Micronas announced a new "fifth generation" COFDM demodulator chip, the DRX-3977D, which it said exceeds, with several dB of margin, the NorDig-Unified Specification v1.0.2. The improved performance will make it easier to receive of DVB-T signals in fringe areas or when using single frequency networks (SFN).

The DRX-3977D is the only DVB-T demodulator with a high- performance phased locked loop that can reuse the tuner clock without performance degradation, according to the company

"Fringe reception is not just a problem in rural areas--buildings, hilly terrain, and mobile applications all present challenges," said Erik Venema, product marketing manager for digital TV at Micronas. "Our improved performance specifications make this an ideal chip for these designs, and our QFN48 package takes less board space than any other chip on the market."