Silicon Hive, a semiconductor IP supplier in the Philips Technology Incubator, Demonstrates World's First Fully Programmable Digital TV Demodulator IP Core

Eindhoven – June 6, 2005 Silicon Hive, a semiconductor IP supplier in the Philips Technology Incubator, has demonstrated a DTV receiver incorporating the world’s first fully programmable System-on-Chip (SoC) for digital TV demodulation (see figure). Silicon Hive IP Cores enabled the SoC to be produced in less than one year. Full programmability introduces a new era for SoC developers. The IP cores simultaneously address time-to-market, multi-standard, and performance risk issues, common in consumer electronics and mobile communication markets.

Fully Programmable DTV Demonstration Board

Silicon Hive built the entire programmable demodulator SoC using three of its IP cores, which are available for licensing: Bresca Baseband (a programmable IF front-end), Avispa OFDM (a programmable frequency-domain processor), and Silicon Hive’s FEC Suite (a programmable error-correction sub-system). The SoC entertains a robust software development environment used to create new demodulator designs, which can be validated in field trials before committing them to silicon with cost-down optimisations.

Silicon Hive now offers a third-generation processor built on this experience: the Avispa-CH1 communications processor recently announced at InStat’s Spring Processor Forum. Avispa-CH1 supersedes Avispa OFDM, delivering higher performance at a smaller silicon footprint. It achieves 2 sustained complex multiply-accumulates per cycle, 2 sustained FFT butterflies per cycle, and 4 sustained semi-complex FIR taps per cycle. The architecture is fully scaleable, enabling increased performance. The new Avispa-CH1 is available for licensing immediately.

All the cores are offered with programming tools, application libraries, and reference designs for common DTV terrestrial, cable, and satellite standards, such as: DVB-T, DVB-H, ISDB-T, DVB-C, DVB-S, and T-DMB.. Using this basis, SoC vendors can quickly develop their own cost effective demodulator solutions with differentiation in performance, as well as multi-standard functionality for DTV mobile terminals and fixed appliances. Applicable devices include mobile phones, digital television, personal computers, DVD recorders/players, Set Top Boxes.

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 30.3 billion in 2004. With activities in the three interlocking domains of healthcare, lifestyle and technology and 161,500 employees in more than 60 countries, it has market leadership positions in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, color television sets, electric shavers, lighting and silicon system solutions.