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MaxLinear Updates on Utilization of MxL603 Silicon Tuner Device in STB Market
[April 08, 2013]

MaxLinear Updates on Utilization of MxL603 Silicon Tuner Device in STB Market


Apr 08, 2013 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- MaxLinear Inc., a provider of integrated radio frequency (RF) and mixed-signal integrated circuits for broadband communications applications, announced that OEMs are using its MxL603 silicon tuner device in new Internet video set-top boxes (STBs) shipping into the US market.



According to a release, a significant trend in recent years is the increasing availability of quality over-the-top (OTT) video content from providers like Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video. US consumers are boosting their Internet speeds from their broadband providers to improve their experience in watching videos and movies from online sources.

Only recently have video-streaming STBs with the ability to receive free, over-the-air local broadcast channels become available. Access to local high-definition (HD) broadcast channels is considered "must have" content by most TV viewers.


"Evolving user habits, combined with the huge quantity of content available on OTT services has resulted in a market for non-traditional ways of getting video content. These new STBs deliver broadcast video content over IP to allow users to receive traditional broadcast content on their smart phones, tablets and other IP-enabled devices," said Yves Rasse, Senior Director, Consumer Product Line at MaxLinear. "STBs targeted at this market are a perfect fit for MaxLinear's technology because it delivers a low power, lower cost system with very high performance." Technical highlights, as described by the company: With the release of MaxLinear's latest MxL600 "SuperRadio" tuner technology, STB manufacturers are finally able to integrate multiple over-the-air (OTA) TV receivers into small form-factor products with very little power consumption.

The MxL603 is a digital-silicon tuner based on low-power digital CMOS process technology and supports all global cable and terrestrial TV reception standards, including ATSC in the US. The MxL603 delivers an industry-low noise figure of 3.8 dB and includes MaxLinear's proprietary blocker technology for advanced filtering of strong signals from adjacent channels.

The MxL603 provides the industry's lowest power consumption at approximately 350 mW per tuner, which enables multi-tuner applications without the need for expensive heat sinks or four-layer PCBs.

The MxL603, available in a 4x4 QFN package, has been shipping in mass production since mid- 2012. A complete reference design kit including hardware design files and integrated tuner-demodulator API software for ATSC-QAM applications is available upon request.

More information: www.maxlinear.com.

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