Smarter Than A Card


Set-top boxes (STBs) were initially secured by Conditional Access System (CAS) smart cards. However, this approach is no longer effective. Smart cards cannot prevent unauthorized access to premium 4K and UHD content, as they are not designed to protect the interface between the card and box, or the STB SoC itself. This is one of the reasons why cardless CAS set-top boxes, equipped with a hardwa... » read more

Blog Review: Sept. 7


In a video, Cadence's Kishore Kasamsetty contends that one-size-fits-all DDR PHY no longer works and looks into the unique requirements of different application segments. Synopsys' Eric Huang gives a brief overview of the five components required for USB certification. Mentor's Andrew Macleod presents a way Apple Cars could rake in revenue beyond the vehicle itself. When it comes to hi... » read more

Making Drones Secure


Critics have accused drones of creating multiple dangers, including invading privacy, colliding with other aircraft, threatening personal safety and even frightening livestock. Yet the biggest drone threat of all may turn out to be attacks made on the vehicles themselves. Drones, also known as UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and UASs (unmanned aerial systems), need a variety of internal ... » read more

Blog Review: Aug. 31


Mentor's Harry Foster presents the 2016 Wilson Research Group Functional Verification Study, beginning with trends in FPGA design and an investigation into the verification effort it takes. Synopsys' Viral Sharma warns that while AMBA AXI exclusive access may look simple at first glance, the possibility of different scenarios and combinations poses a challenge. Cadence's Paul McLellan loo... » read more

Blog Review: Aug. 24


Cadence's Christine Young relates a talk by IEEE president-elect Karen Bartleson, who stresses the need for technologists and policy makers to work together to shape the future of the Internet. In his latest video, Mentor's Colin Walls muses about creeping elegance in embedded software development. Synopsys' Michael Posner considers whether USB Type-C should replace the 3.5mm headphone ja... » read more

The Future Of Memory


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss future memory with Frank Ferro, senior director of product management for memory and interface IP at Rambus; Marc Greenberg, director of product marketing at Synopsys; and Lisa Minwell, eSilicon's senior director of IP marketing. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. To view part 1, click here. Part 2 is here. SE: What’s the next big ... » read more

Blog Review: Aug. 17


Mentor's Andrew Macleod listens in on the most pressing electrical engineering and embedded software challenges in the automotive industry today, in an IESF presentation by Paul Johnston. Many flash memory protocols have appeared, and Synopsys' Rahul Ramesh Chaudhari delves into ONFi in particular. Cadence's Paul McLellan digs into the challenges facing the development and roll out of 5G.... » read more

The Week In Review: IoT


Deals Rambus completed its $32 million acquisition of the Snowbush IP assets from Semtech. Through the end of 2022, Rambus may make additional payments on the transaction, depending upon new product sales. The Snowbush IP assets became part of the Memory and Interfaces Division at Rambus, complementing the company’s offerings in IP and serializer/deserializer blocks. Samsung Electronics A... » read more

Blog Review: Aug. 10


Is the end near for FinFETs? Applied's Mike Chudzik digs into the impact of rising parasitic resistance and parasitic capacitance and the challenges of scaling to 5nm. Cadence's Paul McLellan checks out the method UC Berkeley is using to build RISC-V processors. Mentor's Colin Walls warns that in C even the simplest things, like the declaration of variables, have pitfalls for the unwary. ... » read more

Is Security A Priority?


Ask any two executives in the semiconductor industry about security threats and there is a good chance you will get two totally different answers. The disturbing part is they both may be right. In markets where there is no physical danger to people, security always has been viewed a risk versus profit equation. At conferences over the past year, numerous executives have touted the Transport... » read more

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