Roku 2 XS 3100R Digital Media Adapter Teardown

Overview / Main Features

The Roku 2 XS 3100R under analysis here is the 4th generation streaming media adapter pioneer Roku who began with their DVP model in 2008 - some 2 years before Apple introduced their 2nd generation Apple TV to re-invigorate the over-the-top set top box market as the popularity of "cord-cutting" began to take hold across living rooms throughout North America. Coupled with the run-away success of streaming content service Netflix, media adapters such as Roku is finding its own niche alongside DVD players and cable set top box, vying for consumer attention.

With a low entry point of below $100, the Roku 2 XS is capable of producing 1080p high definition video - besting Apple TV's 720p capability. The Roku also offers more streaming services beyond Netflix including Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Pandora as well as other services such as Flickr (photos) and Vimeo (video).

At the heart of the Roku 2 XS is the underlying low cost electronic design. Unlike the NAND memory heavy Apple TV, the Roku comes only with 256MB of NAND flash and 256MB of DRAM (just as in the previous XDS 2100X model we analyzed). The new design twist on the 3100R is the use of a Broadcom (BCM2835) A/V Processor. This BCM2835 replaces the previous NXP apps processor in the 2100X.

Interestingly, the Broadcom BCM2835 was also featured in a new low cost reference design by Raspberry Pi - a UK registered charity chartered to create a low cost computing platform for the developing world. Their reference board featuring the BCM2835 sells for as low as $25 which only includes the bare board without significant memory storage, WLAN or Bluetooth.

However, the most interesting design element of the Roku 2 XS is hidden within its remote control. Inside this unassuming remote, we found not only a Bluetooth 3.0 IC but also 3 MEMS devices; accelerometer, gyro and eCompass. Indeed the Roku 2 is marketed as a gaming platform featuring the wildly popular "Angry Birds" game bundled. Moreover, the Roku 2 box now is arguably a gaming Trojan horse as Roku strategically aims to sneak in under the radar of more entrenched players in the living room like Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony.

Target Market

General Consumers

Released

July 2011

Pricing and Availability

Pricing - The Roku 2 XS 3100R retails for $99.

Availability - US

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this teardown analysis, we have applied a lifetime production volume of approximately 2.5M units.

As a reminder, teardown volume production assumptions are primarily used for our cost analysis in terms of amortized NRE and tooling costs, especially for custom components specific to the model being analyzed (mechanical components especially). Unless assumed volumes are different by an order of magnitude, minor changes in volume (say 1 million vs. 2) rarely have a large net effect on our final analysis because of this.

Cost Notes

Main Cost Drivers (~85% of Total Materials Cost)

• $9.63 - GR-14 - Remote Control Unit - Bluetooth, w/ Motion Control
• $8.34 - Broadcom - BCM2835MIPPG - Audio / Video Processor - High Definition 1080p, PoP
• $5.13 - Samsung Semiconductor - K4P2G324EC-AGC1 - DRAM - LPDDR2, 2Gb, 46nm, 1.2V, PoP
• $3.07 - Broadcom - BCM4336YKFFBG - WLAN - Single Chip, IEEE802.11b/g/n
• $2.55 - AAL-00 - AC Adapter - 5V, 1.5A, w/ 6ft Cord
• $2.36 - Hynix - HY27UF082G2B-TPCB - Flash - NAND, SLC, 2Gb, 3.3V
• $1.80 - Broadcom - BCM20702A1KWFBG - Bluetooth - Single Chip, Bluetooth 4.0 HCI Solution, w/ Bluetooth Low Energy Support, 65nm
• $1.53 - APCB Inc. - 6-Layer - FR4, Lead-Free
• $1.40 - Broadcom - BCM59002IML25G - Power Management IC
• $1.22 - SMSC - LAN9512-JZX - Ethernet Controller / USB Hub - 10/100Base-T, USB V2.0
• $1.02 - Foxconn - JFM24011-F12H-4F - Jack - RJ45, Right Angle, Gold Plated Contacts, w/ Integrated Magnetics, 2 LEDs & Metal Shielding
• $0.66 - Enclosure, Main, Top - Injection Molded Polycarbonate, Clear Coat, Printed
• $0.60 - RCA Cable - Triple, 6ft
• $0.40 - WLAN - Ceramic SMD (Qty:2)
• $0.38 - Semtech - SD05C - ESD Protect - TVS, Single Line, 5V (Qty:5)

Direct Materials $46.14
Direct Materials + Manufacturing$47.25

What Is Not Included in our Cost Analysis

The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in this analysis reflect ONLY the direct materials cost (from component vendors and assorted EMS providers), AND manufacturing with basic test. Not included in this analysis are costs above and beyond the material manufacture of the core device itself - cost of intellectual property, royalties and licensing fees (those not already included into the per component price), software, software loading and test, shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs including not only EMS provider and the OEM's margin, but that of other resellers. Our cost analysis is meant to focus on those costs incurred in the manufacture of the core device and exceptionally in some circumstances the packaging and literature as well.

