Product Roundup: Audio/video multimedia ICs

Consumers now demand a more compelling video content experience, better audio quality, and the ability to stream content and connect devices in the home and on the go. Read on for some new products with these features.

Meeting the needs for the next-generation connected home experience, the BCM7425 chip from Broadcom (www.broadcom.com) is a high definition full-resolution 3DTV set-top box SoC solution designed for residential video gateways. It was offered as the industry’s first SoC to combine a 1.3-GHz dual-threaded MIPS applications processor with the latest transmission efficient standards for enabling 1080p60/50 content distribution and full-resolution HD 3DTV. Produced in 40-nm process technology, the part also features a 1-Gpixel/s OpenGL ES 2.0 3D GPU for advanced 3D graphics acceleration, and whole-home connectivity that includes support for Multimedia over Coax Alliance and Digital Living Network Alliance standards.

The Advantiv ADV7525 and ADV 7526 HDMI transmitters from Analog Devices (www.analog.com) support HD TV formats up to 1080i and computer graphics resolutions up to XGA at 75 Hz. Said to have a 25% smaller footprint than competing offerings (3.45 x 3.45 x 0.505 mm), the chips come in 80- and 150-MHz versions and run on 1.8 V. The ICs support HDMI version 1.4 with 3D and extended colorimetry, feature a 24-bit video interface, and have HDCP keys that allows secure transmission. They also have enhanced consumer electronic control, support SPDIF and 8-ch I2 S digital audio, and 5-V-tolerant I/Os.

Analog Device’s HDMI transmitters for portable devices

QuickLogic (www.quicklogic.com) offers VEE (Visual Enhancement Engine) technology, which targets mobile displays and enhances the viewability of those displays in challenging conditions such as bright ambient light. VEE optimizes video characteristics on a pixel-by-pixel basis to provide the user with a natural TV-quality viewing experience. VEE does these things while also improving battery life, which is a major challenge to designers of handheld consumer electronics. VEE is currently included in the company’s ArticLink Solution Platform family.

QuickLogic’s VEE technology

The SMP8910 media processor from Sigma Designs (www.sigmadesigns.com) is offered as the first chip to integrate VXP studio quality video processing and the most flexible 3D video processing into a high-performance media processor. The SMP8910 provides more than 6,000 DMIPS via a dual-core 1004K MIPS CPU. The chip’s unique distributed-processing architecture features task-optimized CPU that manage key processes, including HD multi-format video decoding, 3D graphics rendering, content protection and security management, and multiformat audio encoding and decoding.

Sigma Designs Studio-grade set-top box SoC

National Semiconductor (www.national.com) claimed the LM49251 to be the first stereo analog subsystem with integrated Class G headphone amplifier and automatic level control (ALC) for smartphones and feature phones. The part reduces the supply voltage to lower power consumption and extend audio (MP3, movies, etc.) playback time. It is also claimed to offer the lowest power consumption in its class, consuming less than 7 mA of quiescent current at 3.3 V for the loudspeaker and headphone. Specifically, it combines a a 1.4-W Class D speaker amplifier, 20-mW Class G headphone amplifier, and ALC in a 30-bump micro SMD 2.55 x 3.02-mm package. The ALC feature provides designers with a programmable output power limiter for speaker protection and clip-level select.

Nationals LM49251 stereo analog subsystem

Measuring 1 x 1 mm, the Maxim Integrated Products (www.maxim-ic.com) MAX98304 Class D amplifier is claimed to be the smallest of its kind. This amplifier increases output power by 23% to 3.2 W and reduces noise by 39% to 19 µVrms, as compared to the company’s previous-generation device. Active emissions-limiting, edge-rate, and overshoot-control circuitry greatly reduces EMI. Additionally, the amplifier’s 0.3-mm-pitch, 9-bump WLP features a no-connect middle bump to eliminate the need for expensive PCB technologies. No output filtering components of any kind are required.

Texas Instruments (www.ti.com) recently announced the TMS320DM8168 DaVinci digital media processor and the software compatible, power-efficient TMS320DM8148 DaVinci digital media processor. The ‘DM8168 offers three times the video-streaming capability over competing solutions with up to three simultaneous 1080p60-fps video streams, 12 simultaneous 720p30-fps video streams or a combination of lower-resolution streams. The lower-power ‘DM8148 offers a single high-performance, 1080p60 fps video stream, three simultaneous 720p30-fps video streams, or multiple lower-resolution streams at 3 W.

Christina Nickolas