MaxLinear Inc. (NYSE: MXL), a leading provider of integrated radio frequency (RF) and mixed-signal integrated circuits for broadband communications applications, today announced a new family of four-channel Full Spectrum Capture™ (FSC™) tuner-demodulator devices that offer the industry’s lowest power consumption for a fast-growing segment of the DVB-S/S2 satellite pay TV market: ultra-high definition (UHD) personal video recorders (PVRs).
The new four-channel ICs include the MxL541C, with a single L-band (950-2150MHz) RF input and the MxL542C, with dual wide-band (250-2350MHz) RF inputs. The MxL541C supports the legacy satellite Unicable LNB standard EN 50494 (also known as SatCR) as well as the second-generation digital channel-stacking standard, EN 50607, which enables up to 32 user bands to be stacked and distributed over a single coax cable.
Satellite service providers are increasingly deploying digital channel-stacking solutions along with multi-channel set-top boxes and media servers in order to reduce installation costs and generate additional subscription revenues with the latest advanced technology features like personal video recording (PVR), push video on demand (VOD), faster channel change times, and WiFi streaming of TV content to portable devices throughout the home.
“The market for multi-channel satellite set-top boxes, PVRs and media servers is growing faster than the overall pay TV market,” according to Jeff Heynen, Research Director for Broadband Access and Pay TV at IHS. “Recent technology advances in video compression with H.265 high efficiency video coding (HEVC) and ‘4K’ UHD televisions are generating new demand for set-top boxes that incorporate these latest technologies.”
Along with this is increasing demand for more and more tuners to deliver advanced multi-channel, multi-room services from a single PVR or media server in the home. Previously, four-tuner set-top boxes were either too expensive to widely deploy, or consumed too much power to be robust and reliable. With MaxLinear’s latest lineup of cost-optimized, low power four-channel, single-chip receivers, it is now possible for OEMs deliver a box that costs less and fits in a smaller form factor than previous single and dual tuner set-top boxes in the market.
“We’re seeing very strong interest from our customers to develop four-channel boxes that can display live or recorded content on a UHD TV and simultaneously stream HD video to WiFi devices throughout the home,” said Yves Rasse, MaxLinear’s Senior Product Line Director for Satellite and Terrestrial TV. “This functionality is becoming the de-facto standard for new PVRs from satellite service providers worldwide.”
Technical Highlights
The MxL54xC receivers feature signal reception performance that meets or exceeds the specifications of all leading satellite operators. The devices are optimized for next-generation satellite gateways and set-top boxes with support for multi-screen viewing, personal video recorder (PVR) functionality and fast channel change capability. Integrated high performance low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) ensure that system performance is optimized while minimizing the bill-of-materials (BOM) cost and total power consumption.
MxL54xC devices exceed the latest Energy Star and European Union (EU) requirements for power consumption of electrical equipment in both standby and full operating modes.
MxL541C and MxL542C devices use MaxLinear’s Full-Spectrum Capture technology to receive the full L-band or XL-band of satellite spectrum, respectively. As a result, MxL54xC devices can simultaneously receive up to four DVB-S/S2 channels located anywhere in the satellite spectrum. The MxL54xC devices are designed with excellent immunity to 4G/LTE, WiFi, and other wireless interference signals that are typically present in consumer home environments.
Availability
MxL541C and MxL542C devices are in full production.
