Micronas provides 100 Percent Digital Audio by Integrating Hi-Resolution PWM Technology on New Family of TV Audio Processors (0402)

Multistandard Sound Processors to Drive Digital Class D Audio Power Amplifiers for More Economic Flat-Panel TVs

Freiburg, Germany -February 17, 2004- Micronas, a leading supplier of innovative application-specific IC system solutions for consumer electronics and automotive electronics, announced today that the latest-generation single-chip TV Audio processors of the MSP 46xyK family are now available with pulse width modulation (PWM) audio outputs. The PWM output was especially integrated for connecting the MSP 46xyK to switched-mode class D audio amplifiers.

Driven by Micronas "Hi-Resolution PWM" signals, switched class D amplifiers offer a range of advantages over the traditional linear class AB type devices. With an efficiency of up to 95 percent, they significantly reduce heat dissipation and eliminate the need for heatsinks. The TV set's power supply can be designed smaller because less energy is wasted in the audio amplifier. This translates into cheaper and more lightweight designs, paving the way for cost-effective and attractively designed flat-panel TVs.

"The use of Hi-Resolution PWM and class D amplifiers is of particularly great advantage for the fast-growing flat-panel TV market", says Stefan Hepp, director marketing consumer audio at Micronas. "Due to the low power consumption and heat dissipation of the digital amplifiers, it is possible to design flatter and cheaper LCD and Plasma display TVs. With our new MSP 46xyK multistandard sound processors, we enable TV manufacturers to take full advantage of class D amplifier benefits paired with outstanding audio performance."

Micronas´ audio DSP specialists developed the Hi-Resolution PWM technology to work with many manufacturers' class D power amplifiers. It is available in MSP 46xyK products license free. MSP 46xyK is the only single-chip TV Audio solution with integrated PWM signal generation, eliminating the need and cost for stand-alone PWM modulator chips.

Hi-Resolution PWM converts audio samples into fast pulses with well-defined pulse length. The audio signal modulates the pulse width. So a PWM pulse carries the information in the time domain or simply said "horizontally" unlike the "vertical" information, sitting in the amplitude of analog signals. The PWM pulse frequency is chosen low enough to conserve the amplifiers' efficiency, and high enough to eliminate digital switching noise from the loudspeakers.

As it is well known from first-generation CD players, the challenge in digital audio processing is to avoid sound appearing cold and harsh. With an extremely high resolution used in the MSP 46xyK´s internal processing, and the generation of very precise pulse slopes at the MSP output, Micronas´ Hi-Resolution PWM technology provides a natural and detail-rich sound reproduction.

The Micronas announcement of the new MSP 46xyK TV Audio processors comes at a time the market moves towards seamless pure digital solutions - from the audio front end to the loudspeaker boxes. This evolution is driven by consumers who expect multifunctional but smaller devices with lower energy consumption while maintaining the high level of digital audio quality. By offering the MSP 46xyK family of audio processors with PWM outputs, Micronas emphasizes its commitment to support the convergence of digital video and audio functionality in next-generation consumer products.

Price & Availability

Members of the MSP 46xyK product family come in a variety of QFP and PSDIP packages and are available now. Cost in volumes range from US$ 7.50 to 15.50, depending on IC, feature set and package type.

MSP 44/46xyK Family Background Information

Micronas introduced the first members of the new MSP 44xyK family last July. They are the first single-chip TV Audio processors with integrated Dolby Pro Logic® II decoding, enabling TV manufacturers to significantly reduce both system cost and time to market.

The MSP 44/46xyK family is an evolution of the successful series of multistandard sound processors (MSP), which Micronas designed to process all TV Audio standards worldwide. The chips are compatible with all other ICs of Micronas´ extremely successful MSP family and allow the manufacturer to re-use previously designed software and hardware.

In addition to significant cost reductions based on higher integration levels, the MSP 44/46xyK also takes over audio controlling tasks, reducing the demands on the TV system controller. Using the MSP´s automatic functions, TV manufacturers can therefore deploy simpler and cheaper controllers, further reducing the system cost and development time of the TV software and hardware.

The stereo decoding according to the desired regional TV Audio standard is done in the demodulator block. This operating block also receives FM radio, especially useful for secondary TVs in the game room or kitchen. The second large operating block integrated on the MSP 44/46xyK processors manages the complete TV Audio baseband processing, e.g. graphic equalizer, bass, treble, volume control and TV-specific audio enhancement technologies like bass enhancement (Micronas BASS) or linearization of TV speakers frequency response.