Manufacturing Notes

Country of Origin / Volume Assumptions

Based on device markings, we've based our analysis with the final assembly in China. Furthermore, we have assumed that custom mechanicals (plastics, metals, etc.) were also sourced in China.

Country of origin assumptions relate directly to the associated cost of manufacturing, where calculated by iSuppli. In the cases of "finished" sub-assemblies (such as Ethernet connectors), we do not calculate internal manufacturing costs, but rather assess the market price of the finished product in which case country of origin assumptions may or may not have a direct effect on pricing.

Remember also that labor rates are applied directly only to hand inserted components and systems in our bill of materials, and although regional assumptions do, these new rates do not have a direct effect on our modeled calculations of placement costs for automated SMD assembly lines. "Auto" inserted components (such as SMT components) placement costs are calculated by an iSuppli algorithm which allocates a cost per component based on the size and pincount of the device. This calculation is affected by country or region of origin as well.

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

The Roku 2 XS 3100R has an overall component count of 404 (excluding box contents), of which 391 components reside on the Main PCB. In comparison, the previous Roku XDS model analyzed has an overall component count of 683.

Component counts have a direct bearing on the overall manufacturing cycle times and costs, and also can increase or decrease overall yields and re-work. Our calculations of manufacturing costs factor counts and more qualitative complexities in the design. The cost of manufacturing is also, to some extent, decreased in this case because of assumed labor rate applied for China.

Note that manual labor has a much smaller effect on auto-insertion assembly lines (for the Main PCB, for example), where manufacturing costs are much more capital equipment intensive and driven by these investment costs.

Design Notes

By far, the most significant change in the new Roku 2 XS 3100R is the new A/V processor supplied by Broadcom. As described on their website, the BCM2835 is a new 1080p capable embedded applications process running an ARM11 core along with a dual core VideoCore IV multimedia co-processor. The Broadcom VideoCore IV is a GPU architecture we've previously seen before in the BCM2727 (which the last time we came across the BCM2727 was in the Nokia N8 smartphone). In that instance, it was also designed into a device with a discrete ARM11 based applications processor. Therefore, the BCM2835 is, in effect, an integrated ARM11 processor and GPU optimized for streaming digital media applications. Broadcom also supplies their BCM59002 power management IC for this design.

As mentioned earlier, the memory content remains littled changed from the previously analyzed Roku XDS 2100X at 256MB NAND and 256MB DRAM supplied by Hynix and Samsung respectively.

Perhaps the most interesting design in the Roku 2 XS resides not on the main PCB but on the remote control. Not only does the 3100R remote contain Bluetooth but 3 MEMS sensors that strike a very similar design found in the Nintendo Wii controller. The controller contains another Broadcom part - BCM2070 Bluetooth IC as well as MEMS devices from Invensense (gryo), ST Microelectronics (accelerometer) and Aichi Steel (eCompass).

Here is a summary of the major components used in the Roku 2 XS design:

Main PCB

Processing

• Audio / Video Processor - Broadcom - BCM2835MIPPG, High Definition 1080p, PoP

Memory

• DRAM - Samsung Semiconductor - K4P2G324EC-AGC1, LPDDR2, 2Gb, 46nm, 1.2V, PoP
• Flash - Hynix - HY27UF082G2B-TPCB, NAND, SLC, 2Gb, 3.3V

Bluetooth / WLAN

• WLAN - Broadcom - BCM4336YKFFBG, Single Chip, IEEE802.11b/g/n
• Bluetooth - Broadcom - BCM20702A1KWFBG, Single Chip, Bluetooth 4.0 HCI Solution, w/ Bluetooth Low Energy Support, 65nm

I/O & Interface

• Ethernet Controller / USB Hub - SMSC - LAN9512-JZX

Power Management

• Power Management IC - Broadcom - BCM59002IML25G

Remote Control

• Bluetooth - Broadcom - BCM20730A1KMLG, Single Chip, Bluetooth 3.0 HID Solution, 65nm
• Gyroscope - Invensense - IMU-3000, 3-Axis, 16-bit ADCs & Signal Conditioning, w/ Digital-Output Temperature Sensor, I2C Interface
• Accelerometer - ST Microelectronics - LIS3DH, MEMS, 3-Axis, 2g/4g/8g/16g, 16-bit Data Output, I2C/SPI
• Electronic Compass - Aichi Steel - AMI306, 3-Axis, 12-bit ADC, w/ Built-In Temperature Sensor, I2C Interface