Reference design upgrades home theatre to record

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Apr 23, 2003

Philips has developed a manufacturing-ready six-channel DVD+R/+RW recorder reference design for the consumer market.

Philips has developed a manufacturing-ready six-channel DVD+R/+RW recorder reference design for the consumer market.

By integrating Philips' Class-D amplifier family with Philips Nexperia DVD+R/+RW total turnkey system solution, manufacturers will be able to rapidly address the emerging DVD+R/+RW recorder market with AM/FM radio, RDS, surround audio decoding and six-channel Class-D in time for the 2003 holiday sales season.

The combination of these features will enable consumers to purchase a DVD-recorder-based home theatre in a box (HTiB) - which is a system currently based only on DVD players.

It is expected that a significant portion of the DVD+R/+RW market will eventually consist of HTiB systems.

From the end-user perspective, HTiB systems will streamline consumers' home entertainment systems by combining the traditional stack of home audio components into a single box.

HTiB systems typically combine the DVD-recorder functionality with a radio, a surround sound A/V receiver, speakers and a subwoofer.

Together, these technologies create the sensational experience of a movie theatre in the consumer's home.

"As consumers look to get the most functionality for their dollar, DVD-player based HTiBs have been proven to meet customer expectations and thus widely adopted in the market", stated Michelle Abraham, Senior Analyst of leading industry research firm In-Stat/MDR.

"We anticipate the next phase of the DVD evolution will be DVD-recorder-based HTiBs, which will quickly gain in popularity.

Philips made a large push into the mainstream DVD recorder market in 2002 and as a leader in highly efficient Class-D solutions, is ideally positioned to make this technology a reality in the marketplace".

"Philips continues to leverage its understanding of the end consumer to develop the functionalities needed to elevate the industry to the next level of technology-DVD+R/+RW receivers", said Jeroen Keunen, General Manager for Consumer and Multimedia, Philips Semiconductors.

"Combining the surround sound capabilities of the pnx7100 with our EMI-optimised, AM/FM tuner compatible, Class-D solutions is another example of our drive to meet consumer needs".

This latest offering complements Philips' DVD+R/+RW reference design portfolio with added features, as highlighted by Philips' announcement last week targeted toward advanced CE manufacturers for the high-end DVD market.

Specifically, the additional functionalities being added to Philips' total turnkey reference design are based upon the Philips Nexperia pnx7100 MPEG codec with integrated surround audio decoding (DTS, Dolby Digital or AC3), multichannel application of TDA8920 Class-D amplifiers, SAA6588 RDS decoder, SAA7715 sound processing DSP, TEA5757 integrated single chip AM/FM radio and UDA1328 audio DAC.

The DVD+R/+RW reference design with added features complies with the DVD+R/+RW industry standard, which continues to be the dominant DVD video recording standard in the electronics industry.

Samples of the technology enhancements to the reference design are available now for select customers.

Volume production is scheduled for Q2 2003.