SiTune Corporation of San Jose has said that it has developed the STN6528, the first tuner capable of supporting the new Advanced Wide Band Digital Satellite Broadcasting Standard (ARIB STD-B44) for broadcasting 8K digital television (TV) via satellite. STN6528 availability is targeted to support NHK’s initial test broadcasts of 8K Super Hi-Vision (SHV) content in 2016, as published by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications last July.
The chip will support both satellite and terrestrial RF inputs while concurrently providing satellite and terrestrial outputs. Using 55nm mixed-signal RF technology, the STN6528 receives one satellite signal in the 950-3220MHz spectrum and one terrestrial / cable signal in the UHF/VHF spectrum from 44 to 1002MHz. The STN6528 is claimed to provide a low power consumption solution as well as a low BOM cost for the Japanese TV and Blu-ray recorder market and is said to enable the smallest possible television tuner modules capable of supporting 2 (1T/1S), 4 (2T/2S) or 6 (3T/3S) channel television reception.
The STN6528 makes it possible for Time-Shift TV to support 8K content. A 3T/3S module using the STN6528 lets consumers automatically record all programmes from their favorite broadcast TV channels over a 1 week rolling window, including 8K content, for viewing on new 8K TVs. Time-Shift TV plus the STN6528 allows consumers more time to watch their favourite TV shows, including channels dedicated to 8K content, without having to specifically record the show.
STN6528 devices are sampling now with full production in Q3 2016.
