Microtune brings multiband DVB-H TV to handhelds

By Bernard Cole
iApplianceWeb
(06/08/05, 1:33:33 PM GMT)

Plano, Texas – Getting a jump on several Korean and Japanese companies looking to offer the same capability, Microtune, Inc. has just introduced the first in  a family of  multi-band tuners targeted for mobile handhelds, including cell phones, PDAs and other multimedia convergence devices.

James A. Fontaine, CEO and President of Microtune, said that when the new MT2260 MicroTuner is integrated into portable handheld devices, users will be able to watch multi-channel broadcast TV with full-motion digital pictures and CD-quality sound.

Currently sampling with major handset manufacturers, the new MT2260 is designed to operate across the networks allocated for mobile broadcast TV services in both Europe and in the U.S.

It is fully compliant with the Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) standard, an industry specification that enables the simultaneous transmission of multiple television, radio and video channels to mobile handheld devices.

Albert Taddiken, Chief Operating Officer of Microtune, said the MT2260 is based on a new patent-pending, multi-band architecture that is engineered to deliver robust performance in a very low-power mobile environment.

Implemented in an advanced silicon-germanium (SiGe) process, the architecture features a shared mixer and filter structure and is single-ended to reduce components, cost and space.

The MT2260 operates from a 2.7V power supply and consumes as little as 20 milliWatts in 'viewing' mode, depending on the severity of the reception environment. It features 9-milliWatt power-down and 250-microWatt sleep modes to further conserve battery power.

This low-power consumption enables mobile phone manufacturers to give viewers up to 10 hours of TV viewing time on 2-inch or 4-inch displays using 800mAh or 1300mAh batteries, respectively, for their DVB-H handsets.

Unique to the MicroTuner architecture is an integrated pre-amp filter which reduces interference from the mobile phone's own transmitter, potentially a major source of picture disruption.

In addition, the MT2260 is designed to interface directly with leading DVB-H demodulators.

The MT2260 is sampling now with select handset manufacturers. To learn more, go to www.microtune.com. 

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