Reinforcing its market success in bringing advanced silicon TV tuners to portable consumer products, Microtune(R), Inc. (NASDAQ:TUNE) today announced that it has recently received its first volume purchase order for its DVB-H tuner. Microtune‘s Mobile MicroTuner(TM)MT2260 is slated for deployment in a handset of one of the industry‘s top mobile phone manufacturers. Last week, the Company began shipping its first production order for this DVB-H tuner.
Microtune‘s Mobile MicroTuner chip is a high-performance, ultra low-power tuner that, when integrated into handheld TV devices,permits users to watch multi-channel broadcast TV with full-motion digital pictures and near CD-quality sound.
Microtune is currently accepting production orders for the two chips in its Mobile MicroTuner family. The MT2260 is a multi-band single-chip tuner designed to support U.S. and European handset devices based on the digital video broadcast-handheld (DVB-H) industry standard. The MT2262 is a single-band tuner supporting the L-band frequency range dedicated to mobile TV broadcast service in the U.S.
"TV reception on mobile devices is a natural evolution for the digital TV industry," said Anna Hunt, Research Director, IMS Research."DVB-H has emerged as one of the most prominent broadcast standards for this application, with launches of DVB-H services expected in Germany, Italy and the U.S. in 2006 and 2007, and with trials continuing in many other parts of the world. The world‘s leading handset manufacturers are already gearing up to commercially deploy
DVB-H-enabled handsets in mass-market quantities. By the turn of the decade, it is likely that mobile TV capability will become a must-have feature for manufacturers of all types of portable multimedia devices."
"The tuner is a key building block of mobile TV handsets, and of all the components in a handset, it is the one that determines high-quality and reliable TV reception for users. Tuner performance will be a key differentiator in the marketplace, we believe, and will be a crucial factor in driving mobile TV into the mainstream," said James A. Fontaine, President and CEO Microtune.
"Our DVB-H tuners are based on technology that is deployed today in consumer electronics products ranging from giant-screen HDTVs to thumb-size USB PC-TV sticks," added Mr. Fontaine. "With our Mobile MicroTuner family, manufacturers gain the performance and reliability advantages of our customer-hardened and market-proven single-chip tuners."
Microtune DVB-H Tuner Strategy
Further leveraging its tuner technology and production leadership, Microtune also announced plans to sample a wafer-level chip-scale packaged version of its MT2260 tuner. This chip-scale packaged tuner,using just the silicon tuner chip die without the plastic packaging,allows for cost-effective integration of the Mobile MicroTuner with a demodulator, filter or other componentry in a single, small form-factor package. Called a system-in-package (SiP), this solution will enable greater miniaturization--a key requirement anticipated in the next generations of mobile TV products.
"By supporting a SiP strategy, we enable the use of the best tuner and the best demodulator in a miniature, cost-optimized,single-package solution," Mr. Fontaine added. "We also intend to expand our Mobile MicroTuner roadmap with continued radio-frequency performance improvement and cost reduction, continuing to evolve our technology in key critical areas that further enhance mobile television reception."
Microtune Mobile MicroTuner Production
Designed with a patent-pending architecture and ClearTune(TM)
filtering technology, the Mobile MicroTuner family features higher integration than other leading DVB-H tuner solutions on the market by not requiring bulky and costly external components, such as LNAs and transformer baluns. By exceeding the Mobile and Portable DVB-T/H Radio Access Interface Specification (MBRAI) specification, the rigorous series of performance tests that ensure conformance to the DVB-H standard, the tuners are engineered to deliver superior performance.The Mobile MicroTuner chips are manufactured at IBM Microelectronics.
"IBM has worked closely with Microtune over the years," said Tom Reeves, vice president of Semiconductor Products, IBM Systems and Technology. "IBM is committed to support Microtune as they ramp their DVB-H tuner to production."
"We are extremely pleased IBM Microelectronics‘ has chosen to support Microtune in the DVB-H tuner market and has committed its considerable manufacturing muscle to support the anticipated high-volume requirements of our mobile TV customers," added Mr.Fontaine. "Guaranteed continuity of supply is very important to our mobile phone customers."
Microtune DVB-H Tuners Showcased at 3GSM World Congress
Microtune will showcase its Mobile MicroTuner products, including chips, evaluation boards and reference designs, in its hospitality suite (7.28, Hall 4) at the Fira de Barcelona Exhibition Complex during the 3GSM World Congress. The 3GSM Congress, touted as the world‘s premier mobile event, is held February 13-16, 2006 in Barcelona, Spain. In addition, handheld TV products and prototypes featuring Microtune‘s DVB-H tuner are also expected to be displayed by multiple manufacturers.
