Philips' 9-Bit Video Decoder

Personal video recording (PVR) via hard drives looks like it's set to replace the old VCR sitting on top of your television. The next step toward making the VCR a device that's the equivalent of an eight-track tape player will hopefully be an affordable means to archive video material onto burnable DVDs, but another important step is making PVR devices more cheaper. Philips Semiconductors says it's moving in that direction with its SAA7115 9-bit video decoder, which includes a comb filter, Macrovision detection, and Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) data slicing capability. As part of Philips' Nexperia Digital Video platform, the SAA7115 is intended to provide the front-end digitization and processing of analog video inputs for set-top boxes, digital televisions, video projectors, personal video and DVD recorders. The SAA7115 video decoder offers dual 9-bit low-noise, 2x-oversampled analog-to-digital converters, and (according to Philips) 10 to 15dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement versus 8-bit devices. The chip can decode NTSC, PAL, and SECAM signals with automatic standard detection and includes a pixel-accurate H/V scaler, a frame-accurate audio clock, and an optional square pixel output rate. The SAA7115 is also pin-to-pin compatible with Philips' SAA7114 Video Decoder. The chip features a 4-line comb filter and a Universal VBI Engine capable of slicing WST 525/625 Teletext, VPS, US/European Close Captioning (CC), WSS 525/625 (CGMS), US NABTS, VITC 525/625, Gemstar 1x/2x, and Moji Japanese Teletext. Philips' SAA7115 video decoder chip in LQFP100 packaging is now in volume production and is priced under $15 in quantities of 10,000.