Micronas’ Latest 120Hz truD Solution Provides Superior Picture Quality and Reduced System Cost

Micronas’ Latest 120Hz truD Solution Provides Superior Picture Quality and Reduced System Cost

Micronas’ fifth-generation FRC-Q frame-rate converter with improved picture performance adds scalability to support latest 240Hz LCD panels

Freiburg, Germany – August 19, 2008 – Micronas (SWX Swiss Exchange: MASN), a leading supplier of innovative application-specific IC system solutions for consumer electronics, today announced the FRC-Q, its fifth generation of motion estimation / compensation (ME/MC) frame-rate converters, delivering the Real Motion® experience on Full HD 1080p LCD, PDP and OLED TVs.

LCD displays have inherent weaknesses of motion-blur and film-judder, negatively affecting the consumers’ TV watching experience. PDP displays create large-area flicker, which can be eliminated by enhancing the display frame rate to levels above 60Hz. Micronas’ truD technology combined with the latest generation of high frame-rate displays solves these issues and raises the bar for the ultimate flat-panel TV experience.

DisplaySearch is forecasting over 13.5 million 100/120Hz LCD TVs in 2008, with continued strong growth forecast over the next few years. The FRC-Q has been optimally designed for this rapidly growing 120Hz FHD flat-panel TV segment, with improved picture performance, sharper details on very fast panning scenes, and enhanced motion-blur reduction. In a single-chip configuration, FRC-Q generates 120Hz video, and in a two-chip parallel configuration generates 240Hz video from 50/60Hz video content or 24 fps movie sources.

“With the fifth-generation FRC-Q, Micronas is building on the success of its proven truD technology,” says Johann Weierer, Product Marketing Manager at Micronas. “Our technology raises the bar for picture quality at Full HD resolution and provides the perfect solution for 120Hz and 240Hz LCD TVs.”

In addition to improving video performance, the FRC-Q was architected to minimize system costs. Memory requirements have been reduced to a single DDR2 DRAM. The FRC-Q has also been designed with substantially lower power consumption, eliminating the need for a heat-sink, which enables integration into today’s ultra-thin flat-panel TVs. Finally, the FRC-Q has a simplified high-level command interface to quickly interface to a variety of host CPU software architectures.

Micronas’ latest frame-rate converter can drive large LCD panels directly. LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) interfaces on both inputs and outputs reduce cost and pin-out and the reduced electrical noise improves signal quality throughout the design. The low-noise behavior is further enhanced by the use of spread-spectrum clocks throughout the IC.

The FRC-Q is sampling to qualified OEMs now. Mass production will start in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Micronas will demonstrate this and other innovative application-specific IC system solutions for consumer electronics in hall 8.1, booth 105 at IFA 2008 in Berlin, Germany, from August 29 – September 3, 2008.