Radio tuning specialist Microtune has released an in-car tuner that works with almost every kind of TV and mobile TV on the planet, including analog systems, digital terrestrial and mobile TV services. The company says that it can deliver TV at high speeds in-car, and calls the chip the MicroTuner MT2067.
Microtune will pitch the chip to automakers to improve performance, increase reliability and minimize total RF systems costs when adding real-time broadcast TV as a rear-seat entertainment option.
The chip is just 7 x 7 millimeters, and supports NTSC, PAL, SECAM, DVB-T, DVB-H, ISDB-T, DTMB, ATSC and ATSC-M/H and costs $7.50 in volume. The big one missing from this list is the Chinese CMMB mobile TV standard which requires a diversity engine and needs to accept S-Band radio as well as UHF. But the system uses the Chinese Digital Terrestrial system, sometimes called DTMB, which uses more power and which has yet to be launched as a service in China.
Microtune has shipped more than 112 million of its silicon TV tuner chips, and James Fontaine, CEO said, “We combined our silicon RF expertise with our automotive heritage and experience to develop a dedicated automotive TV tuner that yields significant performance, reliability, size and cost benefits.
The MT2067 is a highly integrated, dual-conversion single-chip tuner that supports the RF frequency range from 48 to 862 MHz. It uses Microtune’s spur-avoidance technology, which prevents interference between tuners as well as its patented ClearTune filter technology which limits interference.
The company says it has been tested at speeds up to 125 miles per hour.