MICRONAS presents variable TV chassis concept (9909)

MUSTAFAH, the multicultural television set

Freiburg, August 29, 1999 - On the occasion of IFA '99, the Freiburg chip manufacturer MICRONAS again underlines its competence as a system supplier. "MUSTAFAH" provides equipment manufacturers for the first time with a chassis concept for multistandard television receivers which is geared to production requirements and on the basis of which TV sets can be constructed in a wide spectrum of specifications with optimized features and costs.

The name MUSTAFAH stands for "MUltiStandard Television Application for Fifty And Hundred Hz CTVs". The concept offers equipment manufacturers far greater flexibility in terms of system design while at the same time reducing the number of technical variants.

MUSTAFAH is universal in several respects:

• Multistandard worldwide: All TV video and audio standards currently used are supported.
• Single scan and double scan: The concept supports both single and double line frequencies and is therefore suitable for 50/60/100/120 Hz, progressive scan and VGA/SVGA receivers.
• Wide spectrum of specifications: Picture tube sizes up to 81 cm, 4:3 and 16:9 picture formats plus a wide range of picture-optimizing and comfort functions (flicker-free, progressive scan, multiple picture-in-picture, Surround Sound, etc.) are possible.

Thanks to the consistent use of multistandard components throughout, MUSTAFAH can be used worldwide and thereby comes close to the idea of a "global chassis".

The drastic reduction in the diversity of chassis types gives equipment manufacturers a faster time-to-market for their products as well as cost savings in the area of logistics.

Versions: (Almost) everything is possible.

The signal processing section of the MUSTAFAH chassis is equipped with

• a video processor or multi-processor module and/or an additional plug-in module ("feature board").
• an audio processor MSP 34xx (different versions available: with/without equalizer, headphones, subwoofer, Virtual Dolby, Full Dolby Pro Logic).
• a text processor TPU 305x, responsible for receiving and displaying teletext and on-screen display (OSD) information.
• a controller CCU 3000, responsible for the complete set control and user guidance.

The video and audio section as well as the intermediate frequency stage (IF) also offer the facility for variable equipment specifications.

The implementation of the video section is particularly versatile. Depending on the required equipment specifications, a single-chip video processor plus a pin-compatible SIPADOSS module with three processors and, for additional functions, a feature board can be used.

Various pin-compatible single-chip audio processors can be used in the audio section.

The following basic equipment types are possible through variations in the video section:

• Single-scan, middle to top-of-the-range TV set: Single-board chassis, equipped with single-chip video processor VDP 31xx. Multistandard, for picture tubes up to 81 cm, teletext, OSD; optional support of the 16:9 picture format, optional comb filter.
• Double-scan basic 100-Hz set: Single-board chassis, equipped with a Single-Package, Double-Scan Solution (SIPADOSS) module VDP 3140. Multistandard, for picture tubes up to 81 cm, teletext, OSD; optional support of the 16:9 picture format, optional comb filter, VGA/SVGA picture representation. The SIPADOSS module is pin-compatible with the VDP 31xx of the single-scan solution; it contains the MICRONAS ICs VPC 3230 and DDP 3310 plus a 2.9 MB field memory.
• Double-scan high-end TV set: Same motherboard as for versions 1 and 2, but equipped with feature board instead of the SIPADOSS module. Here, the feature board is responsible for the complete video processing. The use of the feature board enables additional functions to be achieved very flexibly without any modification to the motherboard.

Feature board for enhanced viewing pleasure

The following additional functions can be implemented with the feature board, which is provided as an option in equipment versions 1 and 2 and comes as standard in version 3:

• Picture optimization: progressive scan, picture and line flicker reduction, vertical interpolation, motion compensation
• Comfort functions: Picture-in-picture, 2-window

According to the selected equipment version, the feature board is available in the versions Advanced Double Scan, 2-Window Single Scan and 2-Window Double Scan. Versions with integrated DVB decoder as well as for "Web TV" (Intercast) are in preparation.

Two for the future: MUSTAFAH and COSIMA

MICRONAS will further develop and expand the MUSTAFAH concept in the near future. The aim is to cover all TV sets with screen sizes from 53 to 81 cm (diagonal) with just two chassis types:

• The further development of MUSTAFAH ("MUSTAFAH II") will feature an integrated text controller section and an IF solution developed in-house by MICRONAS.
• To complement MUSTAFAH, another chassis concept (COSIMA, Cost-Optimized SIngle-scan Multistandard Application) is in the development pipeline; COSIMA is designed for middle-of-the-range stereo sets with picture tubes from 53 to 71 cm (diagonal).
• The DVB version of the feature board will open up the world of digital TV to MUSTAFAH, too.

What's available and when?

The equipment versions 1, 2, and 3 as well as the feature boards Advanced Double Scan, 2-Window Single Scan and 2-Window Double Scan will be available in September 1999. The feature boards for "DVB" and "Web TV" are scheduled for the end of 1999, "MUSTAFAH II" and "COSIMA" units for the 2nd quarter of 2000. The standard delivery includes documentation, circuit diagrams, parts lists, layout data, and the complete control software (in "C" language).