RealVideo and RealAudio on Blackfin shrink time to market for PMPs

Beijing, China(11/20/2007) - Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) today announced that it is working with RealNetworks®, Inc. to provide the latest generation of Personal Media featuring full D1 broadcast resolution playback of RealVideo® and RealAudio® media files, the same formats used in RealPlayer®. The combined efficiency of the RealVideo format and the performance of the Blackfin® processor deliver a high-quality level of video playback traditionally not found in personal media players. This fall Chinese market leader Aigo introduced two models, the Aigo E898 and F965R, that feature support of RealVideo, RealAudio and the RMVB formats running on a Blackfin processor. Aigo credits the Blackfin with shortening time to market and reducing the risk in product design, since the inherent programmability of Blackfin allows for rapid development cycles.

According to Kevin Wang, senior manager at iSuppli Corporation, “iSuppli expects that China’s domestic portable media players (PMPs) production will grow to 122 million units by 2011. Although at present the market is dominated by low-end MP4 players, in the newest players with RealVideo, RealAudio and RMVB support, Chinese manufacturers have the most favored media format today. The new products will also greatly enrich the source of content through downloading directly from the Internet. ADI’s Blackfin product can help Chinese PMP makers introduce new PMPs with shorter time to market, leveraging third-party design houses. Blackfin products from ADI are already widely adopted in mobile TVs and the DVR market in Asia.”

Consuming just 50 mW of power at a 250-MHz clock rate, ADI’s direct digital synthesis IC delivers price and performance to mobile industrial and communications devices.

Norwood, MA(12/10/2007) - Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI), a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications, is expanding the applicability of its industry leading direct digital synthesis technology into battery-powered industrial, communications and defense electronics applications with the introduction of a complete low-power, low-cost Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS) specifically designed for wireless, handheld equipment. Unlike competing approaches used to synthesize a digitally controlled frequency, the AD9913 is the first DDS device to deliver a 250-MHz clock rate while consuming as little as 50 mW of power. At less than $5 in volume quantities and available in a compact chip-scale package, the new IC is ideally suited for portable barcode scanners, radar detectors, remote radio controls and other products that require a cost-effective combination of performance and low-power operation.

Unlike phase-locked loop (PLL) devices, which suffer from settling times measured in microseconds and fine-tuning limitations, the AD9913 settles in nanoseconds with granularity well below 10 mHz. Other approaches, including field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) with embedded DDS functions, have difficulty matching the AD9913’s greater than 80-dB spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) performance on a 100-MHz output signal while requiring higher operating power and the addition of a discrete digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to synthesize the sine wave. The AD9913 includes an on-chip 10-bit high-speed DAC with no price premium compared to a stand-alone DAC. The fine-tuning granularity and higher SFDR of the AD9913 allow it to more quickly and accurately generate a stable signal in the band of interest. In a remote radio-controlled application, for example, such as an unmanned aircraft, this means the operator is less likely to lose contact with the airplane due to frequency interference that can result in a dropped signal.

TEL-AVIV, ISRAEL (12/12/2007) - EtherWaves, the industry leader for Digital Automobile Radio Intellectual Property (IP), announced today that it has developed a revolutionary Software Defined Radio solution based on a single low-power Blackfin BF522 processor from Analog Devices (ADI). The new EtherWaves Dual-Tuner, can simultaneously decode two digital signals from different (or identical) systems, such as DAB+ or DMB enabling the ability to provide DAB audio service and traffic information simultaneously.

“The EtherWaves ClearSignal Dual-Tuner is a major step forward in the efforts to integrate driver assistance into the infotainment centers of the next generation of automobiles,” said Mark Gill, Automotive Product Line Director, DSP Products, “We are pleased to be working with EtherWaves to extend the capabilities of Software Defined Radio with Blackfin processors.”

Norwood, MA(2/13/2008) - Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications and market leader in amplifier ICs, today introduced the lowest power voltage-feedback amplifier in its class, making it ideal for densely populated, thermally sensitive instrumentation equipment that requires high-speed signal conditioning. Operating at 850 MHz, the ADA4857 high-speed op amp consumes 5 mA, less than half the power of competing voltage-feedback amps, while featuring the industry’s most well-balanced combination of performance specifications.

