MaxLinear introduces the MxL661, its latest global hybrid TV tuner

Monday, July 15th, 2013
MaxLinear logo

CARLSBAD, Calif. — MaxLinear Inc. (NYSE:MXL), a leading provider of integrated radio frequency (RF) and mixed-signal integrated circuits for broadband communications applications, today introduced the MxL661, a software-programmable, low power, global hybrid television tuner.

The MxL661 is based on MaxLinear’s “Super Radio” technology that offers exceptional reception performance, silicon integration and power consumption.

New features in the MxL661 include software programmable radio frequency (RF) to intermediate frequency (IF) delay, which is required in some Chinese cable TV systems, and further improvements for balun-less implementations which eliminates the need for this discrete component in cost-sensitive designs.

The MxL661 is hardware and software compatible with MaxLinear’s existing MxL601. Customers that use the MxL601 can easily migrate their designs to MxL661 without any software or board layout changes. The new features of the MxL661 can be implemented by adding a few simple programming commands to existing software drivers.

“The MxL661 gives customers the performance, low power, features and cost benefits to meet the evolving needs of the TV market without requiring significant overhaul of their system design,” said Brian Sprague, Vice President and General Manager, Broadband and Consumer Products at MaxLinear. “We’re pleased with the positive reception of MxL661 by our SoC partners and global customers. The MxL661 enables a seamless transition from our existing devices and will eliminate the cost typically associated with a re-design or system upgrade. All of this is built on our patented CMOS technology.”

Technical Highlights

The MxL661 delivers exceptional performance for all global analog and digital television reception standards in cable and terrestrial reception environments. It offers market-leading, low power consumption of 350 mW in typical applications. The very low power consumption and compact 4 x 4 mm footprint in a standard 24pin QFN package make it possible for customers to design ultra-small form factors and to support multi-tuner applications.

The software-configurable MxL661 allows manufacturers to design a common front-end for all global broadcast standards. Supported standards include: PAL, SECAM, NTSC, DVB-T/T2, ISDB-T, ISDB-Tmm, ATSC, ATSC M/H, DTMB, ITU-T J.83 Annex A (DVB-C) / B (US Cable) / C (Japan).

Availability

MaxLinear’s MxL661 sixth-generation CMOS tuner IC is now sampling. Mass production is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2013. Application notes for implementation of a balun-less solution are available upon request.