Entropic Communications, P&F USA Simplify the Hospitality Television Experience

Published on Monday, 06 February 2012 08:07 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

SAN DIEGO and RUTHERFORD, N.J., Feb. 6, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Entropic Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:ENTR), a leading provider of silicon and software solutions to enable connected home entertainment and P&F USA, the exclusive licensee for Philips Hospitality in North America, today announced combining Philips hospitality televisions with Entropic's Broadband Access silicon solution allowing broadband service to be delivered to hotel rooms where there is not a dedicated Ethernet broadband infrastructure wire to each room. This enables both TV and broadband services to hotel rooms over existing coaxial cable; allowing guests to take advantage of new infotainment and over-the-top (OTT) video services via the hotel room TV.

The Philips Hospitality TVs enhance the in-room hotel experience, providing guests incredibly easy-to-use in room entertainment. By adding Entropic's Broadband Access solution which is based on the MoCA^® (Multimedia over Coax) standard, guests gain access to advanced IP-based services, such as broadband access and streamed IP video (VOD). Hotel owners benefit as they can deliver enhanced applications over the existing coaxial cable without the need to re-wire rooms for broadband and video service.

"Our Hospitality solutions for in-room entertainment are designed to enhance the guest experience," said Todd Richardson, senior vice president of Sales and Marketing for P&F USA. "Joining with the field-proven Entropic Broadband Access solution, we can ensure hotel guests get the best hospitality services, while hoteliers can leverage their existing coax infrastructure.  We found Entropic's silicon solution appealing as it is a high RF implementation and can co-exist with existing cable TV transmission. The throughput for broadband and the video co-existence make it an attractive solution for the hospitality market."

The Philips Hospitality product line featuring Entropic's technology ensures advanced access to hotel services and amenities. This new, fully integrated solution will be available in both 32" and 40" screen sizes, and offers cost-effective delivery of uniform services and features across a RF (radio frequency) network while eliminating the need for additional hardware such as a set-top-box in the room. With Entropic, these hotel services are delivered via a single cable to the TV; making it ideal for applications where coax is the only wiring infrastructure that is available in the hotel.

"Entropic's Broadband Access solution brings Philips Hospitality new opportunities in the hospitality market," said Vinay Gokhale, senior vice president, Marketing and Business Development, Entropic Communications. "This a critical design win for Entropic as our MoCA-based broadband coax solution trumped other competing technologies by offering higher throughput, lower interference and a more robust backbone."

About Entropic's Broadband Access Solution

Entropic's Broadband Access solution leverages its highly successful and field-proven silicon, based on the MoCA standard, which enables a full mesh network to be formed using existing coax cables and splitters, and is comprised of its EN3011 Access NC and the EN3230 Access Client silicon. The Broadband Access solution uses this technology for point to multipoint networks. A single Broadband Access solution provides over 250 Mbps of raw data bandwidth yielding over 100 Mbps of application throughput and was designed as a low-cost, easy-to-deploy solution using the existing coax infrastructure already found in hotel designs.

The system is scalable with a single network controller supporting up to 63 clients, with rate control available on a per client basis. Operating above the regular CATV signals and providing frequency agility between 800 MHz and 1500 MHz can add additional network controllers added to support even more clients to the network. In addition, delivering operator-class robustness and unmatched bandwidth over the longest reach, Entropic's Broadband Access solution is the performance benchmark for delivering high bandwidth applications such as multiple streams of high definition (HD) video, premium broadband data access tiers, IPTV, and two-way interactive applications.

Availability:

The new Philips Hospitality line featuring Entropic's technology will be available to hoteliers beginning in the 2^nd half of 2012.

About P&F

P&F is a subsidiary of the Funai Electric Co., LTD, Inc. and is the exclusive licensee for Philips consumer televisions and home theater and Philips Hospitality in North America. Funai Electric Co., Ltd., established in 1961, is headquartered in Osaka, Japan and is listed in the Tokyo Securities Exchange First Section (6839). In addition to the consumer electronic product brands sold by FUNAI Corporation and the products sold by other FUNAI sales and marketing companies in Asia, Europe, and South America, Funai Electric Company, Ltd. is a major original equipment manufacturer (OEM) supplier for appliance, consumer electronics, computer, and computer peripheral companies on a global basis. For more information on the Funai group, please visit www.funaiworld.com

About Entropic Communications

Entropic Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:ENTR) is a leading fabless semiconductor company that is engineering the future of connected home networking and entertainment by providing next-generation silicon and software technologies to the world's leading cable, telco and satellite service providers, OEMs and consumer electronics manufacturers. As a co-founder of MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance), Entropic pioneered and continues to evolve the way high-definition television-quality video and other multimedia and digital content such as movies, music, games and photos are brought into and delivered throughout the home. For more information, visit Entropic at www.entropic.com.

The Entropic Communications logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4255

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature constitute "forward-looking statements" Within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Entropic's leadership in providing MoCA enabled technology, the benefits of that technology, and continued or future integration of Entropic's technology into products of OEMs. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Entropic's actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the effects of competition; Entropic's dependence on a limited number of service providers and customers; Entropic's ability to successfully collaborate and the ability of Entropic and Pace to introduce new and enhanced products on a timely basis; the risk that the market for high-definition television-quality video and multimedia content delivery solutions may not develop as anticipated; the effect of intellectual property rights claims; and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Entropic's Quarterly Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Entropic is providing this information as of the date of this release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT: Investor Contact:
         Debra Hart
         Director, Investor Relations
         +1.858.768.3852
         
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         Media Contacts:
         Robbin Lynn
         Marketing Communications Manager
         +1.858.768.3673
         
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         Chris Fallon
         Finn Partners for Entropic Communications
         +1.917.974.1667
         
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         Lindsay Woods
         redmedia for P&F USA
         +1.678.592.3844
         
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