Tensilica is offering the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) decoder on its popular HiFi 2 Audio DSP. This can be easily integrated into system-on-chip (SOC) designs.

The implementation is based on software developed by Dolby and has passed Dolby's certification procedure.

Designers of digital radio systems can now use one processor core, the Tensilica’s HiFi 2 Audio DSP, to run all decoders required throughout the world for digital radio, enabling a universal worldwide digital radio receiver.

Tensilica's HiFi2 Audio DSP has support for four other terrestrial and satellite standards: DAB, DAB+, HD Radio, and XM Radio.

DRM can deliver FM-comparable sound quality on frequencies below 30 MHz - the bands currently reserved for AM broadcasting - for very long-distance signal propagation. It has the advantage of being able to fit more channels into a given amount of spectrum with higher quality because it employs digital audio compression rather than amplitude modulation techniques.

DRM has been approved by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), and the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) has approved its use throughout most of the world. Approval for ITU region 2 (North and South America and the Pacific) is pending.

Because the HiFi 2 Audio DSP is based on Tensilica's programmable Xtensa processor, it provides chip designers with one hardware platform that can be used for multiple audio standards. Tensilica, its customers, and its partners have ported over 50 software packages to the HiFi 2 Audio DSP, so designers can pick the software they need for the application.

As the market evolves and new standards are defined, they can be easily and quickly ported to the HiFi 2 Audio DSP, thereby "future proofing" the chip design. The HiFi 2 Audio DSP has been designed into chips for portable devices by five of the top 10 semiconductor companies.

More information on DRM: www.drm.org

More information: www.tensilica.com