News

28/9/2003

Sanyo and STMicroelectronics Develop Digital TV Technology Significantly Easing the Path From Analog to Digital

New Range of Integrated Digital TV Products From Sanyo Based on Leading-Edge System-on-Chip Technology From STMicroelectronics

At the International Funkausstellung 2003 consumer show in Berlin today, Sanyo Industries (U.K.) Limited., a subsidiary of Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., and STMicroelectronics announced the joint development of leading-edge digital TV technology for deployment in Sanyo's newest range of integrated digital TV (iDTV) products. The iDTV sets from Sanyo will be demonstrated during IFA2003, together with STMicroelectronics' advanced digital TV development platform.

Sanyo's new range of 100Hz (2H or progressive scan) iDTV products, capable of decoding analog and digital terrestrial broadcasts, are based on STMicroelectronics' leading-edge system-on-chip IC development platform for both CRT and LCD TVs. The two companies are closely cooperating enabling Sanyo to introduce new iDTV models to the market and start mass production in early 2004.

Such is the combination of the advanced digital TV know-how from the two companies that the interface of the new iDTV products from Sanyo will be identical to its current analog 100Hz TV products and so straightforward that the user will not even know whether the channel transmission is digital or analog. The antenna is simply plugged in and all the channels, whether digital or analog, will be stored automatically. Switching between channels is fast and the channel organizer can even mix both types of transmission. For digital broadcast channels, the processing of the signal is fully digital from beginning to end, from the input to the display, to obtain the best possible picture quality.

Designed to bridge the gap between conventional analog TV and forthcoming digital TV technology, Sanyo is using ST's latest single-chip digital TV decoder for 1H/2H CRT TV applications. The chip includes a 32-bit microcontroller, an analog video decoder, a MPEG digital decoder, video processing, 2H up-converter and bitmap On-Screen Display capabilities.

The device is capable of decoding and displaying analog and digital broadcasts and is completely software compatible with current 2H solutions, retaining legacy analog capabilities (such as Teletext 1.5 or 2.5, nexTView EPG, Teleweb, Closed Caption, VPS and WSS) and provides a full range of digital interactivity compatible with MHEG-5 and MHP (Multimedia Home Platform), the open interactive broadcast standards.

Sanyo has a vast wealth of know-how and experience in producing and marketing high-quality consumer products for the European market. This, together with ST's leading-edge system-on-chip capabilities, allowed the integration of all these functions and capabilities into a single chip with the result that Sanyo needed only to use a single four-layer PCB for its new product range.

"ST's integrated digital TV development platform provides a low-cost solution for 2H digitized analog TVs and establishes the simplest path to full digital TV," said Eric Aussedat, General Manager of ST's TV Division. "ST's platform takes advantage of the IP already used in other digital consumer applications where ST is a leader such as in set-top boxes, DVD players and HDTVs."

"Sanyo's new range of iDTV products offer the display of 100Hz analog transmissions that are virtually indistinguishable from digital broadcast, and are the ideal solution to realize the competitiveness of digital TV products," said Takeru Maeda, Vice President of AV Solutions Company, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. "Sanyo is committed to driving the digital TV market in Europe with this new advanced digital TV platform."

www.sanyo.co.uk
www.st.com