A European television manufacturer is using an integrated
circuit from NXP Semiconductors to build
so-called "time shifting functions" directly into its new televisions.
Loewe AG is employing NXP's SAA7164 IC as a
single-chip shift engine, capturing analog signals and time-shifting them, thus
eliminating the need for a conventional set-top box. Set-top boxes are used,
especially in the U.S.,
to capture video signals, digitize them and hold them for a prescribed amount
of time so viewers can eliminate commercials during playback. The SAA7164
eliminates the need for the set-top box because it can be incorporated inside
the TV set.
"There's an
emerging trend in Europe and potentially in
the U.S.
to build the time-shift directly into the TV, instead of using an external
set-top box," says Michael Malloy, a marketing manager for NXP.
The
SAA7164, previously noted for its incorporation in TV tuner cards for the PC
space, is being used for the first time in the consumer electronics space, NXP
engineers say.
Because the
SAA7164 is an analog device, it is expected to serve as a companion chip to
digital time-shift ICs. NXP engineers say the device will continue to play a
role even as the television industry transitions to digital TV.
"Any
customer on the planet today who builds time-shift functionality into a product
will support both analog and digital for the foreseeable future," Malloy
says.
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