STMicroelectronics Introduces Silicon Tuner Supporting Digital-Terrestrial TV Standard as Analog Switch-Off Gathers Pace

As demand grows for economical equipment allowing households to access digital terrestrial television services, STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), the world's largest supplier of ICs for set-top boxes (STB), has introduced a single-chip DVB-T silicon tuner that enables manufacturers to simplify product assembly and supply-chain management.

ST's new silicon tuner, the STV4100, addresses growing global demand for digital STBs and integrated digital televisions (iDTVs) as countries worldwide switch from analog to digital television broadcasting. This process, called Digital Switchover (DSO) or Analog Switch-off (ASO), is ongoing, and is already complete in nine countries, including the USA and parts of Europe and Scandinavia. In total, over 120 territories have selected DVB-T, the standard supported by the STV4100, as offering the best flexibility, quality of service, and accessibility for all socio-economic groups.

By introducing the STV4100, ST now offers complete chipsets for digital-terrestrial receivers, including the tuner and a choice of demodulators, MPEG decoders, and combined demodulator/decoder ICs. This enables customers to gain cost and efficiency advantages by partnering with ST to fulfill their entire chipset requirements for Standard-Definition (SD) or High-Definition (HD) products. The STV4100 meets all DVB-T standards including DTG, Nordig Unified v2.0, and Digitenne.

Silicon tuners are replacing the so-called 'can tuners' often supplied by third-party providers, which combine multiple discrete components in a metal enclosure and must be individually adjusted for optimum performance. ST's STV4100 saves up to 30 separate components, has a compact QFN 5 x 5mm footprint, and requires no adjustment. In addition, the operating current of only 600mA helps minimize the power consumption of products such as set-top boxes, iDTVs, PC-TV receivers, and DVD or Blu-ray recorders.

"With digital switchover now imminent in many territories using DVB-T broadcasting, the STV4100 allows us to deliver complete silicon chipsets for DVB-T equipment at a time when growth in worldwide demand is expected to accelerate dramatically," said Philippe Lambinet, Executive Vice President of ST's Home Entertainment and Displays Group. "This device follows logically from our silicon tuners for digital-satellite applications, which have achieved cumulative shipments of more than 50 million units since 2004, and will strengthen our position in markets for DVB-T equipment."

The STV4100 can be used with the STV0362 demodulator to create a generic STB front-end for a decoder IC such as the STi7105. Alternatively the device can be used with one of ST's combined demodulator/decoder ICs such as the STi516x family for SD MPEG2 decoder, or the forthcoming STi5267 and STi7167 H.264 decoders for SD and HD applications, respectively.

The STV4100 is in production now, priced at $1.80 in quantities of 10,000 units.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics is a global leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications with innovative semiconductor solutions. ST aims to be the undisputed leader in multimedia convergence and power applications leveraging its vast array of technologies, design expertise and combination of intellectual property portfolio, strategic partnerships and manufacturing strength. In 2008, the Company's net revenues were $9.84 billion.