Mirics and Shanghai HDIC Announce Strategic Partnership

Mirics and Shanghai HDIC Announce Strategic Partnership to Deliver High-Definition Broadcast TV Content to Portable PC platforms in China; Platforms will integrate Mirics’ FlexiRF tuner technology and HDIC’s DTTB demodulator to bring a vivid terrestrial TV viewing experience to portable products

FLEET, England & SHANGHAI — Mirics Semiconductor and Shanghai High Definition Digital Technology Industrial Company Ltd (“HDIC”), announce a strategic partnership to enable high-definition digital TV reception on portable devices using the Digital Television Terrestrial Broadcast (DTTB) standard. DTTB – formal reference GB20600-2006 – became the mandatory digital terrestrial TV standard for Chinese broadcasters in August 2007, and all terrestrial TV receivers must comply with DTTB ahead of 2015 when analog TV broadcasts will cease in China. DTTB supports both standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) transmission modes, and free-to-air SD and HD content is already available in key Chinese cities, with major DTTB infrastructure build-out continuing across China.

Mirics and HDIC are currently developing complete reference platforms targeting DTTB-enabled personal computer platforms such as netbook and All-in-One (AIO) PC, and these solutions will integrate Mirics’ FlexiRF™ tuner technology and HDIC’s low power HD/SD dual-mode demodulators. As a rapidly growing consumer electronics device segment, netbook PCs in particular are ideally suited to support reception of digital terrestrial TV. According to ABI Research, in 2009, global netbook shipments could reach almost 35 million units.

Commenting on the collaboration, Simon Atkinson, CEO, Mirics, said: “Consumers are increasingly demanding the ability to access high-quality multi-media content on portable devices such as netbook PCs. By pairing Mirics’ high performance – but low-power – FlexiRF tuners with HDIC’s dual-mode DTTB demodulators, mobile PC users in China will soon be able to enjoy a remarkable high-definition TV viewing experience currently only available on home TV screens.” Dr. Jun Sun, CEO, HDIC, added: “We are delighted to announce this cooperation with Mirics. As a leading HD/SD DTTB baseband provider in China, HDIC has already achieved notable successes in fixed DTTB applications such as set-top-box and integrated digital TV. Our partnership with Mirics utilizing HDIC’s latest low power demodulators will enable us to now address the considerable potential in the portable and AIO PC segments.”