Microtune‘s Mobile MicroTuner chip is a high-performance, ultra low-power tuner that, when integrated into handheld TV devices,permits users to watch multi-channel broadcast TV with full-motion digital pictures and near CD-quality sound.
Microtune is currently accepting production orders for the two chips in its Mobile MicroTuner family. The MT2260 is a multi-band single-chip tuner designed to support U.S. and European handset devices based on the digital video broadcast-handheld (DVB-H) industry standard. The MT2262 is a single-band tuner supporting the L-band frequency range dedicated to mobile TV broadcast service in the U.S.
"TV reception on mobile devices is a natural evolution for the digital TV industry," said Anna Hunt, Research Director, IMS Research."DVB-H has emerged as one of the most prominent broadcast standards for this application, with launches of DVB-H services expected in Germany, Italy and the U.S. in 2006 and 2007, and with trials continuing in many other parts of the world. The world‘s leading handset manufacturers are already gearing up to commercially deploy
DVB-H-enabled handsets in mass-market quantities. By the turn of the decade, it is likely that mobile TV capability will become a must-have feature for manufacturers of all types of portable multimedia devices."
"The tuner is a key building block of mobile TV handsets, and of all the components in a handset, it is the one that determines high-quality and reliable TV reception for users. Tuner performance will be a key differentiator in the marketplace, we believe, and will be a crucial factor in driving mobile TV into the mainstream," said James A. Fontaine, President and CEO Microtune.
"Our DVB-H tuners are based on technology that is deployed today in consumer electronics products ranging from giant-screen HDTVs to thumb-size USB PC-TV sticks," added Mr. Fontaine. "With our Mobile MicroTuner family, manufacturers gain the performance and reliability advantages of our customer-hardened and market-proven single-chip tuners."
Microtune DVB-H Tuner Strategy
Further leveraging its tuner technology and production leadership, Microtune also announced plans to sample a wafer-level chip-scale packaged version of its MT2260 tuner. This chip-scale packaged tuner,using just the silicon tuner chip die without the plastic packaging,allows for cost-effective integration of the Mobile MicroTuner with a demodulator, filter or other componentry in a single, small form-factor package. Called a system-in-package (SiP), this solution will enable greater miniaturization--a key requirement anticipated in the next generations of mobile TV products.
"By supporting a SiP strategy, we enable the use of the best tuner and the best demodulator in a miniature, cost-optimized,single-package solution," Mr. Fontaine added. "We also intend to expand our Mobile MicroTuner roadmap with continued radio-frequency performance improvement and cost reduction, continuing to evolve our technology in key critical areas that further enhance mobile television reception."
Microtune Mobile MicroTuner Production
Designed with a patent-pending architecture and ClearTune(TM)
filtering technology, the Mobile MicroTuner family features higher integration than other leading DVB-H tuner solutions on the market by not requiring bulky and costly external components, such as LNAs and transformer baluns. By exceeding the Mobile and Portable DVB-T/H Radio Access Interface Specification (MBRAI) specification, the rigorous series of performance tests that ensure conformance to the DVB-H standard, the tuners are engineered to deliver superior performance.The Mobile MicroTuner chips are manufactured at IBM Microelectronics.
"IBM has worked closely with Microtune over the years," said Tom Reeves, vice president of Semiconductor Products, IBM Systems and Technology. "IBM is committed to support Microtune as they ramp their DVB-H tuner to production."
"We are extremely pleased IBM Microelectronics‘ has chosen to support Microtune in the DVB-H tuner market and has committed its considerable manufacturing muscle to support the anticipated high-volume requirements of our mobile TV customers," added Mr.Fontaine. "Guaranteed continuity of supply is very important to our mobile phone customers."
Microtune DVB-H Tuners Showcased at 3GSM World Congress
Microtune will showcase its Mobile MicroTuner products, including chips, evaluation boards and reference designs, in its hospitality suite (7.28, Hall 4) at the Fira de Barcelona Exhibition Complex during the 3GSM World Congress. The 3GSM Congress, touted as the world‘s premier mobile event, is held February 13-16, 2006 in Barcelona, Spain. In addition, handheld TV products and prototypes featuring Microtune‘s DVB-H tuner are also expected to be displayed by multiple manufacturers.
