DiBcom launches circuit solutions for car audio systems

September 6, 2012, China - Parrot, a French brand and a leading provider of digital TV and radio reception solutions, recently launched Octopus2s, a new circuit solution designed specifically for car audio systems, dedicated to promoting the integration of in-vehicle mobile TV and digital radio into a new stage.

Prior to the launch of the Octopus2s solution, car manufacturers installed digital TV by placing a set-top box in the trunk of the car. The set-top box then transmitted the audio/video signals to the rear passengers or the driver (when the car was parked) in analog or optical digital format. Installing in-car mobile TV through this solution was relatively expensive, so it was mainly sold at a high price to high-end car users.

At present, the penetration rate of in-car TV in some Asian countries and regions such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan has exceeded 90%, and users in the Chinese market are now eager to install in-car TV systems. Faced with strong market demand, some major automakers in the world, especially in the Chinese market where the annual market growth rate exceeds 30%1, have already made TV systems one of the standard configurations of car audio systems. In this way, whether installing a TV system in a car or connecting traffic information received through terrestrial TV signals (new generation digital FM-based TMC) to the car navigation system, the wiring work required later can be greatly simplified.

Octopus2s is a low power, cost-effective SOC chip that only needs RF signal input and single power supply input to output digital signals to the video processor of the standard car audio system on the market. The chip can be connected with other Parrot brand circuit systems in standard car modules used by tier-one users and car manufacturers, and supports all popular digital TV formats, including ISDB-T standards (one-seg, full-seg and sb) used in Japan and South America, DVB-T used in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and Colombia, DAB/DAB+ digital broadcasting used in Europe, T-DMB used in Korea, CMMB and CTTB used in China, ATSC and ATSCM/H used in North America, etc. Octopus2s has passed the different standards tests in various regions by writing various TV and broadcast standards into the programmable RF processor in software, and after 4 years of field testing and continuous improvement. Car manufacturers can now achieve global deployment with only one solution, Octopus2s, which greatly reduces the manufacturers' R&D, testing and qualification costs. Octopus2s supports 2-diversity, 3-diversity and 4-diversity antennas to work together and provide the highest standard of reception performance. The previous version of Octopus chips were mainly designed and used by automobile manufacturers in Germany, Japan and China.

By equipping the Octopus2s with Wi-Fi function modules and in-car streaming media, Parrot has created a new concept for the car environment, which provides traffic broadcasting services to the driver while enabling rear passengers to receive TV streaming signals through tablets or smartphones. This innovation provides a very meaningful use case for non-drivers, so TVs will be extremely popular products in the car market in the next few years.

Yannick Levy, Executive Vice President of Parrot’s Digital Tuner Business Unit, said: “Parrot is a leading innovator in the automotive market. We are very pleased to offer this new solution to the automotive market, which is undoubtedly a milestone in the development of automotive infotainment systems.”

Octopus2s will be available for sampling in October 2012.

For more information about this solution, visit the Parrot booth at the IBC Show in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from September 7 to September 11, 2012, Hall 3, Stand 3B51, or at the French Auto Show from September 29 to October 14, 2012.