MaxLinear Inc., a leading provider of integrated radio frequency (RF) and mixed-signal integrated circuits for broadband communications applications, announced a collaboration with Peregrine Semiconductor Corp., founder of RF SOI (silicon on insulator) and pioneer of advanced RF solutions, to produce a dual-RF-input digital TV (DTV) front-end reference design.
Television sets incorporating this dual-RF-input front end will support reception of both digital terrestrial TV and cable TV for seamless channel browsing.
The reference design pairs MaxLinear’s MxL600 family (MxL601 and MxL661) of software-programmable, low power, global hybrid-television tuners with Peregrine’s low-power PE42750 RF switch in a fully tested, end-to-end solution including complete schematics, bill of materials and the Gerber files required to quickly implement a high-performance DTV solution.
The new front-end design gives OEMs a way to respond to the ever-increasing demand for DTV. This demand is driven, in part, by countries like China, where the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has mandated that all televisions 40 inches and larger must integrate digital terrestrial receivers as of Jan. 1, 2014. This digital-receiver mandate expands to every television after Jan. 1, 2015.
“We have worked closely with our customers to develop a reference design that will meet all of their needs – from using proven, high-performance devices to delivering a complete blueprint that eases design of digital-TV front ends,” said Brian Sprague, MaxLinear’s Vice President and General Manager, Broadband and Consumer Products. “Peregrine has been a key partner in this effort, providing RF switches that deliver the isolation required for reliable reception of both terrestrial and cable TV, now a necessity in China.”