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Motorola's Symphony(TM) Digital Audio Technology Doubles its Performance

Sunday February 9, 11:27 pm ET
DSP56371 is Expected to Increase Power Efficiency and Decrease Costs for Audio Device Manufacturers


AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Motorola, Inc.'s (NYSE: MOT - News) Semiconductor Products Sector is now offering its next-generation, 24-bit digital signal processor (DSP) optimized for professional and consumer audio electronic applications. The DSP56371 doubles the level of performance and provides more on-chip memory than previous members of the Symphony(TM) digital audio DSP family, helping to simplify systems design and drive down costs by creating a smaller, more cost-effective system.
(Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020307/MOTLOGO)

Targeted at audio/video (AV) receivers, home theaters, surround sound decoders, mini stereo systems, digital TV audio systems and automotive audio systems, the DSP56371 is designed to meet the demands of audio electronics system designers by supporting the latest generation decoders, such as Dolby®, THX® and DTS®, among others.

The DSP56371 is capable of running delay management, bass management and DTS96/24 while using less than half of the DSP's computing capability. This enables designers to add system enhancements that the discerning audio consumer now expects. The performance increase is made possible through the use of a higher core frequency, fewer memory wait states, a larger amount of on-chip static random access memory (SRAM) and the addition of an Enhanced Filter Coprocessor (EFCOP). By removing the need for external high-speed SRAM and making smaller, less complex boards, the DSP56371 is performance-rich and cost-effective.

Low power usage is always a priority in the audio environment and the DSP56371 delivers. It consumes very little power, typically 119 milliwatts. System power savings are also achieved by eliminating the hundreds of milliwatts of power needed by the external SRAM.

In addition, the chip includes two low-power modes -- stop and wait -- that can further reduce power requirements. In 'wait' mode, the core is shut down but the peripherals and interrupt controller continue to operate. In 'stop' mode, a majority of the circuitry is shut down to achieve a very low power consumption rate.

The DSP56371 represents the latest achievement for Motorola's audio architecture evolution, a family of chips that began with the 56000 core and the 56300 series. While it remains software-compatible with the previous generation 5636x family, Motorola's advanced system-on-chip design methodology allows these chips to meet changing market needs by enabling the rapid development of new devices with enhanced features. The next step in this evolution will be the introduction of another member of the DSP5637X family, later this year.

"Market leaders continue to use our devices for professional systems such as recording studios, movie theatres and CD mastering, as well as consumer AV systems, headphones, home theaters and car radios," said Bill Pfaff, vice president and general manager of Motorola's Digital Audio, Radio and Telematics. "The DSP5637x family continues the standard Motorola set with its original Symphony digital audio DSPs in the 5636x family. It marks a major step forward in digital audio processing because it enables manufacturers to design in superior sound quality into their applications and reduce system costs."

Features and Benefits

Customers can take advantage of more digital audio algorithms at the same time via an on-chip execution unit. Memory and peripheral operate independently and in parallel with the other units through a sophisticated bus system.

Flexible programmability means new features may be integrated much more quickly via software instead of waiting for new silicon, allowing equipment manufacturers faster development of new models and faster time-to-market.

On-chip memory needed for most digital audio applications is integrated and supports all major multi-channel decoding standards. The chip is fully compatible with the DSP5636x family's open software architecture, which makes software programming and customization easy. 88K words of RAM, upgrading the 23K words memory of the previous generation of the DSP5636x series, allowing elimination of external SRAM memory. 120K words of ROM, integrating Motorola and third party supplied decoders.

An integrated Sony Philips Digital Interface receiver/transmitter (SPDIF RX/TX) that reduces the connection cost to DVD players and other digital audio equipment.

An enhanced Filter CoProcessor (EFCOP) with dedicated FIR and IIR Filter engine, allowing the core to perform other functions concurrently.

Retains compatibility with DSP5636x peripherals.
The DSP56371 supports industry standard digital decoders such as Dolby Digital, Digital Theater Systems (DTS)®, DTS-ES (matrix and discrete), DTS 96/24 and AAC Multichannel.
The open software architecture of devices in the DSP5637x family enable the easy addition of customer-defined,

Motorola and third-party post- processing features. These include: bass management, 3D virtual sound, Lucasfilm(TM) THX Surround EX(TM), Lucasfilm THX Ultra 2(TM), Dolby Digital Surround EX(TM), Dolby Pro Logic II®, DTS Neo: 6(TM), Dolby Headphone(TM), Dolby Virtual Speaker(TM), HDCD®, Waves MaxxBass(TM), SRS Circle Surround(TM), Qsurround(TM), sound field processing, subwoofer management, advanced equalization and others.
Pricing and Availability

Samples and development tools for the DSP56371 are expected to be available in late first quarter, 2003, with production expected to begin in third quarter of this year. The DSP56371 is priced at $9.95(USD) (suggested list price) for 100,000-unit quantities. Samples of the second member of the DSP5637x family are expected to be available during the second half of 2003; pricing will be made available at that time.

About Motorola Semiconductors

As the world's #1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector creates DigitalDNA(TM) system-on-chip solutions for a connected world. Our strong focus on wireless communications and networking enables customers to develop smarter, simpler, safer and synchronized products for the person, work team, home and automobile. Motorola's worldwide semiconductor sales were $4.8 billion (USD) in 2002. For more information please visit www.motorola.com/semiconductors.

About Motorola

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT - News) is a global leader in providing integrated communications and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2002 were $26.7 billion. Motorola is a global corporate citizen dedicated to ethical business practices and pioneering important technologies that make things smarter and life better for people, honored traditions that began when the company was founded 75 years ago this year. For more information, please visit: www.motorola.com

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