Mitsubishi Electric and Lucent Technologies Deliver Complete Digital
Television (DTV) Chip Set; The Industry's Only End-to-End,
Receiver-to-Display HDTV Chip Set
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 1998--Mitsubishi Electric America and Lucent Technologies today announced
that they have jointly developed the industry's only end-to-end, receiver-to-display digital television (DTV) chip set that meets
the North American Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC) digital television standard for both high-definition
television (HDTV) and standard-definition digital television (SDTV) applications.
The chip set enables digital televisions, set-top boxes, personal computers and other digital appliances to receive digital video
and CD-quality audio signals from terrestrial broadcast stations. Lucent and Mitsubishi will be demonstrating the chip set here
at the Consumer Electronics Show (Booth No. 21525 - Sands Expo & Convention Center; and Booth No. 178 - Las Vegas
Convention Center).
The chip set consists of five application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs):
-- AV8100: a single-chip DTV terrestrial demodulator for vestigial side-band (VSB) modulation, which separates the digital
signal from the analog carrier wave on which they are transmitted. The demodulator performs three core VSB reception
functions on a single chip whereas other manufacturers use two or three chips to perform the same function. It is fabricated in
0.35-um CMOS process technology and is available in a 160-pin quad flat pack (QFP) package; VDD = 3.3V.
-- AV6220A: an MPEG-2 (ISO/IEC 13818-1) system layer demultiplexer, which separates the audio and data portion of
the transmission from the video portion. It is fabricated in 0.5-um CMOS process technology and is available in a 160-pin
QFP package; VDD = 5.0V.
-- M65682WG: an MPEG-2 main profile at high level (MP@HL) video decoder, which decompresses the encoded video
signal. It is fabricated in 0.35-um CMOS process technology and is available in a 329-pin ball grid array (BGA) package;
VDD = 3.3V.
-- M65863FP: a Dolby(r) Digital AC-3, 5.1 channel (5 channels plus subwoofer) audio decoder, which decompresses the
audio portion of the transmission. It is fabricated in 0.5-um CMOS process technology and is available in a 68-pin QFP
package; VDD = 3.3V.
-- M65680WG: a DTV display processor, which transforms decoded video signals and outputs into both progressive and
interlaced video formats; supports all 18 input formats specified by ATSC regulations and converts to either 1080i or 720p
when receiving HDTV signals; converts all to 480i when receiving SDTV signal, then outputs an analog RGB signal. It is
fabricated in 0.5-um CMOS process technology and is available in a 338-pin BGA package; VDD = 3.3V.
The demodulator and demultiplexer chips were developed by Lucent Technologies' Microelectronics Group and Bell Labs,
the R&D arm of Lucent Technologies. The video decoder was developed by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and Bell Labs,
and the audio decoder and the display processor were developed by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Lucent announced commercial
availability of the demodulator chip (AV8100) in November 1997. Mitsubishi Electric America's Digital Broadcast Business
America (DBBA) and Electronic Device Group business units are marketing the Mitsubishi portion of the chip set in North
America.
"This chip set offers the most complete solution available today for high-definition digital television," said Tommy Poon, senior
vice president for strategic planning in Mitsubishi Electric America's DBBA division. "Lucent and Mitsubishi not only offer the
most robust receiver chip set, but Mitsubishi also provides the encoding technology for HDTV broadcasting and also
industry-leading big screen technology with our HD-1080 series receivers that are slated to ship at the end of 1998."
The chip set interfaces with a variety of RF tuner front-ends to receive incoming DTV signals from terrestrial broadcast
stations and cable systems. The chip set receives and decodes all 18 digital TV formats defined by the ATSC for HDTV and
multi-channel SDTV, and displays them in both interlaced and progressive formats allowing greater flexibility in the reception
of DTV broadcasts. Additionally, the audio decoder is included as part of the chip set making it the most integrated DTV chip
set available.
"We leveraged the research and development experience from Lucent's Bell Labs and Mitsubishi's wide screen TV expertise
to be able to offer this complete first-generation chip set for the emerging digital television market," said Ed Roberts, general
manager of Lucent's broadband network communications ICs group.
Commercial samples of the complete chip set are scheduled for release in the end of the first quarter of 1998 from Lucent
Technologies' Microelectronics Group and the Electronic Device Group of Mitsubishi Electronics America (a Mitsubishi
Electric America company). Front-end tuning and demodulation application boards will be available in February 1998 and
audio-video decoder boards will be available in the second quarter of 1998. Volume production for the chips is slated for the
third quarter of 1998, fueling the production of consumer digital televisions to be available by the fourth quarter of 1998. The
chip set will be used by Mitsubishi in its own consumer HDTV receiver products, and is being marketed by both companies to
other HDTV manufacturers.
About Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private
networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronic
components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company. For more information on Lucent Technologies,
visit our web site at lucent.com .
Lucent's Microelectronics Group designs and manufactures integrated circuits and optoelectronic components for the
computer and communications industries. More information about the Microelectronics Group's business is available from its
web site at lucent.com .
About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is a world-class manufacturer of consumer electronic products and is ranked among the top
10 worldwide semiconductor suppliers. Mitsubishi Electric America Inc. was established in 1973 as the holding company for
all 15 of Mitsubishi Electric's subsidiary companies in North and Central America.
Mitsubishi Electric America's Digital Broadcasting Business America division is the focal point in North America for a
collaborative effort among all Mitsubishi Electric Corporation business units with a stake in DTV technology and products.
The division provides strategic business planning and marketing services for essential building blocks of DTV required by
broadcasters, cable and satellite service providers, and manufacturers of computer systems and television sets.
The Electronic Device Group of Mitsubishi Electronics America, a Mitsubishi Electric America company, markets an extensive
range of semiconductor-based products in the North American marketplace including eRAM(tm) system-on-chip products,
ASICs, memory ICs, optoelectronic products, microwave GaAs FETs, MPEG codecs and flat-panel displays.
Trademark information
eRAM is a trademark of Mitsubishi Electronics America Inc.
Dolby is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation.
CONTACT: Lucent Technologies
Tom Topalian, 908/508-8673 (office)
ttopalian@lucent.com
Booth No. 21525 - Sands Expo & Convention Center
or
KVO Public Relations
John Elias, 650/919-2023
jelias@kvo.com
or
Mitsubishi Electric America, Inc.
Mitsubishi Electronics America, Inc.
John Garner, 408/774-3191
garner_john@edg.mea.com
Booth No. 178 - Las Vegas Convention Center
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