|
|
|
|
|
terug |
Datum nieuwsfeit: 12-06-2006
Microtune Tuner-strategie voor draagbare TV
( BW)(TX-MICROTUNE)(TUNE) Microtune Tuner Strategy for Mobile TV
Leverages Core Technology, Market Leadership and Standards Expertise;
Company Product Direction Encompasses Single-Chip TV Tuners Supporting
Multiple Mobile TV Standards and Expanded RF Functions
Business Editors/Technology Editors
INGOLSTADT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 12, 2006--In Europe
last week for the kick-off of commercial mobile TV services and for
the introduction of handsets using its tuner, Microtune(R), Inc.
President and CEO James A. Fontaine revealed the company's product
strategy to meet the needs of worldwide mobile/portable TV
manufacturers for future radio frequency (RF) electronics.
"Leveraging our patented MicroTuner(TM) architecture, coupled with
our market leadership in silicon TV tuner-chips and digital TV
expertise, our product plan is to develop new multi-standard,
poly-band, universal TV tuners that can help drive the development of
the global market for mobile and portable TV," said Mr. Fontaine.
"We expect the commercial rollouts for the 2006 FIFA World Cup to
serve as an excellent proving ground for mobile TV services. They will
rigorously test the entire broadcasting system, while spurring
interest, demand and deployments. We are proud that our DVB-H tuner
technology is deployed in the LG Electronics' LG-U900 handsets that
will be used in the Italian Hutchison (3) launch. As additional mobile
TV networks are introduced worldwide, we believe that multiple mobile
TV standards, as with other digital TV standards, will co-exist across
regions or countries. We intend to support these multiple standards
with our advanced tuner technology.
"Our goal is to provide high-performance tuners to as wide a
market as possible, while permitting our customers to cost effectively
develop multi-market end products. In the process, we expect to
solidify a leadership position as the preferred RF supplier to major
consumer electronics manufacturers."
According to Mr. Fontaine, Microtune plans to expand upon its
existing ATSC, DVB-T and DVB-H-based products to develop universal
tuners. They will be engineered as miniature single chips that support
multiple mobile TV standards, while also easily enabling compact
dual-tuner configurations for personal video recording and diversity
applications. Anticipating the convergence of digital TV broadcast,
multimedia and connectivity as part of the evolution of handsets and
portable devices, the company also plans to investigate strategies to
bridge its current tuner portfolio with expanded RF functions.
As the first initiative in its strategy, Microtune plans to expand
its Mobile MicroTuner product family for the DVB-T, DVB-H, T-DMB,
ISDB-T and DMB-TH specifications. When implemented into consumer
multimedia devices, the new tuners will enable users to access a
variety of content -- digital TV broadcasts, mobile TV broadcasts,
digital radio and teletext -- while roaming across countries that
offer differing standards.
Combining standards with expanded RF functions, Microtune expects
that its future tuners will permit manufacturers to develop products
for global markets without the added expense and duplication of effort
to design standard- or feature-specific devices. They will help to
accelerate a customer's time-to-market and reduce costly development
investments, while maintaining the very high level of RF performance
and silicon integration associated with current Microtune products.
"With the continuation of worldwide field trials, the emergence of
competitive specifications such as T-DMB, and most significantly, the
first launch of commercial DVB-H services in Italy, the emerging
TV-on-mobile devices market is dynamically moving forward," said Paul
O'Donovan, Principal Research Analyst, Semiconductor Group, Gartner
Dataquest.
"Italy will prove a tipping point. The experience of Hutchison (3)
in delivering mobile TV services in Rome, Milan, Turin and other
cities will serve as both a test case and learning experience,
identifying the interest of consumers, the appeal of content, the
ruggedness of the broadcast system, the new capabilities in the mobile
phones and, most importantly, the validity of the business model,"
O'Donovan added. "A key criteria of initial success will be quality of
the TV reception. Consumers know what TV looks like, and the new DVB-H
mobile phones will need to deliver high-quality, consistent TV
pictures on the small LCD screens."
As examples of Microtune's successful multi-standard approach,
Mr. Fontaine cited the recently announced Mobile MicroTuner MT2266, a
dual-standard (DVB-T and DVB-H), dual-band (UHF and VHF-Band III) chip
that receives and tunes both digital terrestrial TV and mobile
broadcast TV signals. Microtune's first Mobile MicroTuner product, the
MT2260, was the industry's first multi-band (UHF/L-Band) DVB-H tuner
to be introduced, sampled and put into production. This chip is
currently deployed in LG's LG-U900 mobile phone.
As the most rigorous example of the company's multi-standard
broadband expertise, Mr. Fontaine noted that earlier this year the
company announced a 3-in-1 analog/digital/cable TV tuner. This tuner,
the MT2131, is engineered to deliver benchmark-setting performance
that exceeds the RF requirements of the most demanding standards in
the world: ATSC, NTSC and Digital Cable Ready (DCR).
