SANYO Latest TV Tuners Feature Fresco Microchip Hybrid Receivers

Top 10 Tuner Manufacturer Selects Fresco for Ultra-Thin Tuner Modules

TORONTO — Fresco Microchip Inc., a developer of leading-edge RF, mixed-signal and digital signal processing integrated circuits (ICs), today announced that SANYO Tuner Industries Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of tuners for digital media and consumer electronics, has selected its FM1150 analog demodulator and digital IF processor IC for its UDA series tuner family. SANYO’s latest tuners are targeted for North American and European hybrid television markets.

“Today, there are more than 260 million TV households that can receive a digital terrestrial TV (DTT) signal, but despite considerable penetration DTT is still in early adolescence,” said Myra Moore, president, Digital Tech Consulting. “Our research shows that only 21 percent of all countries have commercial DTT transmissions, which leaves a substantial market opportunity for hybrid solutions that support both digital and analog.”

At just 7mm (0.28 inches) thin, 52mm (2.05 inches) long and 35mm (1.38 inches) wide, the UDA tuner family is among the thinnest and smallest in the world, well-suited for the latest generation of ultra-slim televisions. SANYO’s tuners deliver enhanced picture quality and feature superior adjacent channel rejection, differential gain/phase and color transient performance. Offering a universal hybrid tuner platform, the UDA model for North America is shipping in volume and samples for the European model are available now. With these latest tuners, SANYO has streamlined its supplier chain and significantly reduced its total bill-of-materials (BOM) costs by using Fresco’s FM1150 IC. A single chip solution, Fresco’s FM1150 eliminates the need for multiple discrete components including high-profile SAW filters, a discrete analog demodulator, amplifiers, and other external components required in previous solutions.

“Fresco’s breakthrough technology enables SANYO to offer a common global hybrid tuner platform for the first time in our company’s history,” said Koji Ohira, director, SANYO Tuner Industries. “With the UDA series, we are able to capitalize on the company’s strength in the North American television market and expand into new markets like Europe.”

As the de-facto standard for global hybrid receivers, Fresco has captured significant share of the global hybrid market. To date, the company’s chips are in production or in design with seven of the top nine tuner manufacturers who account for nearly 70 percent of 500 million TV tuners sold today. The company’s hybrid demodulators are the industry’s first single-chip solutions to deliver fully integrated universal legacy audio/video demodulation (NTSC, PAL, SECAM) and multi-standard digital IF processing, which sets a new benchmark for hybrid television picture quality at a lower system cost.

“We are pleased that SANYO has selected Fresco for their latest tuner modules,” said Lance Greggain, CEO, president and co-founder of Fresco Microchip. “Combining Fresco’s innovative technology with SANYO’s leadership in building cost-effective products aligns closely with our commitment to deliver value through innovation.”