contact:
Steve Yum
Sr. Director of Product Planning
Synerchip Co., Ltd.
Phone: +1-408-733-2600
Email: syum@synerchip.com

Contact (China):
Hao Ya-Bin
Deputy Secretary
China Video Industry Association
E-mail: haoyb@mei.ceic.gov.cn

About CVIA
Established in 1988, the China Video Industry Association (CVIA) is the authoritative trade organization in China for enterprises and institutions involved in research, development, production and distribution of video related products such as digital televisions, projectors, DVD players and set top boxes. The CVIA’s goal is to promote technical and economic cooperation between member enterprises in order to guide the industry toward better technologies and policies to create a competitive and successful market environment. Under the guidance of the Ministry of Information Industry of the People’s Republic of China, CVIA’s daily work focuses on monitoring and influencing technology standards, intellectual property rights and market trends. For more information, please go to http://www.cvianet.org.cn