No demodulator chip, software definition Mobile TV will take off on the computer

No demodulator chip, software definition Mobile TV will take off on the computer

With configurable multi-standard tuner chips, Mirics, a uk-based start-up, announces that they are the only company that uses software to implement TV and radio Demodulation.

However, software-based Demodulation is not the company's original plan, Mirics CEO Simon Atkinson said in a recent interview with EE Times, "We hope we can profit from it, but when we develop our own demodulator, we encounter confusion." ”

Mirics has so far released an initial version of the software demodulation program, supporting a range of digital radio and television standards, including AM,FM,DAB, South Korea's DMB, Europe's DVB-T and Japan's ISDB, also in the development of PAL/NTSC,CMMB, DTMB and ATSC.

However, this hybrid approach-a silicon tuner plus a software demodulator-is counterintuitive, and most mobile TV chip companies are responding to industry demands by introducing a single chip solution for integrated TV tuner and demodulator.

It is not clear whether mimics's hybrid solution is too late for the market or that it offers a breakthrough solution to detonate the still-lukewarm mobile-TV market.

Aim for the CPU

Mirics initially aimed at software/hardware mobile TV solutions that were implemented on X86 's computer platform.

Atkinson revealed that Mirics is also developing a hybrid solution based on mobile phones, mobile internet devices (MID) and other portable consumer devices. Although he did not disclose when to finish the work, he hinted that the project was aimed at the arm platform and an unknown GPU accelerator.

By using the existing CPU and memory resources, Mirics hopes to remove the silicon tuner from the mobile TV system to reduce the volume and cost of the mobile TV, and perhaps more importantly, mirics that there is no need to spend a lot of research and development funding to develop a complex RF soc.

Atkinson promises a hybrid solution based on a PC platform that lowers the cost of digital television, from a traditional $15 trillion to less than $5 trillion.

Mobile TV running on computer motherboards

Atkinson says the TV feature will eventually be embedded in the computer's motherboard, rather than using a traditional external USB dongles or Mini card.

In September, Mirics won the first design-in for their FLEXITV receiver program, and the client is a wireless module expert Azurewave technology company in Taiwan.

Azurewave, based in Taipei, is working with several ODM companies to work on the module--in Mini-card form--to deliver a batch of netbooks (notebook) and desktops next year.

In the Mirics strategy, it is no problem to use the CPU of PC to realize demodulation operation.

"More than just the speed of the clock," Atkinson said, "The next generation of CPUs in a similar capacity of the DSP expansion, SIMD instruction settings and multimedia signal processing characteristics of the enhancement, so that the use of software to carry out the demodulation of all TV standards can be achieved." ”

China market

At the same time, Mirics's RF tuner chip-matched with a third-party demodulator chip-is a guarantee that the company will survive.

Mirics, on December 3, launched a partnership with China's communications company to provide a mobile TV program for portable PCs based on China Mobile's television standard CMMB.

Mirics provides the RF tuner chip code-named FLEXIRF, which provides a demodulation/decoding chip. The two companies will provide CMMB radio and TV reception for laptops and micro-laptops.

A foothold in the Chinese market is a big step forward for Mirics company.

Meanwhile, Mirics is also developing the CMMB demodulation software running on the CPU of PC.

Whether through dongles or Mimi-card, the market capacity of analog/digital mobile TV on laptops has not yet taken off.

For the reason, Atkinson said: "The TV on the PC must work at any time and must be free." "By putting the Demodulation function on the CPU, Mirics hopes his hybrid solution will provide fuel for the future PCTV market's burning."