Multi-band, low-power DVB-H tuner enables mobile TV in portable devices, supports U.S., European broadcast networks
June 6, 2005 Plano, TX -- Microtune has introduced a line of multi-band tuners compliant with the Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) standard, aimed at handheld devices including cell phones, PDAs, and other multimedia convergence products. The company says its MT2260 tuner enables handheld devices to operate across networks allocated for mobile broadcast TV services in both Europe and in the U.S.
June 6, 2005 Plano, TX -- Microtune has introduced a line of multi-band tuners compliant with the Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) standard, aimed at handheld devices including cell phones, PDAs, and other multimedia convergence products. The company says its MT2260 tuner enables multi-channel broadcast TV with full-motion digital pictures and CD-quality sound. According to the company, currently sampling with major handset manufacturers, the single-chip DVB-H tuner enables handheld devices to operate across networks allocated for mobile broadcast TV services in both Europe and in the U.S.
The DVB-H standard is an industry specification that enables simultaneous transmission of multiple television, radio, and video channels to mobile handheld devices. The company says the device is among the first single-chip DVB-H tuners sampling to support the U.S. frequency range for mobile broadcast TV services. According to the company, as a strategic advantage, the device's multi-band capability permits manufacturers to develop handset designs for global markets without the added expense and duplication of effort to design market-specific devices.
The company says its Mobile MicroTuner MT2260 is based on a patent-pending, multi-band architecture engineered to deliver robust performance low-power mobile environments. Implemented using an advanced silicon-germanium (SiGe) process, the company says the architecture features a shared mixer and filter structure, and is single-ended to reduce components, cost, and space. The company says the tuner's high level of integration eliminates the need for an external low-noise amplifier and transformer balun, further reducing the total power budget.
Measuring 6-mm x 6-mm, the device comes in a 40-pin QFN package, operates from a 2.7-V power supply, and consumes as little as 20 mW in viewing mode, depending on the severity of the reception environment, according to the company. The device features 9-mW power-down and 250-µWatt sleep modes to further conserve battery power. The company says the device's low-power consumption enables mobile phone manufacturers to provide up to 10 hours of TV viewing time on 2-inch or 4-inch displays using 800-mAh or 1300-mAh batteries, respectively, for DVB-H handsets.
Based on the company's ClearTune integrated filter technology, the device's integrated pre-amp filter reduces interference from a mobile phone's own transmitter, which according to the company is a potential major source of picture disruption.
The company says the MT2260's support for international DVB-H networks enables manufacturers to build handsets for European and/or U.S. markets using the same tuner and common software. The tuner operates in the L-Band (1670-1675 MHz), the frequency range planned for a nationwide mobile broadcast TV service in the U.S., as well as in the European UHF frequency range (470-890 MHz), the spectrum expected to be allocated for European mobile TV broadcast. In addition, the MT2260 is designed to interface directly with leading DVB-H demodulators, providing handset manufacturers with design flexibility to choose the optimum tuner-demodulator combination for their needs, according to the company.
The MT2260 is currently sampling, and will be priced at $5.00/unit in quantities of 10,000.
Microtune, Plano, Texas; www.microtune.com
