NXP introduces silicon tuners for global wireless and cable TV reception

     As the television industry begins to embrace silicon tuners, NXP Semiconductors announced the TDA18272, a high-performance silicon tuner for global wireless and cable TV reception. The DVB-T2-TDA18272 supports all analog and digital TV standards worldwide, enabling TV manufacturers to prepare for the next generation of TVS. To date, NXP has sold more than 400 million NXP Silicon tuners, contributing to the popularity of system-optimized silicon tuners. The TDA18272 also represents the fourth-generation silicon tuner designed by NXP.

     With silicon tuners set to replace a variety of traditional MoPLL-based CAN tuners, the TDA18272 meets the growing global demand for highly integrated, low-power, ultra-thin TV architectures. The TDA18272's compact size, in a 40-pin, 6x6mm package, facilitates the design of ultra-thin flat panel TV panels. The TDA18272 is highly integrated with an RF tracking filter, oscillator, IF selection module and wideband gain control module, eliminating the need for external parts such as SAW filters and balance converters. NXP uses the TDA18272 to introduce a unique master/slave architecture designed to optimize multi-tuner application architectures. The TDA18272 production process follows NXP's no-defect program, so manufacturers can streamline product assembly and supply chain management.

     Robert Murray, general Manager and Senior Director of NXP Semiconductor's TV Front End product line, said: "Production-proven silicon tuners such as the TDA18272 will quickly replace the CAN tuner, just as transistors replaced the tube in the 1960s. Television broadcast tuners are developing rapidly, and silicon tuners are gradually replacing old radio frequency analog circuits. NXP's silicon tuners speed up the design lead-in process, saving production costs and improving performance. It also saves space on multi-tuner systems, which reduces energy requirements."

     Veit Armbruster, Vice President of Development at NuTune, said: "Traditional set-top boxes and TV tuners have matured in size and price, making it difficult to make further technological advances. To overcome this barrier, we have been looking for a solution with low system cost and high integration. The silicon tuner that integrates tuner function and channel filter is one such component. NXP's silicon tuner technology allows us to design products that meet the needs of today's market. At the same time, their highly integrated nature is also suitable for multi-tuner applications."

     With the rapid development of cable, satellite, terrestrial broadcasting and Internet content transmission technology, TV and set-top box have entered a new digital era. Highly integrated and compact tuners are in great demand. The TDA18272 provides the TDA8296 IF demodulator as an auxiliary chip for global analog TV demodulation. The IF demodulator integrates programmable group delay function and video gain equalizer, which can realize system design optimization. To reduce time to market, NXP also provides a complete auxiliary design kit (circuit board, documentation and software package) for testing and evaluation.

     With more than 20 years of experience in TV reception technology, NXP has been at the forefront of design technology, helping TV manufacturers transition between tuner architectures to meet changing consumer and technology needs. NXP also introduced a high-performance silicon tuner for set-top boxes, the TDA18212, with a unique master/slave architecture for dual-tuner digital set-top boxes.