Tiny digital STB tuner ICs
The ICs help STB designers reduce board space and bill of materials (BOM) cost through a combination of single-chip integration and the small package size. Integrated loop-through technology also helps reduce system-level cost and power consumption.
Available in a small 3 mm x 3 mm QFN package, the Si2144/24 ICs claim to be the smallest STB tuners available today. This ultra-compact package, combined with minimal BOM count, enables the smallest footprint of any STB tuner solution in the market: 0.86 cm2.
The Si2144/24 tuners also claim to deliver the lowest BOM cost of any STB tuner in mass production. Unlike competing STB tuners, the Si2144/24 devices require no balun at the RF input, and they integrate all tracking filter inductors, dramatically reducing system cost and complexity.
Based on the company’s six generations of video tuner technology and proven digital low-IF architecture deployed globally in more than 400 million TVs, the Si2144/24 family is optimized for the performance, cost, footprint and green energy requirements of STB applications. The digital tuner IC family supports all worldwide cable and terrestrial STB standards (ATSC/QAM, DVB-T2/C2/T/C, ISDB-T/C and DTMB).
Loop-through (LT) technology — routing the RF input signal to an RF output and making it available to other video devices such as a legacy analog TV — is a key feature required by many STB designs. The Si2144/24 ICs claim to be the smallest, most power-efficient STB tuners available with integrated LT technology, consuming less than 500 mW, which minimizes total STB power consumption and reduces power supply and thermal requirements as well as system cost for multi-tuner designs.
In addition to integrating active LT technology (available when the STB is powered on), the Si2144/24 tuners feature “off-through” passive LT technology, which delivers LT capability when the STB is powered off or even unplugged. Passive LT minimizes the STB’s standby power consumption, enabling STB makers to promote their products as “eco-friendly” by helping consumers save energy. All competing CMOS STB tuners require costly external components to implement this “off-through” feature.
Delivering high linearity, sensitivity and robust reception over real-world scenarios, the Si2144/24 tuners offer improvements in noise figure across the band and greater immunity to undesired signals such as LTE transmissions without external filtering. The STB tuners deliver 13 dB margin to the industry’s D-Book specification for superior LTE interference immunity, enabling pristine picture clarity proven in more than 400 million TVs worldwide without a single product return due to LTE interference.
“As the leading supplier of silicon tuners to the TV industry, we’ve engineered many years and six generations of architectural innovation into our Si2144/24 STB tuner family,” said James Stansberry, senior vice president and general manager of Silicon Labs’ Internet of Things and broadcast products. “Our Si2144/24 tuners offer STB makers the optimal balance of RF performance, energy efficiency, tiny package size and BOM-saving integration, enabling them to reduce the cost, complexity and power consumption of their STB designs.”
The Si2144/24 STB tuner family shares a common application programming interface (API) with the company’s entire TV and STB tuner portfolio. This shared software API reduces the STB designer’s learning curve when migrating from worldwide hybrid HDTVs to regionalized platforms and STB designs. A simple application circuit, common across all of Silicon Labs’ TV and STB tuners, makes onboard installations straightforward with immediate cost savings.
Samples and production quantities of the Si2144/24 digital STB tuners are available now in a 3 mm x 3 mm 24-QFN package.
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
