Supporting high-definition (HD) radio technology, DAB, DAB+, DRM and T-DMB Digital Radio Broadcast Standards, NXP Semiconductors ( News - Alert), the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, has announced that it has developed the first multi-standard radio integrated circuit (IC) dedicated to digital in-car reception.
NXP has worked with iBiquity Digital Corporation, the developer of digital high-definition radio technology, to develop this technology.
Supporting today’s unique automotive requirements for more integrated and flexible car radio systems, NXP’s SAF3560 is the first dedicated single chip solution to offer software implementations for this technology. To provide features such as conditional access with low power consumptions, the SAF3560 incorporates the HD radio technology from iBiquity. By allowing flexibility to switch between standards, the SAF3560 supports NXP’s DRM, DAB, DAB+, T-DMB software programmable platforms and reduces integration challenges and time to market.
In the current market scenario, auto makers should support all the major digital radio protocols. They will now get a single, flexible solution that provides a simple upgrade path from NXP’s DSP-based AM/FM analog radio solution to other variant digital radio standards including HD radio technology with the introduction of NXP’s SAF3560.
In addition, SAF3560 provides software upgradeability and allows car radio makers, digital radio module makers, and car OEMs to save time, effort and costs. It also supports the latest HD radio features, like iTunes Tagging.
“The automotive industry is increasingly looking to deliver new innovations with mass appeal. With the help and expertise of iBiquity, we’re now able to offer auto makers a global platform to support multiple standards for excellent sound quality in car radio reception,” said Joern Conze, product marketing manager, NXP Semiconductors.
“We’re helping our customers stay innovative by offering a highly integrated, flexible and scalable solution to dramatically improve music, audio, text and data features of digital HD radio technology,” explained Conze.
With NXP’s innovative multi-standard radio solution, car manufacturers can incorporate HD radio reception capability, along with analog radio, in an easy-to-integrate manner.
Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Raju's articles, please visit his columnist page.
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