Frontier Silicon Launches the World's First DMB-Radio Profile 1 Compliant Tuner

(Product News, 7 Sep 2009)

Frontier Silicon, the leading supplier of connected audio technology, will be showing at IFA in Berlin this week the world's first mass production receiver module solution for DAB, DAB+ and DMB-Radio which is fully compliant with the WorldDMB receiver profile 1 standard. This provides a significant step forward in meeting the needs of manufacturers seeking to deliver a single mass market low power unified digital radio for Europe and Australia thus enabling countries to achieve their plans for digital radio switchover.
The availability of DMB-Radio on Venice 7 is especially significant for France, where the government has mandated that all radio receivers, including car radios, must be equipped with a DMB-Radio tuner by September 2013. As part of the digital radio switchover in France, broadcasters are planning to launch DMB-Radio this year in Paris, Nice and Marseille.
Anthony Sethill, CEO of Frontier Silicon, said, "France is the next major market to drive the switch to digital radio. It is anticipated the French market will represent a sizable opportunity for receiver manufacturers from 2010 with Frontier Silicon's trusted digital tuner technology at the heart".
Frontier Silicon was the first company to introduce a mass market solution for DAB+ and is still the only technology provider today shipping DAB+ in volume in Australia and Switzerland. The Venice 7 module supports DAB, DAB+, DMB-Radio and FM without the additional cost of external SDRAM memory. It includes all interfaces necessary for a fully functional radio, needing only power supply, display, keypad, audio amplifier and speakers to complete a product. The module is footprint compatible with the world's best selling DAB/DAB+ solutions Venice 5 and Venice 5.1 - this means radio manufacturers have a fast-to-market upgrade path to offer all major digital radio standards without the need to redesign their product.
The software on Venice 7 provides full flexibility to allow radio manufacturers a high degree of product differentiation through UI customization. Software features include multi-language support, iPod docking with secondary display for artist and track name, power saving features, and an in-the-field firmware upgrade facility via USB.
A fully-qualified radio platform including iPod and iPhone docking support is also available with the Jupiter 7 production-ready reference platform. Compliant with WorldDMB's Profile 1 specification and low power directives for European and the UK 'Energy Saving Recommended' scheme, Jupiter 7 is the leading reference design to drive switchover from FM to digital radio throughout Europe and Australia.