/ 10.20.2009 12:00AM
TVB Tech Alert: Samsung Unveils Single Mobile DTV Chip
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA:
Samsung Electronics is rolling out its silicon for the ATSC M/H mobile DTV
standard. The company combined radio frequency and digital chip components into
a single 65 nanometer-scale chip. Samsung said the single-chip configuration
would simplify device manufacturing, allowing for smaller and more efficient
handheld receivers.
Samsung announced the availability of its chip just days after the Advanced
Television Systems Committee approved its mobile DTV broadcasting standard.
Samsung was active in the development of the technology that led to the
standard.
“Prior to Samsung`s technical demonstration at the 2006 NAB Show, industry
experts believed that the compatibility of mobile TV broadcasting technology
with the existing ATSC broadcasting system was not possible,” said Byung Duck
Cho, executive vice president of the Digital Media and Communications R&D
Center of Samsung Electronics. “In early 2005, Samsung Electronics decided to
apply significant resources to ATSC standardization.”
Nearly 70 U.S. TV stations are expected to be beta testing ATSC M/H by the end
of this year.
“The goal is to prepare for formal broadcasting tests to North American consumers
beginning in early 2010,” Samsung said.
LG Electronics is also producing chipsets for ATSC M/H compatible devices;
Nokia reportedly has receivers ready for market. Another chip maker, Vishay of
Malvern, Penn., announced a multilayer chip capable of receiving several
transmission types, including MediaFLO, DVB-T, DVB-H and ISBD-T. ATSC M/H was
not specifically mentioned, though Vishay did say the chip was capable of
receiving the “entire UHF band.”
More on ATSC M/H:
October 16, 2009: “Mobile DTV Standard
Adopted”
A/153, also known as ATSC M/H, defines the technical specifications
necessary for broadcasters to provide new services to mobile and handheld
devices using their digital television transmissions.