Imagination Technologies Group will include iBiquity Digital’s HD Radio technology in its semiconductor intellectual property.
Imagination makes chips that can support global digital radio and television technologies, such as DAB and DVB-H; it supplies tech to companies like Pure, which RW readers know as a maker of Internet radios.
IBiquity’s VP of IC Business Development Bob Dillon tells me iBiquity will supply both its AM and FM technology to Imagination, with the FM HD tech likely to be used in mobile products and the AM in home audio. Imagination’s IP runs multi-standard receiver and processor DSP technologies. Its chips receive the signal and produce audio in radios and other devices.
Texas Instruments, NXP, SiPort, Samsung and STMicroelectronics make HD Radio chips. With this deal, Imagination could now potentially supply IP to these companies.
Imagination and iBiquity hope to get HD Radio in a larger range of mobile, embedded and automotive devices. More important, Imagination supplies IP to manufacturers targeting multi-standard devices sold in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas. That means Imagination can go to a global manufacturing partner and sell them one chip that supports all the digital radio or TV software for different countries.
A device to be used in several countries thus is designed and manufactured once, lowering those design manufacturing costs, according to iBiquity.
For example, with one chip supporting several digital radio standards, you can make an iPod dock for sale in the U.K. that supports DAB and the same dock that supports HD Radio for the U.S.
