World’s first four-way global digital radio module
he world’s first "four-in-one" module capable or receiving Internet radio, DAB, FM and music streamed from a PC, has been launched. The new module, called Venice 6, is the creation of Frontier Silicon and is the first product to integrate a WiFi, DAB, and FM front-end together with an on-board WiFi antenna in a single module. It enables audio manufacturers to easily produce low-cost, feature-rich, radios for the global market, bringing thousands of Internet radio stations and music streaming to a new generation of DAB/FM radios via household WiFi. Applications using the module will include portable and alarm clock radios as well as CD micro systems, boomboxes and HiFi tuners, and are expected in the shops by July this year.
Measuring a compact 107 x 40mm, Venice 6 is based around Frontier Silicon’s Chorus 2i processor. It streams radio stations and music files in a variety of formats and protocols including MP3, Windows
Media Audio (WMA), and Real Audio. The module integrates an intuitive user interface which enables an easy navigation scheme to switch between the four different modes of operation (Internet Radio, music playback, DAB, FM). It provides access to over 10,000 Internet radio stations plus a wide selection of podcasts with only a few key presses, accessed through a vTuner Internet Portal which manages all the stations to ensure quality and reliability of the available content.
Besides working with the existing DAB standard which uses the MPEG Audio Layer II coding, Venice 6 will also support the new additional audio codec, sometimes referred to as DAB version 2. The module comes with a front-end that supports both Band III and L-band reception, which allows manufacturersto bring to market DAB radios which can be introduced into all global DAB markets,regardless of transmission band used or version of DAB standard adopted.
"Audio manufacturers want to build products that can be used and sold anywhere in the world. With the fragmentation of broadcast radio standards this has been a difficult goal to achieve, until Frontier introduced the Venice 6 module," says Steve Evans, Frontier Silicon’s VP of digital audio. "By bringing WiFi radio, music streaming, DAB and FM together into one compact and cost effective module, Venice 6 makes global audio products a reality."
