Qualcomm today announced at IFA 2016 two solutions for home entertainment, the QCA9379 combo chip with support for dual-stream Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2, and a 4K Ultra HD media box reference platform using the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. Both solutions are designed to power streaming devices, set-top-boxes and smart TV products.

The QCA9379 chip with integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth extends the company’s portfolio of connectivity solutions for smart TVs and home entertainment devices. The combo chip features Bluetooth 4.2 with data length extensions to wirelessly connect with remote controls and gaming accessories, overcoming the line-of-sight limitations of traditional infrared remotes and enabling advanced functionality such as voice commands. The QCA9379 is designed to interoperate with Qualcomm Technologies’ Bluetooth Smart 4.2 SoC for remote controls and accessories, the CSR102x, delivering an end-to-end ecosystem solution that helps manufacturers develop home entertainment and gaming products with long battery life in accessories and optional support for voice.

The chip also features the newest Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard with receive support for Multi-User MIMO, allowing fast access to bandwidth-intensive online content such as 4K Ultra HD video. A new higher transmit power mode improves performance and wireless range versus prior solutions, facilitating connectivity across the home even through walls, floors, or in remote areas. The product’s dual-stream capabilities improve Wi-Fi performance in scenarios requiring concurrent connectivity, for example, receiving online video in a media box and simultaneously casting it to an external display or projector.

The QCA9379 includes technology to manage operation of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in the same radio band, helping prioritize delay-sensitive transmissions for example voice commands from a speech-enabled remote, or the push of a fire-button in a gaming pad, even under loaded wireless network conditions. Deep sleep modes with extreme low-power consumption, wake-on-wireless and wake-on-Bluetooth features in the QCA9379 provide power efficiency. Also, the integration of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, power amplifier and low-noise amplifier in a single chip allows manufacturers to optimize for cost.

Qualcomm Technologies also introduced a 4K Ultra HD media box reference platform featuring its flagship Snapdragon 820 processor. The reference platform helps manufacturers accelerate development of set-top-boxes and streaming devices in 4K Ultra HD resolution. The platform’s flexible design allows for fan-less, small form factors. It also includes Gigabit Ethernet and dual-stream Wi-Fi 802.11ac connectivity from Qualcomm Technologies, as well as Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Smart to support connectivity with remotes, game controllers and other user interface devices with optional support for voice.

The QCA9379 is sampling now, with commercial devices expected to be available the fourth quarter of 2016. The 4K Ultra HD media box reference platform from Qualcomm Technogies is available now, with commercial devices expected to be available by the end of 2016.