Interesting announcement from Mitsubishi and Lucent:
Electronic Buyers' News: " Paving the way for the introduction of digital TVs (DTVs) later this year, Mitsubishi Electronics America Inc. and Lucent Technologies Inc. have collaborated on a top-to-bottom DTV chip set. Both companies own the rights to manufacture each of the chips. However, initial production of each component will be at the company that designed the device.
The chip set consists of five ASICs:
- The Lucent AV8100, a single-chip DTV terrestrial demodulator for vestigial side-band modulation that separates the digital signal from the analog carrier wave on which it is transmitted. The device ships in a 160-pin QFP and is manufactured on a 0.35-micron process.
- The Lucent AV6220A, an MPEG-2 system-layer demultiplexer that separates the audio and data portions of the transmission from the video portion. It is fabricated on a 0.5-micron CMOS process and is available in a 160-pin QFP.
- The Mitsubishi M65682WG, an MPEG-2 main-profile-at-high-level video decoder that decompresses the encoded video signal. The chip is fabricated on a 0.35- micron CMOS process and is available in a 329-pin BGA.
- The Mitsubishi M65863FP, a Dolby Digital AC-3, 5.1-channel audio decoder that decompresses the audio portion of the transmission. The device is fabricated on a 0.5-micron CMOS process and is available in a 68-pin QFP.
- The Mitsubishi M65680WG, a DTV display processor that transforms decoded video signals and outputs into both progressive and interlaced video formats. The M65680WG supports all 18 input formats specified by ATSC regulations and converts to either 1,080x1,920 interlaced pixels or 720x1,280 progressive-scan pixels when receiving HDTV signals. It is fabricated on a 0.5-micron CMOS process and is available in a 338-pin BGA.
Together, the chips are expected to cost approximately $500 in volume when production begins in the third quarter, according to David Thom, senior product manager for strategic marketing at the Electronic Device Group of Mitsubishi Electronics America,Sunnyvale, Calif.
The chips produced by Mitsubishi and Lucent, Murray Hill, N.J., will also be used in Mitsubishi's own consumer sets when they ship in the fourth quarter.
In addition, front-end tuning and demodulation application boards will be available in February, and audio-video decoder boards will be available to OEMs in the second quarter.
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This is similar to the chip set developed by LGE and priced at about half what LGE previously announced.
Not sure if Zenith will be earning any royalties from Lucent's chips since, it is my understanding that Lucent holds AT&T's VSB patents along with Zenith. Need a clarification of this from Zenith along with Zenith announcements of VSB licensing fees and contracts to date.
The article indicates that DTV is moving along much quicker than presently perceived. By the third quarter, ever OEM will be able to begin the process of manufacturing both HDTV and SDTV sets. Also, it indicates that Zenith's early lead is shrinking. The early bird, gets the fattest worms..... |
