Date: 14/12/2010

Digital radio co-processor from NXP Semiconductor for car entertainment sys

NXP Semiconductors has made available the SAF356x series, a flexible digital radio co-processor for car entertainment systems supporting DAB, DAB+ and T-DMB reception, as well as HD Radio. All standards are supported for both single- and dual-tuner applications. NXP says SAF356x is the market's first multi-standard baseband processor for digital terrestrial radio systems, with software that can be modified to support additional features in the future, including standards such as DRM or DRM+.

"The SAF356x has impressed us with its high versatility - its support of HD Radio and various DAB standards, its scalability from single- to dual-tuner applications, and additional features such as timeshift and DAB-FM blending," said Michael Görtler, development manager at Fujitsu-Ten Europe GmbH. "This means we only have to invest in one hardware platform and still have the flexibility we need to fulfill the different demands of our many customers. What NXP offers as a package is also unique in the market, as the company is able to support not only the chip, but the complete application including its own DAB software."


The SAF356x is a digital radio processor that demodulates and processes digital terrestrial radio signals and outputs the decoded audio and data. For HD Radio, it uses the AM/FM signals from NXP's leading radio/audio DSPs such as SAF7741 or its newest RFCMOS-based digital one-chip TEF663x.

"We're helping our customers lower the cost of ownership for digital radio by offering an innovative software defined radio solution for multiple standards. This approach also enables customers to benefit from our continuous innovation adding features such as seamless blending of DAB and FM signals, and unique algorithms to increase the reception area," said Sebastian Schreuder, product marketing manager, NXP Semiconductors. "We will also be ready to support additional standards in emerging markets like DRM in India and Russia."

Major benefits of terrestrial radio processor systems using the SAF356x as listed by NXP:
Lower cost of ownership for digital terrestrial radio by supporting multiple standards and tuner configurations with one IC
HD Radio (SAF3560)
DAB, DAB+, T-DMB (SAF3561)
Single- as well as dual-tuner applications with audio plus data
Facilitated system design
Modular approach with easy to use co-processor to AM/FM radio/audio DSPs
High-level API and automotive-grade software reducing development effort
Full feature set including audio source decoding to reduce load on the application and host processor
Differentiating features of NXP's DAB software enabled by scaling external SDRAM
DAB-FM blending
Timeshift for pausing radio playback and resuming listening later
Reception improvement algorithms
Addressing the global digital radio market

NPX quotes "Compared to analog AM/FM, Digital Terrestrial Radio significantly improves the radio listening experience and increases the choice of programs, leading to increasing adoption around the globe. In the US, HD Radio is now a core element of the in-car entertainment package offered by leading vehicle manufacturers, and NXP is the leading supplier of automotive HD Radio systems. In Europe, led by Britain, governments have chosen the DAB/DAB+/T-DMB family of standards, and many other European countries such as Germany, France and Italy have shown renewed enthusiasm for DAB, DAB+ and T-DMB respectively."

The NXP SAF356x series supporting HD Radio, DAB, DAB+ and T-DMB is now available for mass production.

Editorial Product Rating: *** (High Value)