Atmel and LG Electronics, Inc. Collaborate on a DMB Extension for LG's New Laptop Family
HEILBRONN, Germany and SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 2
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Atmel(R) Corporation (NASDAQ:ATML), a global leader in the development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor solutions, and LG International Co., Ltd. announced today a new family of laptop computers with DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast), based on Atmel's ATR2740 DAB baseband processor. The LG LW40 Express is equipped with Atmel's latest DAB baseband processor, and is the world's first DMB notebook PC. This model features a 14- inch wide LCD screen with a WXGA resolution of 1280x768 and a ratio of 15:9, targetted towards the DVD market. The fine bright LCD installed in this model shows deep and clear images, appealing to consumers who seek enhanced entertainment features.
Also, the DMB notebook PC features functions such as DMB watching and recording, channel registration, broadcast-reception sense indication, and channel scanning, as well as booked recording, picture capture, and intelligent update (automatically downloading software from the Internet and upgrading itself), thus enhancing the user's experience.
"We selected Atmel's solution due to the impressive performance and flexibility, especially the USB interface was a very useful feature to us," said Mr. K.H. Kim from the PC Marketing Team of LG. "The co-work between Atmel and LG was enjoyable and very satisfying to us."
"We are very proud that LG selected our new baseband processor to realize this fantastic application," said Carsten Friedrich, Atmel's Cellular Marketing Manager. "We hope that this will be one of the successes of LG on the new and upcoming DMB market in Korea."
The DMB feature is realized with the help of Atmel's ATR2740 baseband processor, which provides a high level of flexibility and performance. This baseband processor is controlled by a standard ARM(R) core, making it easy to create customized software due to the controller being very well known with designers. The ATR2740 offers high processing power to enable the part to decode the full DAB data rate of 1.8 Mbit, powerful enough to run any DMB service, and still have plenty of free processing power available on the ARM controller for customer software. This makes it easy to implement this device in complex environments, enabling a fast time to market.
The wide flexibility offered by the ATR2740 is given from the large variety of interfaces which can be supported. UART, USB, and SPI are available for control functions, and SSO, SFCO and RDI interfaces, as well as two audio outputs, either I2S or SPDIF, are implemented data interfaces.
Due to the high integration of the device, the external component count is as low as only two external parts (a simple crystal and an 8-MB Flash are required) plus a tuner solution to run the full DAB function. To run DMB, the video and audio processing must be added; in the case of the LG LW40, it is done on the laptop.
In particular, the DMB-enabled notebook PC utilizes DMB antenna and signal treatment modules that can be replaced with an optical disc drive (ODD) in the notebook PC. This allows users to opt between the DMB module and the ODD, increasing mobility.
As for consumers' preference for DMB receivers, notebook PCs rank second after mobile phones, and with the development of DMB, the DMB notebook market will likely grow.
Footnote
DAB = Digital Audio Broadcasting
DMB = Digital Multimedia Broadcasting
DVD = Digital Versatile Disk
I2S = Infrared Imaging System
LCD = Liquid Cristal Display
ODD = Optical Disc Drive
RDI = Receiver Data Interface
SFCO = Simple Full Capacity Output
SPDIF = Sony/Philips Digital Interface
SPI = Serial Parallel Interface
SSO = Serial Synchronous Output
UART = Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
USB = Universal Serial Bus
USART = Universal Synchronous and Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
WXGA = Wide Extended Graphics Array
About Atmel
Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions. Focused on consumer, industrial, security, communications, computing and automotive markets, Atmel ICs can be found Everywhere You Are(R).
About LG Electronics, Inc.
LG Electronics, Inc. (Korea Stock Exchange: 06657.KS) is a global force in electronics, information and communications products with 2004 annual sales of US $38 billion (consolidated). With more than 66,000 employees working in 76 subsidiaries in 39 countries around the world, LG Electronics is comprised of four main business companies including Mobile Communications, and Digital Appliance, Digital Display, and Digital Media.
LG Electronics Digital Display Company provides core technologies for cutting-edge digital products and is a world leader in digital display products including Plasma TVs, LCD TVs and Monitors, and HDTV (high-definition televisions). For more information please visit http://www.lge.com/ .
NOTE: Atmel(R), logo and combinations thereof, Everywhere You Are(R) and others, are registered trademarks or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. ARM(R) is the registered trademark of ARM Ltd. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.
Information:
Atmel's baseband processor device ATR2740 product information may be retrieved at: http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/product_card.asp?part_id=3562
Atmel Press Contacts:
Dr. Susanne van Clewe, Marcom Manager Communications and Automotive
Products
Phone: +49 7131 67-2081, Email: susanne.van-clewe@hno.atmel.com
Clive Over, Director of Press Relations - USA and Asia,
Phone: (+1) 408 451 2855, Email: cliveover@atmel.com
Veronique Sablereau, Corporate Communications Manager - Europe
Phone: +33 1 30 60 70 68, Fax: +49 7131 67-2423, Email:
veronique.sablereau@atmel.com
LG Electronics Press Contact:
K.H. Kim, PC Marketing Team
Phone: +82-2-3777-5910, Fax: +82-2-3777-5723, Email: rainmaker@lge.com
Source: Atmel Corporation
CONTACT: Dr. Susanne van Clewe, Marcom Manager Communications and
Automotive Products, +49 7131 67-2081, or susanne.van-clewe@hno.atmel.com, or
Clive Over, Director of Press Relations - USA and Asia, +1-408-451-2855, or
cliveover@atmel.com, or Veronique Sablereau, Corporate Communications Manager
- Europe, +33 1 30 60 70 68, or fax, +49 7131 67-2423, or
veronique.sablereau@atmel.com, all of Atmel; or K.H. Kim, PC Marketing Team of
LG Electronics, +82-2-3777-5910, or fax, +82-2-3777-5723, or
rainmaker@lge.com
Web site: http://www.lge.com/
Web site: http://www.atmel.com/
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