audio/videoZONE Products for the week of June 2, 2003
Zarlink Semiconductor Says . . .
ZL10320/21: Single-Chip Processors for Terrestrial
DTV PVRs
"PVR-on-a-chip" processors merge dual-channel demodulator,
PVR controller, MPEG-2 video/audio, and high-speed processor - ZL10320 chip
paves way for world's smallest PVR
Zarlink Semiconductor launched the industry's first fully integrated processing chips for terrestrial digital TV PVRs. With Zarlink's ZL10320/321 chips, consumer electronics companies can build PVRs in boxes about the size of a VHS cassette tape - 60% smaller than today's PVR models.
PVRs, also known as DVRs (digital video recorders), are a category of digital set-top boxes that allow viewers to simultaneously receive, record to hard disk, and manipulate two digital TV channels. Popular PVR features include multi-channel record and replay, live-broadcast pause and resume, and advanced channel programming.
Zarlink's ZL10320 chip is the first digital TV processor to combine all the core PVR processing functions into one device. Using its new processor, Zarlink has produced the industry's smallest PVR reference design, which includes a hard disk drive, memory, RF (radio frequency) tuners, power regulators, and other components. Measuring just 24.2 cm (centimeters) x 14.2 cm x 20 mm (millimeters), Zarlink's ZLE10302 PVR reference board is very power efficient, consuming just 10 W (watts).
"With our compact, dual-channel PVR processors and reference board, we've set the industry benchmark for integration, and delivered technology that helps our customers succeed with compelling DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial) products," said Paul Fellows, DTV system-on-a-chip product line director, Zarlink Semiconductor. "These dual-channel PVR devices complement the ZL10310/311 single-channel DVB-T processors we unveiled in late 2002, and clearly demonstrate Zarlink's technology roadmap for the DVB-T marketplace."
Expanding markets for DVB-T consumer electronics
DVB-T is an ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) standard for broadcasting digital TV channels that are received via rooftop antennae. Consumer demand for PVRs and other DVB-T consumer electronics products is being fuelled by global adoption of the standard, and growing numbers of "free-to-air" digital TV channels, particularly in Europe. These channels such as Britain's popular new Freeview service are being rolled out, in part, to support the European Union's 2006 start date for switching off analog TV transmissions.
Zarlink's ZL10320 delivers, on one piece of silicon, all the core processing functions for DVB-T-compliant PVRs. It integrates two COFDM (coded orthogonal frequency division multiplex) channel demodulators with a PVR controller, MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group, Standard #2) demultiplexer, audio and video decompression, on-screen display graphics, a high-performance RISC (reduced instruction set computing) central processing unit, and peripheral interfaces.
Robust Linux software development kit
A robust software development kit based on the industry's open-source, royalty-free Linux platform supports the ZL10320 processor. The kit, which includes runtime and development environments, speeds time-to-market by enabling fast development cycles. Software developed with the kit can also be used in applications for other Linux-based consumer products, saving electronics companies time and money.
Sister chip for Dolby and Pay TV
The ZL10321 dual-channel processor is a pin-compatible enhanced version
of the ZL10320 chip. The ZL10321 processor offers Dolby Digital multi-channel
audio decoding and Macrovision Copy Protection for applications requiring
Dolby Audio and Pay TV services.
analogZONE Says...
The press release sums up a complex product quite well. PVRs have proved particularly popular in Europe where the early agreement on standards has allowed for in-depth development of DTV using DVB-T.
The ZL10320/21 has a dual input which would normally come from a pair of daisy-chained RF tuners driving two signals through a 10-bit ADC, allowing for the recording of two off-air signals at the same time. Two COFDM demodulators, with FEC, drive the PVR controller which can handle three simultaneous MPEG-2 transport streams with an (external, of course) IDE drive. This allows, for example, for the recording of two streams while playing back a third - a typical situation when you have delayed one program stream and are recording another program in the background.
Apart from the external IDE drive, there are also, minimally required, two pieces of 16-Mbyte SDRAM, a Flash ROM, an audio DAC (I2S to stereo), the input 10-bit ADC and two tuners. One of the tuners may also be equipped with an RF re-modulator for a TV or VCR (yes, people still want it!) The higher quality outputs are a composite output (PAL or NTSC, but why NTSC?) with the encoders driven from on-chip 10-bit DACs, and component outputs in either GBR or YPbPr format.
Although the parts are intended for terrestrial broadcasts it is simple to add a pair of external QPSK demodulators to mux in a pair of DVB-S satellite signals, which can bypass the COFDM demodulators on the IC. The same could be done for available cable TV signals.
Two oscillator sources are required: The input ADC requires a crystal oscillator clocking source at 20.48 MHz (for an incoming IF of 36.17 MHz with a 4 MHz span, and an output digital signal centered at 15.69 MHz) and an oscillator at 27 MHz for MPEG-2 decoding.
The ZL10321 adds Dolby Digital decoding and Macrovision copy protection support.
Both these parts will do extremely well in what is still a very lucrative PVR market. They will allow for a next-generation production that is physically much smaller than the first offerings.
The ZL10320/21 are in production in a EPBGA with 388 balls priced at $44 for the ZL10320 and $47 for the ZL10321, both in 1000-piece lots. An evaluation board is available.