Company Overview

Pixelworks is a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and markets innovative video and pixel processing chips and software for high-end display applications, including digital projection, large screen LCD flat panels and digital signage. Our solutions leverage proprietary core technologies that enable digital display and projection device manufacturers to differentiate their products with a consistently high level of video quality, regardless of the content’s source or format. Additionally, our solutions facilitate rapid development and customization of display devices, thus reducing time to market for our customers.

Video Quality Challenge

The increasing popularity of large, high-resolution flat panel displays combined with the transition to 1080P content and 120Hz refresh rates is driving the need for high performance processor solutions to meet the enhanced video quality requirements of next generation display products. As flat panel display resolution and size increase, new challenges emerge that must be addressed to ensure a corresponding improvement in video quality. For example, the challenges of “judder” and “blur” become more of an issue with larger screens. Judder occurs when content recorded at one rate of frames per second for film content must be converted to faster video rates, and as a result there is a jerkiness, or judder in the resulting video performance. Blur in motion images also occurs as a result of the way the human brain processes the longer frame durations produced by an LCD panel. Pixelworks’ chips and software address problems such as judder and blur by intelligently optimizing video signals to produce high-quality images.

Growing Markets

The long-term growth projected in high-end digital display applications provides significant opportunity for Pixelworks. Increasingly affordable price points are driving continued adoption of digital projectors in the business and education markets, and home theater systems are gaining traction. Connectivity is expected to fuel additional growth, as projectors incorporate networking capabilities that enable the sharing of video among multiple devices. In the consumer market, flat panel LCD screens are driving continued demand for high-resolution, high-performance digital TVs. Looking forward, public area applications such as digital signage and video surveillance are also expected to become increasingly common. Pixelworks is focused on providing the solutions to scale poorer quality video, reduce signal noise inherent to networks and enhance image quality in order to ensure optimal video performance across display devices.