Sony, Set-Top Box News...
BW0118 NOV 24,1997 7:53 PACIFIC 10:53 EASTERN
( BW)(SONY-SEMICONDUCTOR-3) Sony Announces Entire
Front-End Tuner Solution for Digital Set-Top Boxes in Two
Chips; New Chips Offer OEMs Easy Integration and Lower Cost
Solution
Business Editors and High-Tech Writers
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 24, 1997--Sony Semiconductor
Co. of America (SSA), a division of Sony Electronics Inc., Monday announced the
CXA3038N and the CXA3108Q, a two-chip tuner solution for satellite digital
broadcast systems (DBS) and set-top box receivers.
The CXA3038N and CXA3108Q join Sony's Virtuoso family leveraging the
company's digital and mixed signal design expertise. In comparison to alternatives,
the chip-set integrates more functionality in a two-chip tuner solution as well as
significantly lower power requirements.
"As digital satellite broadcasting is expanding rapidly to world markets, OEMs are
looking for more cost effective ways to meet demands," said Vishwanath Nayak,
director of marketing, consumer a/v/d division SSA. "This tuner chip-set not only
offers OEMs cost advantages, its power consumption is lower."
The CXA3108Q takes full advantage of Sony's high-speed bipolar process by
integrating an oscillator/mixer circuit for L-band down converter functions and a
phase lock loop (PLL) circuit for channel selection on a single chip rather than the
two chips previously required. The onboard PLL control function supports both the
PC bus and the three-wire bus allowing for a wider range of reference frequencies to
be selected.
The CXA3108Q also incorporates a unique differential Colpitts oscillator circuit,
allowing this device to provide a stable oscillator signal with no parasitic oscillation
over the wide band of 1.3 to 2.7GHz.
The CXA3038N features adjustment-free carrier recovery through an on-chip
PLL circuit. This function is required for 480MHz band quadrature detection
whenever an on-chip PLL circuit is present. Because the PLL circuit includes divide
data, it can replace the high-cost SAW resonator and eliminate the need for an
external control. The CXA3038N includes an A/D converter allowing the frequency
to be adjusted plus/minus 450kHz steps from the center frequency of 479.5MHz.
Sony designed the chip-set to support a wide range of applications such as
single-unit tuners for both analog and digital satellite broadcasts and tuners for both
UHF and VHF broadcasts. This is achieved by integrating two IF output circuit
systems on the CXA3108Q and an external input pin for the PLL circuit. The
CXA3038N features an on-chip 32-frequency divider for local oscillator signals.
This enables the support of older carrier recovery techniques when a PLL circuit is
included in the QPSK demodulation IC.
The CXA3038N and CXA3108Q consume 350mW and 250mW power
respectively -- a significant reduction over previous solutions. This feature makes the
chip-set optimal for bit stream output tuner products that also include the QPSK
demodulation and error correction circuit in the tuner pack which typically generates
a significant amount of heat.
The chips provide a glueless interface to Sony's Virtuoso CXD1961AQ QPSK
FEC decoder. Sony's tuner chip-set is manufactured using the P42 high-frequency
linear process. Both the CXA3038N and CXA3108Q are packaged as 24-pin
SSOP. Sample quantities of the CXA3038N and the CXA3108Q are currently
available for $6 a set. Production quantities of 10,000 or more of both the
CXA3038N and the CXA3108Q are also available for $4 a set.
SSA, based in San Jose, is a leading manufacturer and supplier of integrated
circuits. Since 1983, Sony has designed, engineered and manufactured products for
the U.S. semiconductor market. The company is a technology leader in the
development of semiconductor solutions for newly emerging and cutting edge
high-performance markets in multimedia, communications and workstation cache
memory.
Currently it offers a diverse array of innovative products ranging from memory to
multimedia, communications, networking and wireless IC.
Vertically integrated for fast product development and production, Sony is
positioned to respond quickly to customer needs. The company has a
state-of-the-art design center in San Jose and wafer fabrication facilities in San
Antonio, Texas.
For additional information, contact Sony Semiconductor Co. of America, 3300
Zanker Rd., San Jose, Calif., 95134. Telephone: 800/228-SONY or
408/955-6572, Fax 408/955-5176 or visit SSA's Web site at www.sony.com/semi
.
--30--CB/np* KM/np
CONTACT: Sony Electronics Inc.
Julie Steckmest, 408/955-4469
julie_steckmest@mail.sel.sony.com
or
Roberts, Mealer & Co.
Amy Lytle or Leilani Smith
714/957-1314
alytle@rmc.xo.com
lsmith@rmc.xo.com |
