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Volume 32 (Dec 15, 2004)
Outstanding chip dazzles digital TV (1/2)
TV: Undoubtedly the leader in entertainment
The popularity of flat panel TVs is growing immensely as the number of people wanting to view major sporting events such as the Olympics or World Cup soccer on powerful, large-screen TVs with high definition increases. In 2003, the volume of flat panel TVs shipped in Japan surpassed that of CRT-based TVs. Consumers in the market for a new TV are likely to want one with a flat panel because of space considerations, power consumption and interior coordination. However, many people find themselves wishing that flat panel TVs were just slightly more affordable. And recently, a new "wish list" feature has come on the scene: compatibility with terrestrial digital broadcasting reception. Since terrestrial digital broadcasting began in Japan's metropolitan areas in 2003 and is set to commence nationwide in 2006, TVs and set-top boxes supporting terrestrial digital broadcasting have simultaneously appeared on the market. Traditional analog broadcasting is scheduled to end July 24, 2011, and the production of TVs solely capable of analog broadcasting reception is expected to come to a halt in the near future. This means that TVs capable of both traditional analog broadcasting and digital broadcasting reception will soon become the mainstream.
So what changes can be expected? It is commonly known that digital TVs will enable viewers to enjoy realistic, high-definition images and sound quality comparable to that of CDs. This is because digital signals are far less likely to be affected by noise, and there are no "ghost" images (double exposure of television pictures) to worry about. In addition, data broadcasting will make it possible to obtain weather reports and regional information at any time, and full-fledged interactive services will enable viewers to easily participate in televised quiz programs or enjoy teleshopping. As the leader in entertainment, TV is expected to become increasingly convenient and even more appealing through the introduction of multimedia services.
NEC Electronics' semiconductor technology is playing an important role in the creation of attractive digital TV reception. The µPD61160, a system LSI chip for High-Definision TV compatible with BS, CS and terrestrial digital broadcasting, enables users to freely adjust settings as well as display two screens or several cascaded screens of different sizes for High-Definision broadcasts. In addition, the µPD61160 integrates all of the functions necessary for digital TV back-end processing on a single chip (up until now, five separate LSI chips were used to execute these functions). This functionality, in turn, leads to treduced costs and simplified set development, and enables the production of affordable TVs. The µPD61160 already is being used in the latest TV models and may even be adding a bit of fun to your life.
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