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Date:      Wed, 28 May 2008 00:34:33 +0200
From:      "Danny Pansters" <danny@ricin.com>
To:        freebsd-multimedia@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: TV-Tuner cards ( NTSC / PAL / SECAM ) - which works best?
Message-ID:  <200805280034.34063.danny@ricin.com>
In-Reply-To: <142121.24995.qm@web63013.mail.re1.yahoo.com>
References:  <142121.24995.qm@web63013.mail.re1.yahoo.com>

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On Saturday 24 May 2008 01:53:07 Fritz Katz wrote:
> My task is to put together a system that can ship
> world-wide, be able to display any TV signal, and have
> all the capabilites that FreeBSD can provide
> (internet, graphics, games). Potential applications
> are huge. For example, running JAVA the system could
> be used to build a low-cost Cable (OCAP in the US or
> DVB in Europe) or satellite (DirecTV, DISH, etc)
> Set-top box.

I don't think there are any "can" tuner solutions that do both 
pal/secam and ntsc, and for any digital TV you pretty much have
to turn to silicon tuners I think. I also think that is where you
can find solutions that can do both traditional pal/secam and ntsc
and maybe also both dvb-* and *tsc.

Video decoder-wise there are many solutions that can do all three standards.

Microtune and others make chips for several of these and QAM-geared
and even for mechanical systems purposes (factory/lab/servo equipment)
but no everything-in-one AFAIK. It's possible that everything-in-one just
can't be done technically or economically, but the fact that they can be 
designed/manufactured almost equivalent and still have such a broad area of 
application clearly show their merit. Not to mention that they're already 
being used all over the place in, well, TVs for example. Other chipmakers
are xceive, fujitsu, TI (they also make a prominent video decoder chip TVP for 
which there are extensive datasheets on the net), probably also 
philips/LG, ... [google]

( AFAIU it's a double (serial) PLL system so that the dividers/multipliers
can effectively both be set rather than merely a few fixed combinations  -- 
anybody more "skilled in the art" as the patent language goes, feel free to 
comment )

I'm only relaying from my own research and I have no ties anywhere in this 
industry, but I think you're going to need to have a significant budget and 
talk to -- for example -- TI and fujitsu if you want some universal card/USB 
stick to be put together. You'd also need drivers :)

Hauppauge's stuff (or elgato) might be already extensive enough for the multi 
support you want. But there too, you'd also need drivers :)

HTH,

Dan



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