[opendtv] Zoran and Thomson Announce Low Cost Digital-to-Analog Solution
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2005 17:15:49 -0500
And this is the press release from Zoran.
The reason I found it interesting is that this press
release is the first example I'm aware of where a vendor
is talking about limiting the output of these low-cost
STBs to SDTV. However, from the description, I do not
think they're decimating the (potentially) HD input
signal. I think they are using a full MPEG-2 MP at HL
decoder, and only providing a 480i output interface.
This must be the ATSC receiver design Thomson is
integrating in the family of low-cost CRT TVs they
sell.
As you can see, mentioning A/74 becomes a selling point
for any reference design these days. Whether or not
A/74 is anything more than a recommendation.
Oh, Mark Aitken, this *is* a multi-carrier standard.
Think of it this way: in any typical ATSC market,
you'll see at least six ATSC (partially suppressed)
carriers! That's what you meant, right?
Bert
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http://www.zoran.com/press_room/2005/11_28_05_Thomson_A74.html
Zoran and Thomson Announce Low Cost Digital-to-Analog
Solution to Support the Transition to Digital Broadcast
New A-74 Compliant Reference Design for CRT Televisions
and Set-Top Boxes To Be Demonstrated at CES 2006
Sunnyvale, California - November 28, 2005 - Zoran
Corporation (Nasdaq: ZRAN) and the Thomson Tuner Group,
part of Thomson's Silicon Solutions unit, announced
availability of a digital-to-analog A-74 and ATSC
compliant reference design powered by Zoran's SupraHD
640 digital television processor and Thomson's ATSC
tuner to be demonstrated at CES January 5 to 9 in Las
Vegas.
The compact design allows CRT manufacturers to integrate,
decode, and display digital television feeds, compliant
with the A-74 standard set by the ATSC committee,
directly into analog television chassis. Due to the level
of integration of the components and their price points,
the reference design can also be used by set top box
manufacturers to quickly build converter boxes that
enable existing analog television sets to receive digital
terrestrial broadcast stations.
The complete reference design is based on Zoran's SupraHD
640 high definition television processor, Zoran's Cascade
2 demodulator, and Thomson's DTT 7602 tuner designed
specifically for the U.S. ATSC/NTSC market. The converter
box is targeted at the ATSC compliant market for 480i
output, and offers best-in-class price/performance with
digital decoding, video encoding, scaling and graphics
acceleration. The design also includes advanced
development tools and a royalty free operating system.
"Quality DTV reception can be achieved by complying with
A-74. Our reference design offers a DVD-class video and
audio experience far superior to what consumers are
receiving today on their analog NTSC televisions. Congress
is converging on a date early in 2009 for the transition
and is obligating broadcasters, cable operators, retailers,
and television manufacturers to engage in a consumer
education campaign regarding the transition. The digital
conversion should happen quickly now because it benefits
all; the US government, emergency services, consumers, and
the broadcast and consumer electronics industries" said
Dave Pederson, vice president corporate marketing at Zoran
Corporation.
"Thomson is committed to the United States market and
hence it was important to launch tuner products to meet
guidelines as laid out in the A-74 recommendations by the
ATSC. Our collaboration focused tremendously on
guaranteeing reliable reception for future DTV products
based on this reference design. With our partner Zoran, we
are delivering one of the most competitive designs in the
market," said Fabrice Corbin, Marketing Manager, Thomson
Tuner Division.
"We've worked with Thomson to deliver this reference
design because we believed that it was important to
partner with an experienced DTV tuner supplier to
complement our new Cascade demodulator. Our reference
design enables DTV converter boxes at a price point
affordable to U.S. households for receiving improved
digital broadcasts and access to emergency stations," said
Ram Ofir, senior vice president and general manager, DTV
division at Zoran.
"Reclaiming the analog TV spectrum for new public safety
and advanced digital wireless services will generate
billions of dollars for the federal government, so the US
Congress is looking for ways to encourage the transition,
while making sure that all consumers will be able to
receive digital television signals. We expect U.S.
shipments of integrated television sets to increase from 6
million in 2005 to 29 million in 2009 and worldwide
shipments to increase from 10 million in 2005 to 59
million in 2009. Since Congress is planning to subsidize
low-income households, the converter box market in the U.S.
is expected to be about 25 million units," said Michelle
Abraham, senior analyst at Instat.
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