Silicon Labs introduces a new line of low-power digital set-top box tuners

     Silicon Labs has announced the introduction of a new family of high-performance digital set-top box (STB) tuner ics designed to reduce the cost, complexity and power consumption of wired, terrestrial, hybrid terrestrial/satellite and IP-based STB products. Silicon Labs' new Si2144 and Si2124 digital tuner ics help STB designers reduce board area and bill of materials (BOM) costs with superior single-chip integration and the industry's smallest package size. The integrated Loop out (LT) technology in the Si2144/24 tuner family also helps reduce overall system cost and power consumption.

     Silicon Labs' Si2144/24 family provides the best-in-class digital tuner solution for the global wired, terrestrial and hybrid terrestrial set-top box market, which is expected to exceed 100 million units shipped this year. As the world's largest STB market, China is now a powerhouse in the design and manufacture of STBS that meet both domestic consumption and export needs. Silicon Labs' Si2144/24 digital tuner is supported by China's leading terrestrial and wired STB system-on-chip (SoC) provider.

     With six generations of Silicon Labs' evolving video tuner technology and a digital low-IF architecture validated by more than 400 million televisions worldwide, the Si2144/24 family of products fully meets the performance, cost, size and green energy needs of STB applications. In addition, the Si2144/24 family supports all global wireline and terrestrial STB standards (ATSC/QAM, DVB-T2/C2/T/C, ISDB-T/C and DTMB).

     Loop output (LT) technology, which routes RF input signals to RF output ports so that they can be used by other devices such as traditional analog TVS, is a key functional requirement in many STB designs. The Si2144/24 IC is the smallest and most energy-efficient STB tuner chip of its kind available on the market with integrated LT technology, consuming less than 500 milliwatts of power, which greatly reduces the overall power consumption of the STB, reducing the design requirements for power supply and heat dissipation, and the system cost of multi-tuner designs.

     In addition to the integrated active LT technology, which is enabled when the STB is powered on, the Si2144/24 tuner also features "off-through" passive LT technology, which continues to provide LT functionality even after the STB is turned off and even unplugged. Passive LT greatly reduces the standby power consumption of STBS, allowing STB manufacturers to make their products more energy efficient and help consumers save energy. All existing CMOS STB tuners of the same kind require high-cost off-chip devices to achieve the "off-through" function.

     The Si2144/24 chip is the smallest STB tuner available today, supporting an extremely small 3 mm x 3 mm QFN package. This ultra-compact package, combined with the smallest BOM component count, makes it the smallest STB tuner solution on the market (just 0.86 cm2). In addition, the Si2144/24 has the lowest BOM cost of any STB tuner product in existing production. Unlike competing STB tuners, the Si2144/24 tuner does not require a BALunbalance converter (Balun) at the RF input, and all tracking filter inductors are integrated on-chip, minimizing system cost and design complexity.

     The Si2144/24 tuner provides better noise index performance over the entire band range, while providing increased immunity to interference, such as LTE interference signals, without the addition of an off-chip filter circuit, thus providing unmatched linearity, sensitivity, and stable reception in real-world applications around the world. Based on the LTE immunity requirements of the D-Book specification, the Si2144/24 provides a 13dB margin, which allows the original broadcast TV picture to be clearly presented on more than 400 million televisions worldwide, without a single LTE interference issue returned.

     James Stansberry, senior vice president and general manager of iot and Broadcast products at Silicon Labs, said, "As the leading Silicon tuner provider in the television industry, we bring years of engineering experience and six generations of proven architectural innovation to our Si2144/24 STB tuner family of products. "Our Si2144/24 tuner provides STB manufacturers with the best balance of RF performance, energy efficiency, minimal package size and BOM savings, allowing them to significantly reduce the cost, complexity and power consumption of STB designs."

     The Si2144/24 STB tuner family shares the same application programming interface (API) as all of Silicon Labs' other TV and STB tuner product families. This shared software API makes it much easier for STB designers to learn as they move from global hybrid HDTV to regional platforms and STB designs. Simple application circuitry for all Silicon Labs TVS and STB tuners makes it extremely easy to design on-board with direct cost savings.