Renesas Technology Releases Single-Chip LSI for Use in LCD Digital TVs for the North American Market

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007
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Enables single-chip implementation of functions previously provided by six chips, helping to reduce high-picture-quality set prices

Tokyo — Renesas Technology Corp. today announced the R8J66954BG offering single-chip implementation of major signal processing functions, from front-end signal input to later stages such as signal output to an LCD panel, for North American LCD digital TVs. Sample shipments will begin in December 2007 in Japan.

The R8J66954BG supports the ATSC digital broadcasting system used in North America, and also incorporates video decoder and closed caption functions compatible with the NTSC analog TV broadcasting system.

Features of the R8J66954BG are summarized below.

  1. Single-chip implementation of main LCD digital TV processing, including MPEG decoding and panel signal processing

    On-chip functions include North American digital broadcast signal VSB1 front-end processing, MPEG decoding processing, noise reduction circuitry, De-Interlacer circuitry, closed caption and suchlike data slicer functions, plus NCM (Natural Color Matrix)2 performing color management as an LCD panel signal processing function. In addition, noise reduction, De-Interlacer, and NTSC Y/C separation circuits incorporate a 3-dimensional processing function, enabling high-picture-quality video display to be performed.

    Furthermore, functions previously performed by six chips, such as digital signal processing, NTSC signal processing, and so on, can be implemented by a single R8J66954BG. This makes it possible to create a high-picture-quality set at a lower price thanks to reductions in the number of parts and the board cost.
     

  2. Support for NTSC broadcasting system and various interface standards

    In addition to the NTSC analog broadcast system used in North America, the R8J66954BG also supports component type, composite type, and S-signal type interface standards used worldwide. This makes it possible to process a video signal from a device that has recorded an analog broadcast program, while the compatibility with a variety of interface standards helps simplify set development.

Product Background

In recent years the TV set market has seen a dramatic increase in the demand for LCD digital TVs. Calls for higher picture quality have been accompanied by major price reductions, leading to a demand for component devices that enable this combination of features to be achieved. LCD TVs supporting digital broadcasting decode a digital broadcast signal and display the resulting image on an LCD panel, a process that requires an MPEG decoder together with functions such as noise reduction and De-Interlacer. In addition, a 3-dimensional processing video decoder function is essential for achieving high picture quality.

Meanwhile, in the current period of transition from analog to digital broadcasting, there is a demand for digital broadcast compatible TV sets that can also handle analog broadcasting, and these require A/D conversion, Y/C separation, and suchlike signal processing functions. In response to this need, Renesas Technology has developed the R8J66954BG LCD digital TV LSI incorporating the main North American LCD digital TV signal processing functions in a single chip, while also supporting analog broadcasting.