Complementing its product direction, the company also plans to
sell its tuners as wafer-level chip-scale packages for system-in-chip
packages, making its technology available in multiple form factors.
Microtune's chip-scale packaged tuners enable greater miniaturization,
a key requirement anticipated in future of mobile TV products.
Multiple Standards and Product Options
DVB-H, T-DMB, DMB-TH, and ISDB-T are various worldwide digital
terrestrial standards, using different allocations and/or bands of the
frequency spectrum, that enable reception of mobile TV on handheld and
portable devices. Commercial services based on DVB-H have launched in
Italy and Germany and are expected to roll-out in the U.S. later this
year. Korea and parts of Germany have initiated mobile TV services
based on T-DMB. Major handset manufacturers have announced product
line-ups supporting both standards.
Microtune Tuner Technology
Based on patented technology and advanced architectural designs,
Microtune's RF products function as universal RF 'gateway' components
in delivering video, audio and data to TVs, digital TVs, TV
peripherals, set-top boxes, VoIP cable modems, PC-TVs, automotive
entertainment systems and handheld devices. They are engineered to
deliver superior channel selectivity, image rejection, impedance
matching, and wide dynamic range input amplification, outperforming
traditional TV tuners across stringent digital performance metrics.
When integrated into consumer electronics devices, they provide
users high reliability with superior reception, characterized by
superior and stable pictures under varying signal conditions.
For more information on Microtune's RF products see Microtune's
web site at www.microtune.com.
About Microtune, Inc. (Nasdaq:TUNE)
Microtune, Inc. is a silicon and subsystems company that designs
and markets radio frequency (RF) solutions for the worldwide broadband
communications and transportation electronics markets. Inventor of the
MicroTuner(TM) single-chip broadband tuner, Microtune offers a
portfolio of advanced tuner, amplifier, and upconverter products that
enable the delivery of information and entertainment across new
classes of consumer electronics devices. The Company currently holds
60 U.S. patents for its technology. Founded in 1996, Microtune is
headquartered in Plano, Texas, with key design and sales centers
located around the world. The website is www.microtune.com.
Product Strategy Announcements
It is not unusual for Microtune to discuss its future product
strategies and the announcement of new product strategies should not
be viewed as an indicator of Microtune revenues for any current or
future reporting period. The market for handheld digital television
and mobile digital television may not develop or may develop more
slowly than currently anticipated. Even in the event that these
markets do develop, there can be no assurance that Microtune's Mobile
MicroTuner family of products or any of the future products discussed
in this release will be selected by manufacturers or that if selected,
such manufacturers will continue to select Microtune's products in the
future to support their handsets and other mobile devices.
Microtune Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release other than statements of
historical fact (including, but not limited to, statements concerning
the future market for digital consumer products and potential product
strategies and future Microtune products) are forward-looking
statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could
cause such statements to differ materially from actual future events
or results. Such forward-looking statements are generally, but not
necessarily, accompanied by words such as "plan," "if," "estimate,"
"expect," "believe," "could," "would," "anticipate," "may," or other
words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These
forward-looking statements and other statements made elsewhere in this
release are made in reliance, in part, on the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Factors which could cause actual
results to differ from anticipated results include the Company's
ability to introduce new products, achieve design wins, maintain
customer and strategic partner relationships, forecast customer demand
and manage inventory levels, control and budget expenses, protect
proprietary technology and intellectual property, and successfully
prosecute and defend any future litigation. Any one of these factors
may cause the Company's actual financial results to differ materially
from its projected results. The forward-looking statements in this
release speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no
obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement
for any reason. Readers are referred to our Annual Report on Form
10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current
Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission
filings which discuss the foregoing factors as well as other important
risk factors that could affect our business, results of operations and
financial condition.
Editor's Note:
DVB-T is the digital television standard for Europe and most of
the rest of the world. DVB-H is an international standard, based on
DVB-T, adopted for delivery of mobile TV on handheld devices. ISDB-T
is a terrestrial digital television standard adopted by Japan for
delivery of mobile TV on handheld devices. DMB-TH is a terrestrial
digital television standard adopted by China for delivery of mobile TV
on handheld devices. T-DMB, based on the DAB standard, is a standard
adopted for delivery of mobile TV on handheld devices.
Microtune is a registered trademark and MicroTuner and Mobile
MicroTuner are trademarks of Microtune, Inc. All other company and/or
product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.
Translations
Microtune has only reviewed the English-language version of this
press release for accuracy and is not responsible for the accuracy of
statements in subsequently translated versions of this document.
Readers are strongly advised to review the English-language version of
this press release.
--30--CC/da*
CONTACT: Microtune, Inc., Plano
Kathleen Padula, 972-673-1811
kathleen.padula@microtune.com
or
Investor Relations
Jeff Kupp, 972-673-1610
ir@microtune.com