Micronas Presents a Quantum Leap in the TV Viewing Experience (0501)

Whether the source is broadcast TV, cable movies, or DVD, Micronas' vector-based motion processing delivers unparalleled visual quality, with real-life motion, enhanced sharpness, and contrast; all without motion judder or jaggies. And it is done with a single chip.
With truD®, Micronas brings the TV viewing experience to a new level, one that truly harnesses the full capabilities of large flat panel displays.

CES, Las Vegas, Nevada, January 4, 2005 - Micronas (SWX Swiss Exchange: MASN, Frankfurt: MNSN, Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) presents FRC 9429A, the latest generation of frame rate converter with vector-based motion estimation and compensation. With this technology, the chip calculates the shift in position of every object on the screen between each frame. It then uses this information to precisely interpolate the object's location in intermediate frames. The result is smooth real motion, instead of the edgy movements and blurring common to conventional DTV displays.

"With our new truD® technology, we bring the viewing experience to a whole new level of realism and clarity. The vector mathematics involved are complex, but the results speak for themselves," says Hans Weierer, Director of System Marketing - High Line TV at Micronas. "truD® technology is a quantum leap for the industry, and puts us far ahead in picture quality for DTVs."

truD® does indeed 'speak for itself': The FRC 9429A has a built-in demonstration capability which is ideally suited to support TV retailers. It splits the screen, enhancing half with truD and leaving the other half un-enhanced. A moment's glance will convince anyone of truD®'s advantages. Consumers ultimately get excited by the new viewing experience of truD®-enhanced DTVs.

Why add all this technology to a television? Flat panel displays are capable of superior picture quality, but this capability goes unused if the flat panel is driven by conventional DTV signal processing. Broadcast TV was originally targeted to the limited display quality of CRTs. Movies make the problem worse; they are shot at 24 frames per second; but TVs are 60 frames per second. When watching a movie on broadcast or DVD, there is a frame-rate mismatch. It is further complicated by the fact that video signals traditionally use an 'interlaced' format, where only half the picture is delivered on each pass, with the other half on the following pass. All these differences cause flicker, distinct motion judder, and jaggies along diagonal lines.

Getting the best DTV picture begins by de-interlacing the TV signal to match the 'progressive scan' mode for flat panel displays. This is accepted practice, but truD® goes beyond this to fill in the missing frames between the 24 fps of the film source material and the 60 frames per second of flat panels TVs. Accurate vector-based motion estimation makes these fill-in frames as sharp as the originals. truD further improves the image quality by enhancing image contrast and sharpness with advanced video algorithms. These include peaking, sub-pixel luminance sharpness enhancement (LSE), chrominance sharpness enhancement (CSE), and dynamic histogram-based contrast adjustment.

The FRC 9429A integrates all the functions of a high-end frame rate converter for DTV, including video memory, in one monolithic IC. It is ideally suited to work together with video systems solutions for CRT, LCD, Plasma, and Digital Light Projection (DLP) displays, such as the Micronas deflection processor DDP3315/16 or the DTV scaler DPS9455B.

The FRC product family comes in a QFP-144 package. Fully qualified samples and reference designs are available now and volume production has started with major OEMs. Prices for high quantities range from approximately $20 to $26 (US), depending on the product version and volume.