Low power TV tuners claimed to be world's smallest

Enabling developers to enhance their TV and STB designs, the tuners are based on Silicon Labs’ architecture. The architecture, utilised in previous generations, allows for high linearity and sensitivity. According to the company, the architecture also provides the world’s smallest footprint and lowest BOM cost.

According to Silicon Labs, the Si2151/41 family deliver the lowest BOM cost of any terrestrial/cable TV tuner on the market. Reducing system cost and complexity, the devices integrate all tracking filter inductors and require no balun on the RF input. The TV tuners, which remove the need for external inductive power supply filtering, require no external power transistor for single-supply operation. To deliver robust reception over global real-world scenarios, the devices provide improved noise figure across the band and greater immunity to undesired signals without any external filtering. Due to the small footprint and low-power consumption offered, the Si2151/41 devices meet the demand for smaller modules and on-board tuner designs.

Offered in a 3x3mm 24-QFN package, the Si2151/41 devices are claimed to be the smallest TV tuner ICs on the market. Combined with low BOM cost, this package enables a 0.86cm² footprint, claimed to be the smallest of any TV tuner available today.

To reduce the designer’s learning curve when migrating from worldwide hybrid HDTVs to regionalised platforms and STB designs, the Si2151/41 family shares a common API with Silicon Labs’ TV tuner portfolio. For on-board installations which are both easy and cost-effective, the devices feature a simple application circuit.

Silicon Labs’ Si2151/41 tuners fully comply with the China GB/T 26686-2011 general specification for digital terrestrial television receivers. The TV tuners also achieve significant margin to the minimum performance requirements defined in the GB/T 26686-2011 specification. While other silicon tuners only deliver a large margin to the China GB/T 26686-2011specification for the VHF-Low frequency band, Silicon Labs’ tuners deliver a large margin to this specification for the VHF-Low, VHF-High and UHF frequency bands. According to the company, the TV tuners’ UHF band, which is currently used by broadcasters in China, outperforms all other silicon TV tuners.

For the world’s leading producer of TVs, China, the Si2151/41 family provides a cost-effective silicon TV tuner solution. China has led the world in TV shipments four years in a row, according to DisplaySearch. Between 2013 and 2017, flat-panel TV shipments (both LCD and plasma models) in China are expected to increase from 57m units to 62m units. 23% of global flat-panel TV shipments are currently provided by Chinese TV manufacturers. Between 2013 and 2017 ultra-HD TV set shipments are forecast to grow from 1.3m units to 23m units. More than half of these units are expected to be shipped by Chinese manufacturers.

The China Electronics Standardization Institute (CESI) and its Advanced Digital TV Test Center have certified the Si2151 tuner as a solution that fully supports the Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcast standard for mobile and fixed TV terminals used in China, Hong Kong and Macau. At the Information Technology Standardization Forum, which was held on 16th July, 2014, the TV tuner was the only CESI-certified TV tuner to be announced.

"The smallest footprint and BOM cost, the lowest power and the best RF performance - these are among the many good reasons why nine out of the world’s top ten TV makers have standardised on Silicon Labs’ proven TV tuner technology, now in its sixth-gen of refinements,” commented James Stansberry, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Internet of Things and broadcast video products, Silicon Labs. “Silicon Labs continues to lead the broadcast industry in TV tuner shipments, exceeding more than 350m units shipped to date, and with twice the market share of the next-closest competitor.”

The TV tuners are available now in both sample and production quantities. The Si2151 is priced at $0.72 each in 10,000 unit quantities, and the Si2141 at $0.70 each in 10,000 unit quantities.