The ADA4857 reduces input noise to 4.4 nV/rtHz, which is 50 percent lower than competing amps. With –91-dBc distortion at 10 MHz, the new amplifier provides a 10-dB improvement over voltage-feedback amps that dissipate twice the power. For space-constrained medical imaging, ATE and other multichannel instruments, the 5 mA supply current minimizes the need for active thermal management devices and passive cooling elements, such as fans and heat sinks, thus allowing system designers to reduce development costs and design complexity.

Norwood, MA(11/8/2007) - Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its CPU voltage regulation and PC thermal monitoring product line to ON Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: ONNN). The product line to be sold consists of core voltage regulator products for the central processing unit (CPU) in computing and gaming applications and temperature sensors and fan-speed controllers for managing the temperature of the CPU.

The divestiture is consistent with ADI’s ongoing transition of its power management portfolio to high-performance products that complement the company’s market-leading portfolio of signal-processing solutions for industrial, medical and scientific instrumentation, as well as communications infrastructure and consumer electronics.

“This agreement allows us to further focus our power management team on areas such as portable medical devices, wireless infrastructure equipment, and digital TVs, where ADI has outstanding systems expertise and an unparalleled reputation for delivering high performance signal processing solutions,” said Peter Henry, ADI’s vice president for Power Management Products.

Norwood, MA(2/12/2008) - Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) is introducing a general-purpose two-channel, digitally controlled VGA (Variable-gain amplifier) developed with specific features for today’s CMTS (Cable Modem Termination System) upstream receiver applications. The two-channel AD8372 VGA enables designers to incorporate more CMTS channels while simultaneously improving modem performance and the quality of upstream cable signals. The new VGA’s space-saving design reduces component count and board area by allowing designers to fit more channels into a given space or pack the same number of channels into a smaller area.

For wide-dynamic-range applications, the AD8372 offers a broad 41-dB gain range, with 1-dB steps and 0.2-dB resolution. The gain is programmed through a bidirectional 4-pin, 8-bit serial port, which consists of clock, latch, data input and data output lines for each channel. The 41-dB control range enables designers to keep input signals above the noise floor, while using the full-scale range of a wider variety of ADCs (analog-to-digital converters). The 41-dB gain range makes the AD8372 an essential component for multiple cable applications, including CMTS.

-ADI’s AD8363 TruPwrTM™ RMS power detector offers improved accuracy, single-ended drive and extended operating temperature in a compact 4 x 4 mm LFCSP package.

Norwood, MA(2/11/2008) - Analog Devices, Inc. today introduced the AD8363 TruPwrTM™ root-mean-square (RMS) power detector that precisely measures signals with highly varying crest factors up to 6 GHz used in WiMAX/802.16, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, and LTE applications. The AD8363 supports the communications industry’s focus on increasing efficiency and improving ease-of-use to reduce the overall system size and cost. The AD8363 targets high performance RF applications including power amplifier (PA) linearization/control loops, transmitter power control, transmitter signal strength indication (TSSI) and RF instrumentation. Accurate control of PA output power significantly reduces cost and improves efficiency. TruPwrTM ICs are ADI’s award winning portfolio of patented RMS detectors. ADI offers one of the most extensive RMS portfolios in the market.

The AD8363 is ideally suited for next-generation radio frequency (RF) applications using complex signals with highly varying peak-to-average ratios. The signal is sent directly into the single-ended input eliminating the need for an external balun, unlike power detectors from previous generations. The AD8363 achieves + 0.5 dB accuracy over the entire 50 dB + 1 dB dynamic range. The output is linear-in-dB, and scaled to 50 mV/dB, but other slopes can be arranged. The AD8363 is fully specified and stable over the entire frequency range of 50 Hz to 6 GHz, operating temperature range of -40 degrees C to 125 degrees C and supply voltage range of 4.5 to 5.5 V. With these specifications the most stringent power measurement applications can be accurately realized. For more information, visit www.analog.com/pr/AD8363.

