Audi drives forward in-car entertainment with NXP HD radio technology

EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS: NXP Semiconductors announced that Audi of America will offer HD Radio, powered by NXP’s leading SAF3560 single chip solution, as standard on a range of 2011 Audi models. With the new NXP technology-based Harman Becker HD Radio, drivers and passengers of Audi models available from late 2010 will be able to experience digital broadcast with unprecedented high-quality sound.

The radio technology will provide Audi customers with access to more than 1,800 AM/FM stations and 900 multicast channels currently on the FM dial for a great audio experience. In addition to a broader choice of radio stations and dramatically improved audio quality, passengers will be able to access enhanced features including an FM station list and detailed song and artist information.

NXP's SAF3560 provides Audi with a single flexible solution that enables a simple upgrade path from NXP's AM/FM analog radio technology, while supporting the latest HD radio features. NXP Semiconductors and iBiquity Digital Corporation launched the SAF3560 in August 2008 as the first multi-standard radio integrated circuit (IC) dedicated to digital in-car reception to reduce development costs and complexity for car manufacturers.

“With an ever-increasing number of music lovers worldwide listening to digital radio each day, we wanted to extend the best in audio entertainment out of the home and into the car,” said Dr. Riclef Schmidt-Clausen, radio/multimedia development manager, Audi.

“We're excited to work with NXP to introduce HD radio technology as standard on a range of our vehicles, and to ensure our customers can enjoy an improved in-car audio entertainment experience while on the move.”

Recognizing the increasing popularity of digital radio systems, the NXP SAF3560 was created jointly with digital HD Radio technology developer iBiquity and supports all global HD Radio technologies. The SAF3560 provides a single hardware platform for multiple digital radio standards, giving Audi an easy-to-deploy solution that offers exceptional analog and digital radio performance quality sound.

With many years of expertise in both the consumer electronics and automotive industries, NXP is well positioned to enable advanced car infotainment systems that are not only attractive to the consumer, but also meet the design and product life cycle constraints of the automotive industry.

“The automotive industry is becoming increasingly competitive in the area of audio entertainment. Consumers are also demanding technologies which promise the highest infotainment value at maximum convenience. NXP is committed to help auto makers stay innovative by offering intelligent solutions like the SAF3560, which offers excellent sound quality in car radio reception,” said Peter Geiselhart, senior vice president and general manager, car entertainment solutions, NXP Semiconductors.

“We're helping our customers dramatically improve music, audio, text and data features of digital HD Radio technology by offering solutions which are highly integrated, flexible and scalable.”

NXP's SAF3560 is the first dedicated single-chip solution to offer software implementations to support today's unique automotive requirements for more highly integrated, flexible car radio systems.

The SAF3560 incorporates the HD Radio technology from iBiquity and supports software programmable platforms, while reducing integration challenges and time-to-market by allowing flexibility to switch between standards.