Zune Media Player Exploits HD Radio Receiver, Power Management IC

Sept. 16, 2009
Microsoft’s new Zune HD portable media player delivers high-sound-quality HD radio using very little power using SiPort's SP1010 receiver IC and Wolfson Microelectronics' WM8352 power-management device with integrated stereo codec.

Microsoft’s new Zune HD portable media player delivers high-sound-quality HD radio using very little power by employing a terrestrial broadcast receiver chip and a highly-integrated power management IC. The Zune HD is the latest generation of Microsoft’s portable digital media player. Available in 16-Gbyte and 32-Gbyte capacities, the player is Microsoft’s first to feature HD Radio technology and a touch-screen. It also adds video playback technology to give users a different way to experience media on the go.

Zune makes use of SiPort’s terrestrial broadcast receiver chip. The single-chip digital broadcast receiver is claimed by the company to be the industry’s lowest power HD Radio solution. With it, Zune offers access to a wide range of HD FM Radio music, news, and sports programming in clear digital sound without any subscription fees.

HD Radio is a free over-the-air digital broadcast from radio stations in conjunction with their analog signals. This new technology enables radio stations to simulcast both digital and analog audio within the same channel as well as add new channels and data services. By dividng the data stream into sub-channels, HD Radio supports many new features including searchable content by genre, pause, rewind, and play functionality, the tagging of a song for future online purchase, and digital data services.

SiPort’s SP1010 receiver was fabricated using TSMC’s RF CMOS process to achieve higher performance and optimal sensitivity per milliwatt. The key to this performance is the self-tunable radio technology specifically developed for mobile terrestrial digital radio use. By combining a CMOS RF tuner and a baseband receiver in a compact and low power IC, SiPort delivers the low power, tiny package, high performance, and low price needed to receive digital audio and digital data services on a variety of portable devices.

Also designed into the Zune is Wolfson Microelectronics’ WM8352 power-management device with integrated stereo codec. The WM8352 offers a highly integrated IC that delivers superior sound quality and extended battery life to portable multimedia devices.

Compatible with leading multimedia application processors, the WM8352 features an integrated high-fidelity audio codec and power management subsystem while significantly reducing power consumption, system cost, design and manufacturing complexity, and time-to-market. According to Wolfson, with the WM8352, consumer electronics manufacturers can save up to 25 percent on the device bill of materials (BOM) and up to 50 percent on the board footprint.

WM8352 functions include a high-performance, low-power audio codec with advanced mixing capability that delivers excellent 98-dB SNR performance. The device also features on-chip clock generation, six DC-DC converters, four LDO (low drop-out) voltage regulators, a lithium battery charger, two white LED drivers, and an auxiliary ADC all inside a compact 7-mm x7-mm BGA package.

SiPort Inc.
www.siport.com

Wolfson Microelectronics
www.wolfsonmicro.com

Sponsored Recommendations

Highly Integrated 20A Digital Power Module for High Current Applications

March 20, 2024
Renesas latest power module delivers the highest efficiency (up to 94% peak) and fast time-to-market solution in an extremely small footprint. The RRM12120 is ideal for space...

Empowering Innovation: Your Power Partner for Tomorrow's Challenges

March 20, 2024
Discover how innovation, quality, and reliability are embedded into every aspect of Renesas' power products.

Article: Meeting the challenges of power conversion in e-bikes

March 18, 2024
Managing electrical noise in a compact and lightweight vehicle is a perpetual obstacle

Power modules provide high-efficiency conversion between 400V and 800V systems for electric vehicles

March 18, 2024
Porsche, Hyundai and GMC all are converting 400 – 800V today in very different ways. Learn more about how power modules stack up to these discrete designs.

Comments

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Electronic Design, create an account today!