Norwood, MA(2/6/2008) - Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications and market leader in amplifier ICs, today introduced a digitally programmable VGA (variable gain amplifier) with transmit driver that sets a new standard of performance for driving signals over power lines, cables, and other applications with low impedance. The AD8260 operates on a single 3.3-V power supply and has a transmit driver that produces ±200-mA output up to 100 kHz, and greater than ±100-mA above that frequency. This is an improvement over competing solutions using a discrete VGA, output driver and pre-amp, which consume 90 percent more board space, and require multiple power supplies.

The AD8260 VGA operates at -3dB bandwidth of 200-MHz and includes a 30-dB gain range digitally adjustable in 3-dB gain steps providing the headroom needed for losses introduced in various cabling systems. The new VGA features 2.4nV/rtHz input voltage noise and driver with a built-in gain of 1.5, which is ideal for converting DAC (digital-to-analog converter) differential output signals to a voltage that can directly drive very low impedances. The AD8260 can fully drive a 10  load with 2 Vpp at 10 MHz. In addition, the chip dissipates just 93 mW of power, which is less than half that of competing devices.

- ADL5321 driver amplifier offers the industry’s best combination of performance and low power, while reducing design complexity and board area in the 2.3 GHz to 4.0 GHz frequency range.

Norwood, MA(2/5/2008) - Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), manufacturer of amplifier ICs for the entire radio frequency (RF) signal chain, today introduced the ADL5321, a new high-performance, low power RF driver amplifier that brings together the industry’s best combination of power and performance in 2.3-GHz to 4.0-GHz wireless infrastructure designs for LTE, WiMAX and WiBro applications. The ADL5321 increases signal linearity, and consumes less power, relative to competing RF amplifiers. When implemented in a system, such as a base station, radio, or satellite equipment, the ADL5321 eliminates up to four external passive components, which eases design complexity and enables RF designers to more quickly bring cost-effective, highly-efficient wireless infrastructure equipment to market.

With an output OIP3 of 40 dBm and output compression point of 25 dBm at 2600 MHz, the ADL5321 driver provides the highest linear output drive level for a given transmitted output power. Consuming just 84 mA, which is a 30% to 50% power savings over competing devices, the ADL5321 also features on-chip active bias circuitry, which further reduces the external component count. The driver amplifier’s Class 3A, + 4 kV, ESD (electrostatic discharge) rating also provides an exemplary degree of robustness for high volume manufacturing.

- ADI’s video decoder combines 12-bit 3D comb filtering with 1080p-HD 150 MSPS digitizer in a single-chip system, reducing design overhead while improving fine picture detail.

Norwood, MA(1/21/2008) - Analog Devices has expanded its Advantiv™ advanced television portfolio with a new 12-bit resolution 3D comb video decoder with an integrated 150 MSPS digitizer for Full-HD 1080p input formats. The ADV7802 provides system designers with a complete single-chip solution for improving video image and color quality in advanced high-definition televisions (HDTVs), video-processors, audio/video receiver (AVR) systems and DVD recorders. The new 12-bit 3D comb video decoder offers superior processing resolution for motion detection and 3D comb filtering operations, versus existing video decoder solutions, enabling designers to reduce trade-offs between image sharpness and Y/C separation performance – something that has traditionally been reserved for professional and studio broadcast applications – without the added cost and design complexity of discrete chip solutions.

The ADV7802 is the industry’s only true 12-bit-resolution decoder with 4:4:4 sampling throughout the processing pipeline, including support for RGB SCART inputs, to provide designers with a higher level of system performance compared to existing 8-bit industry offerings using 4:2:2 sampling schemes. The addition of an on-chip interface with support for
SDR (single data-rate) DRAM reduces overall system cost while support for DDR (double data-rate) DRAM enables simultaneous 12-bit 3D comb (NTSC or PAL), digital noise reduction (DNR) and time base correction (TBC), providing designers with a complete solution for decoding standard-definition (SD) video for noisy off-air broadcast signals or poor-quality VCR tape recordings with unstable timing.