Chip set for digital terrestrial TV in Europe. It needs an MPEG2 decoder...............
-NDS: NDS, Motorola and Alps deliver world's first available DTTV Chip
Set Solution
M2 PRESSWIRE-15 December 1997-NDS: NDS, Motorola and Alps deliver world's first available DTTV Chip Set
Solution (C)1994-97 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD
NDS, Motorola and Alps today announced that they have completed collaborative development and are now introducing the
world's first front-end solution for the European Digital Terrestrial Television (DTTV) market. The DTTV front-end solution is
a result of an agreement between the three companies, first announced in June 1997, to work together on the design and
manufacture of a module to allow consumer receiver manufacturers to quickly and easily produce a set-top box in time for the
launch of Digital Terrestrial TV during 1998.
The front-end solution is achieved with three chips which provide Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (COFDM)
demodulation, 2K-mode Fast Fourier Transform (2K-FFT) processing, and Forward Error Correction (FEC). The complete
chip set is manufactured by Motorola. The new DTTV front-end solution takes signals from existing roof top aerials and
demodulates them using the DVB-T specification, and outputs an MPEG-2 stream for use in digital TV sets or digital set-top
boxes. The front- end has been designed to receive 2K carrier DVB compliant signals, the profile for DTTV broadcasting in
the UK as specified by the d-MUX organisation.
"We are delighted to announce the results of a full evaluation of the demodulation chip set from Motorola and the tuner from
Alps together with our own NDS Broadcast equipment. The evaluation trials have produced the results needed to enable us to
now bring the front-end solution to market," says Dr. Mike Windram, senior vice president of NDS and managing director of
NDS Broadcast Systems.
"To design and manufacture this front-end solution quickly enough for manufacturers to have set-top boxes on the market in
time for the UK launch of DTTV would have been difficult, if not impossible, for any of us on our own," says Peter Woodland,
director of planning of Alps Electric (UK) Ltd.
"The spirit of openness and co-operation which we have all shown means that we have met the deadlines to enable set-top
box manufacturers to get to market in time for the launch of DTTV."
Each of the three companies bring specific expertise in broadcast and chip set technology and have been responsible for:
- NDS designing the COFDM chip and specifying the 2K-FFT processing chip - Motorola designing and building the
2K-FFT and FEC chips and building the COFDM chip
- Alps developing and designing the tuner and also introducing a front- end module
"All three companies bring complementary skills to the partnership. Without such co-operation it would not have been possible
to solve the technical issues in time for the UK launch of DTTV," says Ray Burgess, vice president and general manager of
new media business at Motorola. "We are proud to partner with industry leaders to continue to build Motorola's portfolio of
innovative solutions for Digital TV."
Availability
Samples of the current 3-chip solution, already supplied to Beta site customers, are now available.
The production release for the 3-chip solution is planned for the first quarter of 1998. A single chip 2K Demodulator, including
the FEC function, is expected to be introduced in the second quarter of 1998, followed later that year by 2K and 8K solutions
for the wider European DTTV roll out, in line with DigiTAG (Digital Terrestrial Television Action Group) plans.
About NDS
NDS, headquartered in the UK, with operations worldwide, provides end- to-end solutions for digital broadcasting through
the company's research, development and manufacturing activities. NDS is a recognised leader in digital video compression
and conditional access, and has proven systems integration and global support capabilities. NDS is providing its advanced
technologies, products and services to 18 of the 30 current and planned satellite and terrestrial broadcasting systems around
the world. In addition, over 8 million subscribers around the globe use NDS conditional access systems to receive pay TV
satellite and cable services.
NDS play a major part in developing open systems and the international standards for the digital broadcasting arena, providing
the technology and market know-how to implement standards such as MPEG-2 DVB and DTTV. The company continues to
make a major commitment to R&D, with over 700 of its 1,200 plus employees dedicated to its pioneering development work.
NDS is part of the News Technology Group responsible for News Corporation's high technology companies. NDS has won
many awards for technology including an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and two Queen's
Awards, one for Technology and one for Export. NDS is on the World-Wide Web at: ndsworld.com
About Alps
Alps is a US $4 billion revenue Japanese components manufacturer, with headquarters in Tokyo, serving the consumer,
computer, and automotive electronic industry from 31 manufacturing units worldwide. Drawing in its extensive experience as a
world market leader in consumer related Radio Frequency (RF) products, Alps stands at the forefront in the design and
manufacture of RF front-end products. The design of the DTTV products is led by the RF Devices (Soma) division of Alps
Japan, and the design team includes UK engineers from the Alps UK Technology Centre in Milton Keynes.
About Motorola
With 1996 worldwide sales of $7.9 billion, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector is committed to enabling its customers'
success by providing systems solutions, processes and services to anticipate and respond to changing technologies and market
dynamics. As the largest U.S.-based, broad-line semiconductor supplier, the Sector delivers global resources, product design
and development expertise and the highest-quality technology solutions to its customers. Motorola semiconductors power
automobiles, communications and computing systems, and millions of other consumer products.
In the global marketplace, Motorola also is one of the leading providers of wireless communications, advanced electronic
systems, components and services. Major equipment businesses include cellular telephone, two- way radio, paging and data
communications, personal communications, automotive, defence and space electronics, and computers. Corporate sales in
1996 were $28 billion. For additional information, please visit Motorola's Website at: www.mot.com/sps
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