Industry's Top-Selling Silicon TV Tuner Optimized for
Cost/Performance Requirements of Mainstream TVs
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Silicon
Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leader in high-performance,
analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs, today introduced a silicon TV tuner
solution designed to provide an optimal balance of affordable cost and
high performance for TV makers in China and Taiwan. The new Si2155 TV
tuner IC extends Silicon Labs' field-proven and industry-leading silicon
TV tuner architecture into high-growth emerging markets for digital TVs
and set-top box (STB) products.
TV makers in China have been rapidly increasing flat-panel TV production
over the last three years, and cost-optimized solutions such as Silicon
Labs' Si2155 TV tuner IC will help them deliver high-quality TV models
at competitive price points. According to the analyst firm
DisplaySearch, China is expected to become the world's largest market
for LCD TVs this year. DisplaySearch also predicts that flat-panel TV
shipments (both LCD and plasma models) in China will nearly double from
the 31 million units reported in 2009 to 59 million units in 2014,
reaching a compound annual growth rate of 14 percent.
"Silicon Labs' Si2155 TV tuner provides an ideal solution for our
flat-panel TV design needs," said Lang Bai, research and development
director, Sichuan Changhong Component Technology Co., Ltd. "The Si2155
exceeds the performance of traditional CAN tuners, providing consumers
with outstanding broadcast reception while enabling Changhong to reduce
the cost and complexity of TV tuner modules."
The Si2155 TV tuner IC delivers industry-leading RF performance and the
design simplicity offered by Silicon Labs' award-winning Si217x TV
tuners, which are in high-volume production at five of the world's top
seven TV brands. The Si2155 simplifies TV tuner design and qualification
across all major worldwide analog and digital broadcast standards. It
also combines easily with mainstream TV system-on-chip (SoC) devices,
which integrate standard analog demodulators suitable for economy TVs.
The Si2155 is based on Silicon Labs' patented TV tuner architecture,
which delivers exceptionally clear TV reception for both analog and
digital broadcasts. Offering superior linearity and fully
integrated high-quality tracking filter inductors, Silicon Labs'
next-generation TV tuners deliver the industry's highest immunity
against blocker interference, resulting in the ability to receive the
highest number of analog and digital channels in urban settings. The
Si2155 IC's RF front-end also offers unparalleled sensitivity
performance and consistently tunes distant transmitters in non-urban
settings.
Available in a compact 5 mm x 5 mm QFN package, the Si2155 TV tuner
helps TV makers reduce system cost by minimizing board size and
component count and supporting lower-cost external components. The
Si2155 IC integrates the complete signal path from RF input to IF
outputs. Compared to traditional discrete MOPLL-based tuner solutions,
designs based on the Si2155 eliminate more than 100 external components
including low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), tracking filter inductors (unlike
other silicon tuners) and surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters, resulting
in the simplest, lowest-cost BOM for a hybrid tuner. The Si2155 also
enables cost-effective "on-board" tuner implementations using lower-cost
external components.
"The Si2155 IC extends Silicon Labs' industry-leading TV tuner
architecture into the rapidly growing China and Taiwan TV markets with a
perfect match of affordability and exceptional RF performance," said
James Stansberry, general manager of Silicon Labs' broadcast video
products. "Compared to competing silicon tuners and discrete MOPLL-based
tuners, the Si2155 delivers superior picture quality at a much lower
system cost. We believe that the Si2155 will be a winning choice for TV
makers in today's competitive emerging markets."
The Si2155 IC shares a common application programming interface (API)
with Silicon Labs' entire TV tuner portfolio. This shared software API
shortens the TV designer's learning curve when moving from worldwide
hybrid HDTVs to regionalized platforms and STB designs. A simple
application circuit, common across all of Silicon Labs' next-generation
TV tuners, makes on-board installations straightforward with immediate
cost savings, while also being suitable for simplified, cost-effective
CAN tuner modules.
About the Silicon Labs TV Tuner IC Portfolio
The Si2155 TV tuner IC is a part of Silicon Labs' third generation of
silicon tuners, which includes the high-performance Si2176 TV tuner IC
with integrated analog demodulator, the Si2136 analog receiver, the
Si2146 digital-only tuner (ideal for terrestrial and cable STBs,
multi-tuner HDTVs and Blu-ray/DVD recorders) and the high-performance
Si2156 TV tuner, which offers a higher frequency range than the Si2155
product. Each of these TV tuner products employs the same
high-performance RF front-end and operates within the same pin-out and
software API to simplify design efforts across multiple TV and STB
platforms.
Silicon Labs pioneered the first silicon TV tuners designed to exceed
the performance of traditional discrete tuner implementations. Based on
dozens of patents issued or pending, Silicon Labs' digital low-IF
architecture enables exceptional TV tuner performance and integration
while addressing the challenges created by hybrid analog and digital
reception and multiple regional standards. The TV tuners' high level of
integration eliminates more than 100 discrete components, enabling
simpler designs and lower manufacturing costs, and delivers higher
production yields and improved reliability while achieving a new level
of reception performance customization and configurability through
software. By designing its TV tuners in standard CMOS, Silicon Labs is
the only company to offer a roadmap to cost-effective, single-chip TV
receivers that integrate hybrid analog and digital tuner and demodulator
functions in a single IC.
Pricing and Availability
Samples and production quantities of the Si2155 TV tuner are available
now. The Si2155 is priced at $1.23 (USD) in 10,000-unit quantities. The
Si2176-B-EVB and the Si2156-B-EVB, both priced at $495 (USD), provide
comprehensive evaluation platforms for Silicon Labs' next-generation
Si2176/46/36 and Si2155/56 TV tuners, respectively. The evaluation
boards include control software and the Si2165 DVB-T/C digital
transmission standard demodulator.
For more information about Silicon Labs' silicon TV tuners products and
to purchase samples and development tools, please visit www.silabs.com/pr/tv-tuner.
Silicon Laboratories Inc.
Silicon Laboratories is an industry leader in the innovation of
high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs. Developed by a
world-class engineering team with unsurpassed expertise in mixed-signal
design, Silicon Labs' diverse portfolio of patented semiconductor
solutions offers customers significant advantages in performance, size
and power consumption. For more information about Silicon Labs, please
visit www.silabs.com.
Cautionary Language
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on
Silicon Laboratories' current expectations. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties. A number of important
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of factors that could
impact Silicon Laboratories' financial results and cause actual results
to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements,
please refer to Silicon Laboratories' filings with the SEC. Silicon
Laboratories disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
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Silicon Laboratories Inc.
Dale Weisman, +1-512-532-5871
dale.weisman@silabs.com
Source: Silicon Laboratories Inc.
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