Philips Releases HD Radio Single-Chip Processor

Royal Philips Electronics has its HD Radio receiver chipset ready for automotive radio manufacturers. Philips says the SAF3550 is a highly integrated digital integrated circuit that uses fewer components to demodulate and process HD Radio signals in automotive applications compared to competitors, like Texas Instruments.
The new chip is designed to complement Philips’ automotive AM/FM receiver chipset, the Philips’ SAF7730 IF-CarDSP and the TEF6721 companion tuner.
Philips spokesman Jack Morgan said his company uses fewer circuits to perform the processing than competitors. “We eliminate those chips by including them on the silicon.”
He said the Philips chip can decode compressed DVD, CD or MP3 in addition to HD Radio so the same automotive radio can handle front and rear-seat audio processing.
He said Kenwood is using Philips integrated circuits for its tuner and IF functions in its HD Radios.
Samples of the SAF3550 are available now. The electronics manufacturer will ship in volume in early 2004 and is $25 in 1,000 unit quantities.