Frontier Silicon, un modulo FM/DAB/DMB audio

Non mi sembra che ci siano novità sostanziali rispetto al solito ma ecco il comunicato stampa rilasciato oggi da Frontier Silicon sulla prossima disponibilità di un modulo low cost basato sulla famiglia di moduli Venice 5.1 per la realizzazione di apparecchi FM-RDS/DAB/DAB+ e audio del DMB in FM e Banda III/L. All'inizio dell'anno Frontier aveva anche annunciato un Venice 6, ma non è esattamente la stessa cosa. I primi campioni sono attesi per il terzo trimestre. Brillante assente, tra gli standard menzionati è il DRM e nuova variante DRM+, che dopo il clamoroso fallimento della digitalizzazione dell'HF e delle onde medie (mi prendo la responsabilità di chiamarlo così) sembrava aprire uno spiraglio per questo sistema in band.
E' una buona cosa l'annuncio Frontier? Sì certo, anche se il silicio non è come il maiale e si tende a buttarne via parecchio. Ma l'evoluzione della radio digitale rimane controversa e non è detto che per creare un mercato il fattore terminali utente basti. E' una ragione necessaria ma non sufficiente, come si è visto finora.

Frontier Silicon announces unified multi-region digital radio receiver

London, 16 June 2008: Frontier Silicon will introduce a unified digital radio receiver module to work with all existing Band 3 and L-Band digital radio standards for Europe and Asia. The new receiver addresses the market need for a solution that supports all Eureka-147 based standards, including DAB and DAB+ and DMB-Audio.
With more countries announcing frameworks for digital radio by the month, the new module reaches the market in time for manufacturers to realise significant economies of scale, enhanced functionality and rationalised international distribution for new and existing audio products.
Speaking at the Broadcast Asia conference in Singapore this week in the ‘Radio Renaissance’ session on 17 June, Frontier Silicon’s CEO, Anthony Sethill, will outline in his paper the reasons for bringing such a solution to market.
He comments, “Globally, the market has now entered a phase where flexibility is required to address the diverse standards requirements of each country – for example, the UK is driven by enhanced audio content delivered through DAB, whereas rich media content based on DMB is a priority for France, and Australia requires bandwidth optimisation using DAB+. With a unified receiver solution available to enable these Eureka-147 implementations in their products, manufacturers will be strongly placed to address broadcasters’ needs in each country, regardless of any variant chosen, with a single low-cost module from Frontier Silicon.”
Commenting on interoperability, Quentin Howard, President of WorldDMB, said, "WorldDMB is working with the EBU, EICTA, and with the industry in Germany, France and the UK to create a consensus for standardised receivers. Frontier Silicon's announcement of a receiver module supporting all the audio standards within Eureka 147 DAB, DAB+ and DMB is a positive step towards enabling a pan-European digital radio market."
Frontier Silicon’s unified digital radio module will be based on the Venice 5.1 receiver unveiled earlier this year in Australia. The new module is a low cost receiver for DMB-Audio, DAB, DAB+ and FM-RDS, and is a drop-in replacement, both electrically and mechanically, for existing products designed using the company’s successful Venice 5 module range, which already provides a basis for the vast majority of digital radio products shipped in 2007 and 2008.
As with all Frontier Silicon audio modules, the unified digital radio module will include all interfaces necessary for a fully-functional product, needing only power supply, display, keypad, audio amplifier and speakers to complete a radio. It will start sampling in Q3 2008, and be available for volume production by the end of 2008.