[January 07, 2013]

CSR Previews Wireless Audio Platform for Sound Bar Market at CES 2013

CSR (News - Alert) plc (LSE: CSR; NASDAQ: CSRE) will be giving attendees at the International CES 2013 conference and exhibition a private preview of its forthcoming wireless sound bar platform reference design, demonstrating a fully integrated and scalable hardware and software system that provides consumer electronics OEMs a fast, flexible and cost-effective path to producing a range of next-generation sound bar products. The design achieves substantial competitive advantages by offering all the platform components - CSR MAPX™ audio SoC, Bluetooth® wireless SoC and sophisticated integrated system software - from a single source, and signals the company's move to capture the nascent sound bar market.

"With our family of pin and software-compatible MAPX multimedia application processors, OEMs will be able to leverage common solution platforms to develop a variety of sound bar products and bring them to market faster and with lower risk," said Anthony Murray, SVP Business Group at CSR. "CSR is a leader in the industry with a fully integrated hardware and software sound bar solution that gives customers extensive control over the audio processing chain, Bluetooth® streaming, user interface and audio I/O routing without them having to undertake a substantial software development effort, allowing them to deliver quite complex, highly differentiated sound bar products readily and quickly."

According to a recent report [1] from Portland, Oregon-based Quixel Research, sound bars are one of the bright spots in the home entertainment market, racking up Q2 2012 U.S. sales of $200 million, 75 percent above 1Q2012 sales and more than doubling year over year.

The invitation-only demonstration at the CES 2013 show will highlight how the highly integrated MAPX 7-series media application processor and CSR8600™ Bluetooth audio platform can be combined to create a 2.1 channel sound bar home audio system that provides standard-definition audio decoding and processing for HDMI sources, in addition to wireless high-fidelity audio streaming over Bluetooth using the CSR aptX® audio codec when connected to smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.

The CSR sound bar platform being demonstrated is the first to provide all the wireless connectivity from a single chip, employing a CSR8600 family Bluetooth device to not only allow smartphones, tablets and other Bluetooth enabled devices to stream high-quality audio wirelessly to the sound bar, but also to simultaneously provide low-latency wireless connectivity for the remote subwoofer. This eliminates the need for an additional proprietary radio module, antenna and other components traditionally used in the sound bar for the subwoofer channel, significantly reducing complexity and the potential for interference between the two radios, while also optimising costs. Further, Bluetooth® Smart Ready capabilities provided by the CSR8600 Bluetooth audio platform allows the use of point-anywhere wireless remote controls, as well as mobile device apps for controlling the sound bar and providing the best user experience.

The MAPX 7-series device used in the demo includes three powerful 32-bit DSP cores and supports Dolby® and DTS (News - Alert)® decoding as well as Dolby and SRS™ post-processing algorithms, and also supports CSR meloD® audio post-processing algorithms that deliver high performance in cost sensitive applications. The MAPX device integrates the typical analogue and digital audio interfaces needed for sound bar applications as well as direct connectivity support for coaxial diital audio. The integrated pulse-width modulation (PWM) converter can directly drive the PWM amplifier typically found in a sound bar.

The MAPX family includes seven variants in two packages, and variants in the same package are pin compatible with each other. All MAPX variants are software compatible with each other, making it easy for developers to save development time and cost when creating a number of low-end to high-end products simply by swapping processors without the need to change the PCB. For example, swapping a 7-Series to an 8-Series MAPX SoC upgrades from standard definition Dolby Digital or DTS to Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding capabilities, as well as enabling streaming from Internet services such as vTuner™ or from PCs and personal media servers over a home network via DLNA®.

The CSR MAPX and CSR8600 processor families are part of the CSR audio platform, a collection of complete end-to-end home audio solutions. CSR offers numerous wireless connectivity and audio decoding and processing solutions for the home audio market, including Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart and Wi-Fi® connectivity, CSR aptX® audio codecs, CSR MAPX high-definition audio decoding and high-quality, multi-channel DDFA® direct digital feedback amplifiers.

CSR will be demonstrating the wireless sound bar platform by invitation only during the International CES 2013 show in room 907, SpringHill Suites by Marriot, Las Vegas Convention Center, January 8-11. Attendees wishing to view the private demonstration should contact CSR for an invitation.

All CSR's news at CES can be found on its online press kit: http://www.tradeshownews.com/events/2013-International-CES/CSR/

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About CSR

CSR is a global provider of innovative silicon and software solutions for the location-aware, media-rich, cloud-connected world. Our platforms are optimised for the automotive navigation and infotainment, digital cameras and imaging, connected home infotainment and wireless audio markets. We provide solutions to complex problems in the audio-visual, connectivity and location technology domains across a broad range of markets, with a technology portfolio that includes GPS/GNSS systems, Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi®, FM, NFC, aptX® and CVC™ audio codecs, JPEG, MPEG, H.264 imaging, PDL printing, microcontrollers, DSPs and broadband receivers. CSR's technology solutions and market platforms enable its customers to deliver a superior user experience and are adopted by leaders in the auto, computer, home and mobile markets. More information can be found at www.csr.com. Keep up to date with CSR on our technical blog or CSR people blog, YouTube, Facebook or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CSR_plc

Notes to Editors

[1] Quixel Research: "The Sound Bar Category Shines Bright in Q2 2012" http://www.quixelresearch.com/pdfs/The-Sound-Bar-Category-Shines-Bright-in-q2-2012.pdf

CAUTIONARY NOTE ON (News - Alert) FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains certain statements (including statements concerning plans and objectives of management for future operations or performance, or assumptions related thereto) that are not historical facts and constitute 'forward looking statements' within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 in relation to CSR audio platform, including its forthcoming wireless sound bar platform, and related products and technology, and their performance characteristics in consumer electronic products, and other future events and their potential effects on CSR. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as 'will,' 'can deliver,' offers', 'allows', 'to enhance,' 'enables,' 'designed to' and other similar expressions regarding the performance characteristics of CSR audio platform products and technology, and their performance characteristics in consumer electronics products, and their potential effects on CSR. Any future release of CSR audio platform products and technology or consumer electronics products containing such technology, related products or modifications to such products' capability, functionality or features are subject to ongoing evaluation by CSR and its customers, and may or may not be implemented and should not be considered firm commitments by CSR or its customers and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. Such forward-looking statements represent the current expectations and beliefs of management of CSR, and are based upon numerous assumptions regarding CSR's business strategies and the environment in which CSR will operate and therefore involve a number of known and unknown risks, contingencies, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of CSR, including, but not limited to, those detailed from time to time in CSR's periodic reports (whether under the caption Risk Factors or Forward Looking Statements or elsewhere), which are available at the SEC's (News - Alert) web site http://www.sec.gov. Each forward looking statement speaks only as of the date hereof. CSR does not undertake to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained herein, otherwise than required by law.

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Wi-Fi®, Wi-Fi Alliance (News - Alert)®, WMM®, Wi-Fi Protected Access®, WPA®, WPA2®, Wi-Fi Protected Setup™ and Wi-Fi Multimedia™ are trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

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