Philips announces single chip solution for satellite set-top boxes

Royal Philips Electronics today announced its Nexperia One Chip Set-Top Box (STB) Engine for satellite STBs. Philips has developed this device, the PNX8327, to offer STB manufacturers an easy-to-use solution that reduces the total cost of ownership for entry-level satellite STBs – from development and manufacturing to logistics and handling costs. The single chip combines MPEG2 video decoding, satellite channel decoding, a silicon tuner and passive components for satellite STBs that deliver digital satellite services to the Connected Consumer.

The market for free-to-air satellite STBs is steadily growing, with In-Stat predicting the market to grow from the 33 million units sold in 2004 to 45 million units in 2009. “We will continue to see a market opportunity for digital satellite STBs, especially in India and China,” said Michelle Abraham, senior analyst with In-Stat. “Solutions such as Philips’ Nexperia One Chip STB will help manufacturers to compete in the market, particularly in the more cost-sensitive regions, by simplifying development and lowering the cost of ownership.”

Philips’ Nexperia One Chip STB Engine, the PNX8327, will help manufacturers compete effectively in the satellite STB market by shortening their time-to-market and lowering their development, manufacturing and logistics costs. The PNX8327 is also available in an STB system solution which comes with third-party software, including UI customization tools to give manufacturers the flexibility to differentiate their STBs from the competition.

“In line with our strategy to provide advanced technology for the global TV and STB market, Philips has developed the Nexperia One Chip STB system solution to provide our customers an easy-to-use solution for building satellite STBs with a low cost of ownership,” said Menno Kleingeld, marketing director for Philips Semiconductors’ STB Group. “Ultimately, this will drive availability of affordable satellite STBs and enable the transition to digital TV by allowing manufacturers faster time-to-market and by making it easy for TV system makers to enter the market with no previous expertise in STBs.”

Based on Philips’ system-in-package (sbSiP) technology, the PNX8327 integrates all of Philips’ field-proven STB technologies, including the PNX8316 MPEG2 source decoder, the TDA10086 channel decoder, the TDA8262 silicon tuner and more than a hundred passive components. The integration of RF components further simplifies development for manufacturers and also opens up the market for manufacturers without RF expertise in-house.

The coin-size chip will allow manufacturers to build smaller STBs, reducing overall logistics and handling costs, and also make it easier to introduce digital reception into other consumer devices such as DVD recorders, TVs and even PCs.

Samples of Philips’ PNX8327 and the complete system solution (the STB210) will be available at the end of Q2.