ReplayTV 5040 Disassembly

I am cataloging the parts inside my ReplayTV 5040, with the eventual goal of running Linux and MythTV on it. Should the Replay not survive as a commercial product, meaning that the electornic program guide is no longer available and Replays everywhere turn into doorstops, this may provide a way to still get some use out of the hardware. Got info about this thing? Email me at replaytv (at) flyingbuttmonkeys dot com.

The Motherboard


Twelve components are labelled in the photo below.

This is the reverse side.

The Components


1. RF Tuner and Modulator

Package:
    Samsung
    TCMN0682PA13D(4)
    020828 GCT

Information:
  1. Samsung tuner and RF modulator

2. Video Decoder

Package:
    Philips
    SAA7115HL
    CB3829 01
    TS0226 1

Information:
  1. Philips PAL/NTSC/SECAM video decoder

3. MPEG Decoder

Package:
    NEC JAPAN
    D61051GD
    0223KK007

Information:
  1. "Obsolete" NEC part
  2. MPEG Encoder (Thanks to 'sfhub' on the AVS forum)

4. FPGA - controls decoding process, possible copy protection functions

Package:
    XILINX
    Spartan
    XC2S100
    PQ208AMS0225
    A1225211A
    5C

Information:
  1. XILINX Spartan FPGA - could be bad news; A Field Programmable Gate Array can do anything it is programmed to do; it's a roll-your-own DSP/microcontroller/whatever.
  2. Current theory: it's the MPEG encoder. Scratch that -- the NEC chip does the MPEG encoding.
  3. "Success Story" about Xilinx and the Replay. Companion document: PDF file
  4. Looks like the FPGA is for "copy-protection logic." Ewww. Maybe I can just ignore it.
    Replay's vice president of hardware, Lynn King, cites the copy protection information that is encoded along with the video stream and which is dealt with by the FPGA; this is one area where standards are changing rapidly and the need to change algorithms while in service is to be expected.
  5. Here's a little gem: "an FPGA is used to provide the control logic for the MPEG decode process". Diagram: PDF file
    In one case, ReplayTV found itself forced to deal with an edge condition that caused video noise in a few systems already in homes. One of the chips in the system had an undocumented clock threshold-switching problem that varied as a function of lot processing. Since the control signals for this device were generated in the FPGA, it was possible to eliminate the problem by changing the timing of the FPGA-generated signal.

5. Sound Processor

Package:
    Micronas
    MSP 4448G A2
    2274.J6 LH F
    094936.027

Information:
  1. Micronas sound processor

6. "Digital TV Decoder"

Package:
    TeraLogic
    TL851-B2
    Digital TV Decoder
    TS51B2PB348
    0233 Taiwan
    FA8174.1

Information:
  1. MPEG decoder
  2. Linuxdevices.com article about the "Cougar-L Linux Digital TV Platform," which is based on TeraLogic's TL851 Universal Decoder and TL811 "Gateway" PVR Controller chips. Note that the Replay uses these chips. In fact, the Replay hardware bears a certain resemblance to the "Cougar" platform, which was designed to run VXWorks -- and we know the Replay runs VXWorks. Could this be Zoran's Cougar platform?. (PDF datasheet)
  3. Card with this chip on it -
  4. News item about TL851 Universal Digital TV Decoder
  5. Oak bought TeraLogic, then Zoran bought Oak.
  6. TeraLogic licenses MIPS
  7. "TeraLogic Introduces Linux-Based DTV Reference Platform"
  8. Someone is running Kaffe (a free java virtual machine) on this platform
  9. Supposedly, Cougar "supports Linux and VxWorks out of the box."

7. Parallel EIDE/ATA connector

Standard EIDE/ATA hard disk connector

8. "STB/PVR Controller"

Package:
    TeraLogic
    Tl811-A3
    STB/PVR Controller
    TS A3 PB352
    0228 Taiwan
    FA6657.1

Information:
  1. See #6 - "Cougar" platform.
  2. Newer versions of this chip contain a MIPS CPU core. This version of the Cougar platform seems to have it in a separate chip (see #11)
  3. Zoran (Acquired Oak)
  4. Electronic design
  5. Embedded Star article
  6. Oak Technology Integrated in New SONICblue ReplayTV 5000 Series Digital Video Recorder

9. Ethernet Controller

Package:
    RTL8100B
    26150S1
    231E TAIWAN

Information:
  1. RealTek 10/100 ethernet controller

10. BIOS Chip

Package:
    MX B014850
    29LV040QC-70
    2F100400
    TAIWAN

Information:
  1. Looks like a BIOS chip

11. MIPS processor, 250Mhz, 64-bit, little-endian

Package:
    PMC
    RM5321A-250H
    0226 DB4758.05B
    Korea(A)
    B001

Information:
  1. MIPS CPU (Thanks to 'sfhub' on the AVS forum)
  2. PMC-Sierra Processors
  3. Product Details for RM5231A/61A (TM) 64-bit MIPS RISC Microprocessor
  4. This is apparently the same CPU used in the Cobalt Raq2 and Qube2
  5. The RM5321 is a 64-bit superscalar host processor that operates from 250 to 600 MHz. I'm guessing this one runs at 250MHz, based on the "250" in the model number.
  6. Appears to be little-endian

12.USB Controller

Package:
    Agere
    USS3445
    02195
    13767251

Information:
  1. USB controller (Thanks to 'sfhub' on the AVS forum)
  2. http://www.agere.com/NEWS/PRESS2000/052200a.html
  3. http://www.agere.com/support/client/usb_about.html