Faroudja
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consumer electronics, Video processing |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Founder | Yves Faroudja, Isabel Faroudja |
| Fate | Acquired by Sage, Inc. in 2000; later part of Genesis Microchip; technology integrated into STMicroelectronics in 2007 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
| Products | Video processing algorithms and solutions, deinterlacing, inverse telecine technologies, line doublers and quadruplers, video enhancement products |
| Parent | STMicroelectronics (since 2007) |
Faroudja Labs was a San Francisco–based intellectual property and research firm established by Yves Faroudja, separate from his subsequent enterprise, Faroudja Enterprises.
The company specialized in developing video processing algorithms and solutions, with its deinterlacing and inverse telecine technologies earning significant recognition within the consumer electronics industry. These innovations have been extensively incorporated into televisions, set-top boxes, and video processing devices.
Faroudja Labs secured more than 65 patents and licensed its technology to various consumer electronics manufacturers. The company was honored with three Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards, celebrating advancements in encoding methods, Yves Faroudja's lifetime contributions, and HDTV upconversion techniques for broadcast use. Since 2007, the Faroudja brand and intellectual property have been integrated into STMicroelectronics, which utilizes the technology in System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions.
History
Established in 1971 by Yves and Isabel Faroudja, Faroudja Inc. concentrated on enhancing video quality, particularly for VCR applications, rapidly becoming a market leader with patents licensed by key consumer electronics and broadcasting companies.
Significantly, Faroudja contributed to the development of the Hi-8 and S-VHS standards during 1987–1988. Throughout the 1980s, the company advanced NTSC deinterlacing technology, including motion adaptive algorithms. In 1989, it patented film mode detection (inverse telecine), a method that uniquely identified original film frames within video streams to deliver artifact-free images maintaining full vertical resolution.
In 1991, Faroudja launched the first professional-grade line doubler (480p) deinterlacer designed for CRT projectors used in Hollywood productions and home theater systems. The LD1 Line Doubler gained acclaim for enhancing image quality by converting standard definition signals to higher resolutions without introducing NTSC artifacts. Simultaneously, Faroudja developed adaptive comb filters and video enhancement products for Sony's U-Matic recorders. This technology played a crucial role in the expansion of home theater systems and was recognized with a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award in 1991.
As display technologies evolved, there was increased demand for advanced video processing capabilities. Faroudja responded by releasing the VP400 Line Quadrupler (upscaling 480i to 960p) and in 2000 introduced the industry's first HDTV line doubler (converting 1080i to 1080p). Products such as the LD1, VP400, DVP5000, DVP3000, and Native Rate Series established new standards within the industry. In recognition of his contributions, Yves Faroudja received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in Technology & Engineering in 1998.
The Digital Format Translator (DFT), launched in 1998, enabled broadcasters to convert standard definition content into high definition formats (480i to 720p or 1080i), earning Faroudja a third Emmy Award in 2001 for HDTV processing innovation.
With televisions transitioning from analog CRT displays to digital fixed-pixel panels, Faroudja shifted focus from system manufacturing toward integrated circuit design tailored for TVs and video devices.
In 2000, Sage, Inc. acquired Faroudja Labs; subsequently, Sage was purchased by Genesis Microchip in 2002. This acquisition broadened Faroudja’s footprint in integrated circuits across DVD players, projectors, AV receivers, and televisions—often distinguished by the DCDi by Faroudja branding to highlight product differentiation.
Beginning in 2005, a strategic partnership with Meridian Audio resulted in Meridian exclusively marketing Faroudja video processors under its own label.
In 2007, STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader with revenues exceeding $9.8 billion in 2008, acquired Genesis Microchip along with its Faroudja technology portfolio.
Current technology and branding
Faroudja Video Optimized represents a calibration and branding initiative designed for TV and Set-Top Box manufacturers utilizing STMicroelectronics SoC platforms embedded with Faroudja’s video processing algorithms. This program guarantees the correct initialization of video signal processing and fine-tunes LCD panels to deliver precise image quality. It offers calibration tools for adjusting parameters such as contrast, brightness, gamma, color temperature, sharpness, noise reduction, backlight intensity, Faroudja Adaptive Contrast Control (ACC2), and Active Color Management (ACM3D), all aimed at improving dynamic range and color fidelity. The optimized configurations are saved under the “Faroudja Movie” mode, tailored specifically for premium televisions and Blu-ray HD content.
DCDi by Faroudja (Directional Correlational De-Interlacing) is a sophisticated algorithm developed to upscale and deinterlace standard definition NTSC signals on HD flat panel displays. It effectively addresses issues such as jagged edges and cross-color distortions, incorporating Film mode processing for enhanced picture quality.
Faroudja DCDi Cinema offers enhanced 10-bit processing capabilities with expanded picture enhancement options, including active color management, 3D Noise Reduction, and Response Time Correction (RTC) technology to mitigate motion blur on LCD screens.
Faroudja DCDi Edge is designed to improve image quality cost-effectively on displays lacking memory buffers by utilizing spatial processing techniques to smooth out jagged edges.
Tools
The Quickmatch Tool is a proprietary calibration software that interfaces with the Faroudja video SoC and communicates with a colorimeter sensor positioned on the TV screen. It produces test patterns that the colorimeter reads to adjust for panel inconsistencies, ensuring precise calibration.
Media Tools allow direct manipulation of Faroudja video SoC programming registers, facilitating accelerated development cycles and simulation testing.
Awards for Yves Faroudja
- 1987 SMPTE David Sarnoff Gold Medal Award recognizing advancements in NTSC performance optimization
- 1988 International Monitor Awards for Excellence in Engineering for NTSC Encoder and Decoder technologies
- 1989 BM/E Award acknowledging engineering excellence
- 1991 Emmy Award in Technology and Engineering awarded for reducing NTSC artifacts through innovative encoding methods
- 1998 Charles F. Jenkins Emmy Award honoring Lifetime Achievements
- 2001 Emmy Award for groundbreaking work in digital up-conversion from 525-line to HDTV formats supporting DTV broadcasts