Silicon Laboratories Inc. announced the Si2161 and Si2165 digital video demodulators, the smallest, lowest power and highest performance demodulator solutions to support DVB-T, DVB-C and fixed reception DVB-H in a single chip. This represents the first in a new family of mixed-signal demodulators, tuners and receivers Silicon Laboratories is developing for digital and hybrid analog/digital fixed television equipment worldwide. The new Si2161/2165 demodulators are ideal for equipment receiving digital terrestrial and/or cable services including integrated digital televisions (iDTV), Free-to-Air (FtA) or pay-TV set-top box receivers, PC-TV add-on cards and DVD/HDD personal video recorders. Given the range of standards adopted in various geographies, the optimal system partitioning allows customers to use one host processor across platforms while optimizing the receiver for specific regional standards or unique feature requirements, reducing solution footprint and eliminating redundant circuit blocks.

The Si2161/2165 demodulators are the first in a new family of video broadcast products Silicon Labs is developing as part of a road map to deliver front end receivers that integrate all circuitry from RF input to demodulated output for both digital and hybrid analog/digital modulation standards. The new Silicon Laboratories demodulators support DVB-T, DVB-C and DVB-H for fixed reception in a single device, enabling equipment makers to simplify their design and reduce their cost by pairing their tuner solution with Silicon Labs’ single-chip, multi-standard demodulators. Both the Si2161 (DVB-T demodulator) and Si2165 (Multi-standard DVB-T and DVB-C demodulator) products operate natively in DVB-T mode, the most widely deployed terrestrial broadcast standard in the world including Europe, Taiwan and Australia. The Si2165 adds the DVB-C demodulator mode used for unscrambled and pay-TV cable services.

Silicon Labs has a track record of delivering high-performance RF, mixed-signal products to the market. The Si2161 and Si2165 demodulators represent its entry into video broadcast with the first of a series of highly integrated products that will deliver significant benefits to customers. The Si2161/2165 and our road map to fully integrated receivers will give customers a level of performance, cost savings and flexibility not offered by competing solutions. The Si2161 and Si2165 demodulator products are the most compact, lowest power and highest performance combo channel demodulator solutions for DVB-T, DVB-C and fixed DVB-H. Si2161 and Si2165 demodulators are ideal for equipment receiving digital terrestrial and/or cable services, including Free-to-Air (FtA) or pay-TV set top box receivers, iDTVs, PC-TV cards, DVD/HDD personal video recorders, portable media players, portable DVD players, digital picture frames and automotive receivers.

The analog front-end consists of two ADCs with wide dynamic range (12-bit) to allow operation with standard IF (~36 MHz), Low-IF, or Zero-IF inputs. This enables the use of the Si2161 and Si2165 with any TV tuner, either metal can or silicon tuner based. The multi-standard demodulator supports all modes of DVB-T (EN 300 744), including hierarchical modes. In addition to DVB-T’s 2 K and 8 K FFT modes, the Si2161 and Si2165 also includes a 4 K FFT mode, “native” and “in-depth” deinterleavers, and extended TPS to be compliant with DVB-H (EN 300 744 Annex F). The Si2161 and Si2165 can then receive DVB-H programs in fixed receiver applications (without decoding DVB-H’s additional MPE FEC layer). Silicon Laboratories’ Si2161/2165 leverage the company’s mixed-signal expertise in CMOS to deliver the smallest footprint, highest performance demodulation solution available. Two integrated 12-bit ADCs enable full flexibility in interfacing to any RF tuner whether standard IF, low IF or zero IF outputs. The Si2161/2165 also meet all of D-Book and NorDig 1.0.3 specifications while exceeding NorDig 1.0.3 specifications on various parameters including the ability to handle varying 0 dB echoes and echoes outside the guard interval, impulsive noise or Doppler impairments. The Si2165 additionally meets and exceeds NorDig and C-Book specifications for the cable DVB-C standard.

In a small, 5×6 mm, 36-pin QFN package, the Si2161/2165’s high level of integration, including an integrated phase-lock loop and ADC voltage references, reduces the solution footprint while also reducing power consumption. The Si2161 supports ultra-fast channel scanning for VHF/UHF terrestrial DTV channels, thanks to proprietary features. For supported tuners, the complete algorithm for fast channel scan,, QuickScan, is provided as a downloadable patch file. QuickScan runs on the embedded DSP to limit the host CPU burden. Serial or parallel master MPEG TS output modes are supported. Furthermore, a TS slave parallel mode is available via a GPIF port and provides a glueless interface to Silicon Labs’ MCU devices with embedded USB interface. The user can optionally program a 32-PID hardware filter to reduce the output TS bit rate. For instance, this allows using an USB1.x interface to carry a single TV program if its data rate is <12 Mbps (typical case for SDTV).

The Si2165 also supports ITU J.83 annex A/C and DVB-C (EN 300 429), including a user-configurable 31-tap equalizer. The Si2161 and Si2165 guarantees a low-cost system implementation due to its minimal BOM and very small package footprint (5×6 mm, 36-pin QFN). Both the Si2161 and Si2165 are fully pin-to-pin application compatible. The Si2165 supports ultra-fast channel scanning for VHF/UHF terrestrial and cable DTV channels, thanks to proprietary features. For supported tuners, the complete algorithm for fast channel scan, QuickScan, is provided as a downloadable patch file. QuickScan runs on the embedded DSP to limit the host CPU burden. Serial or parallel master MPEG TS output modes are supported. Furthermore, a TS slave parallel mode is available via a GPIF port and provides a glueless interface to Silicon Labs’ MCU devices with embedded USB interface. The user can optionally program a 32-PID hardware filter to reduce the output TS bit rate. Full featured, the Si2161/2165 support QuickScan for DVB-T/C, an on-chip, autonomous and ultra-fast channel scan routine. This unique hardware and firmware scanning feature off-loads the host/MPEG processor of this software intensive task, resulting in a faster and more reliable receiver set-up for the consumer.

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