Optimized for advanced flat panel display TVs, Micronas (SWX Swiss Exchange: MASN, Frankfurt: MNSN, Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX), a leading supplier of innovative application-specific IC system solutions for consumer electronics, today unveils a highly integrated IC family that takes HDTV picture quality on LCD and Plasma TVs to new levels of performance.
The VGC 596xB family of dual-channel video and graphics controllers supports full HDTV resolution. Two fully independent channels allow the screen to display two images side-by-side, as Double Window, PIP, or as Picture-and-Text (PAT), while preserving full image resolution and optimizing picture quality.
"There are two complete signal paths and both have been designed for optimum image quality," explains Peter Kliegelhoefer, Product Marketing Manager, Micronas Consumer Products. "We are convinced that customers will appreciate the uncompromised clarity of pictures for both high-definition and standard-resolution sources."
The best-in-class picture quality is achieved with a combination of advanced picture improvements. These include Dynamic Contrast Enhancement (DCE), Luminance and Chrominance Sharpness Enhancement (LSE / CSE), Selective Color Enhancement (SCE), Non-linear Color-space Enhancement (NCE) and content-adaptive Temporal Noise Reduction (TNR). All of these are available for both channels independently and support either LCD or Plasma Display Panels (PDP).
With a 32-bit MIPS® processor, the VGC 596xB allows maximum flexibility. In addition to controlling the TV set, software-driven features can be added. For example, Micronas offers a JPEG viewer application, which enables consumers to plug in a Flash memory device and watch digital camera snapshots in full HD resolution on their TV.
Hardware and software are performance-optimized around a fast real-time operating system (RTOS). Micronas makes it easy to use by providing a complete flat-panel display TV software package including middleware and a suite of high-level drivers and applications.
"The high-level drivers facilitate the software development, but we make sure designers have full control of all picture parameters," says Kliegelhoefer. "Major TV manufacturers are moving towards Linux-like software architectures and we have adopted this approach to reduce development time and effort."
Various real time tasks, such as letterbox detection and film-mode detection, are integrated in the video driver. Previously complex applications, such as fast dynamic scaling (zoom/fisheye), now require just a few lines of program code.
The VGC 596xB supports all relevant input formats, including 1080p and various PC resolutions. Triple 10-bit video ADCs preserve image quality from computer or other analog sources, making PC-TV integration easy. Composite video, quad CVBS, triple Y/C and triple component inputs are also supported. The built-in switch matrix allows any input to be selected for either channel.
The unique Micronas video signal path architecture is 10 bits or better throughout the device and all elements are sized for full HDTV (1080p) image processing. Two separate color decoders with 2D/3D comb filters for NTSC and PAL eliminate irritating chrominance and luminance artifacts. Two independent VBI slicers support multi-standard data services, such as V-chip, closed-caption, Teletext L2.5 (up to 2,000 pages) and Electronic Programming Guide (EPG), to satisfy worldwide information requirements. The information can be displayed via a full-screen pixel-based graphical OSD, powered by the on-chip 2-D graphics accelerator. Output formats include 30-bit digital RGB and two channels of 8 or 10-bit LVDS.
Two 10-bit color decoders and two 10-bit 1080i motion-adaptive frame-based de-interlacers and scalers provide outstanding video fidelity of any video material. De-interlacing can be further enhanced by combining the VGC 596xB with Micronas' unique truD® technology, included in the Micronas FRC 9429A. truD® provides enhanced real motion features (Real Motion®), motion vector-based de-interlacing and film de-juddering. This combination is an ideal solution to overcome the response time weaknesses of today's LCD panels. It provides high-contrast LCD viewing with significantly reduced motion blur based on higher frame rates than today's 60 frames per second.
The VGC 596xB meets all requirements for the European HD-Ready label. For the U.S. and Korean markets, Micronas offers an ATSC-compliant HDTV solution proposal based on Micronas' DRX 3942H ATSC front-end device family in combination with an MPEG decoder.
Micronas offers the VGC 596xB family in two versions: The VGC 5969B for HDTV 1080p panels and the VGC 5968B for WXGA panels. Both versions are pin and software compatible, enabling scalable TV applications with only one PCB design.
The VGC 596xB is sampling now, with production starting in Q1, 2006. In addition, evaluation boards, development tools and a comprehensive TV software package including a flat panel display TV application example will be available.