World's Smallest Digital STB Tuner ICs with Integrated Loop-Through
Technology Reduce BOM Cost and Enable Energy-Saving Modes
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Silicon
Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB), the leading provider of silicon
TV tuners, today introduced a new family of high-performance digital
set-top box (STB) tuner ICs designed to reduce the cost, complexity and
power consumption of cable, terrestrial, hybrid terrestrial/satellite
and IP-based STB products. Silicon Labs' new Si2144 and Si2124 digital
tuner ICs help STB designers reduce board space and bill of materials
(BOM) cost through a combination of exceptional single-chip integration
and the industry's smallest package size. The Si2144/24 tuner family's
integrated loop-through technology also helps reduce system-level cost
and power consumption.
Silicon Labs' Si2144/24 family offers a best-in-class digital tuner
solution for the global cable, terrestrial and hybrid terrestrial
set-top box market, which is forecast to exceed 100 million units this
year. The world's largest STB market, China is a powerhouse in STB
design and manufacturing for both domestic consumption and export.
Silicon Labs' Si2144/24 digital tuners are supported by China's leading
terrestrial and cable STB system-on-chip (SoC) suppliers.
Based on Silicon Labs' six generations of video tuner technology and
proven digital low-IF architecture deployed globally in more than 400
million TVs, the Si2144/24 family is optimized for the performance,
cost, footprint and green energy requirements of STB applications. The
Si2144/24 family supports all worldwide cable and terrestrial STB
standards (ATSC/QAM, DVB-T2/C2/T/C, ISDB-T/C and DTMB).
Loop-through (LT) technology - routing the RF input signal to an RF
output and making it available to other video devices such as a legacy
analog TV - is a key feature required by many STB designs. The Si2144/24
ICs are the smallest, most power-efficient STB tuners available with
integrated LT technology, consuming less than 500 mW, which minimizes
total STB power consumption and reduces power supply and thermal
requirements as well as system cost for multi-tuner designs.
In addition to integrating active LT technology (available when the STB
is powered on), the Si2144/24 tuners feature "off-through" passive LT
technology, which delivers LT capability when the STB is powered off or
even unplugged. Passive LT minimizes the STB's standby power
consumption, enabling STB makers to promote their products as
"eco-friendly" by helping consumers save energy. All competing CMOS STB
tuners require costly external components to implement this
"off-through" feature.
Available in a tiny 3 mm x 3 mm QFN package, the Si2144/24 ICs are the
smallest STB tuners available today. This ultra-compact package,
combined with minimal BOM count, enables the smallest footprint of any
STB tuner solution in the market: 0.86 cm2. The Si2144/24
tuners deliver the lowest BOM cost of any STB tuner in mass production.
Unlike competing STB tuners, the Si2144/24 devices require no balun at
the RF input, and they integrate all tracking filter inductors,
dramatically reducing system cost and complexity.
Delivering unsurpassed linearity, sensitivity and robust reception over
real-world scenarios, the Si2144/24 tuners offer improvements in noise
figure across the band and greater immunity to undesired signals such as
LTE transmissions without external filtering. The STB tuners deliver 13
dB margin to the industry's D-Book specification for superior LTE
interference immunity, enabling pristine picture clarity proven in more
than 400 million TVs worldwide without a single product return due to
LTE interference.
"As the leading supplier of silicon tuners to the TV industry, we've
engineered many years and six generations of architectural innovation
into our Si2144/24 STB tuner family," said James Stansberry, senior vice
president and general manager of Silicon Labs' Internet of Things and
broadcast products. "Our Si2144/24 tuners offer STB makers the optimal
balance of RF performance, energy efficiency, tiny package size and
BOM-saving integration, enabling them to reduce the cost, complexity and
power consumption of their STB designs."
The Si2144/24 STB tuner family shares a common application programming
interface (API) with Silicon Labs' entire TV and STB tuner portfolio.
This shared software API reduces the STB designer's learning curve when
migrating from worldwide hybrid HDTVs to regionalized platforms and STB
designs. A simple application circuit, common across all of Silicon
Labs' TV and STB tuners, makes onboard installations straightforward
with immediate cost savings.
Pricing and Availability
Samples and production quantities of the Si2144/24 digital STB tuners
are available now in a 3 mm x 3 mm 24-QFN package. The Si2144 digital
cable and terrestrial STB tuner is priced at $0.74 in 10,000-unit
quantities, and the Si2124 digital terrestrial STB is priced at $0.70 in
10,000-unit quantities (all prices in USD). To help accelerate
development, Silicon Labs offers the Si2144-A-EVB and the Si2124-A-EVB
evaluation boards priced at $395 (USD MSRP). For more information about
Silicon Labs' STB tuner ICs and to purchase samples and development
tools, please visit www.silabs.com/tv-tuner.
Silicon Labs
Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB) is a leading provider of silicon, software
and system solutions for the Internet of Things, Internet
infrastructure, industrial control, consumer and automotive markets. We
solve the electronics industry's toughest problems, providing customers
with significant advantages in performance, energy savings, connectivity
and design simplicity. Backed by our world-class engineering teams with
unsurpassed software and mixed-signal design expertise, Silicon Labs
empowers developers with the tools and technologies they need to advance
quickly and easily from initial idea to final product. www.silabs.com
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Silicon Labs
Dale Weisman, +1-512-532-5871
dale.weisman@silabs.com
Source: Silicon Labs
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