Comparative Analysis of STx5105 and QAMi5516 for Digital TV Set Top Box

1 Introduction
Digital TV set-top box is a terminal device of digital TV system. It is similar to a microcomputer. Its core device integrates digital transmission and codec. It can be understood as a set-top box CPU, but the choice of core device and traditional computer CPU. The choices are different, and the brand, performance, price, supply and other aspects need to be fully considered. This paper compares and analyzes the QA-Mi5516 and STx5105 digital TV set-top boxes of STMicroelectronics (ST).

2 Comparison of main parameters At present, the international manufacturers of main equipment platforms for set-top boxes, ST, BROADCOM, ZORAN, LSI, FUJITSU, ATI, NEC, Conexant and other companies, of which ST is the world's largest supplier of industrial semiconductors and set-top box devices. One of them has significant advantages in terms of R&D strength, product type, and supply strength. Therefore, ST devices are often used in set-top boxes on the market. In particular, the mid-range and low-end set-top boxes mainly choose ST's two devices STx5105 or OA-Mi5516.
The QAMi5516 is a cost-effective set-top box device for the low-end and mid-range markets. It is suitable for digital cable TV (DVB-C) set-top boxes. It is the first internal integrated QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) digital cable signal from ST. The demodulator and the back-end MPEG video decoding device have improved in terms of integration and cost performance.
The STx5105 is a cost-effective set-top box device for the low-end and mid-end markets. It is suitable for digital satellite TV (DVB-S), digital cable TV (DVB-C), digital terrestrial television (DVB-T) set-top boxes. QAM demodulator. Depending on the packaging process and the different application markets, the STi5105 series is available in three models, the STx5105, STM5105 and STB5105. These three models have the same hardware performance specifications and applications. The main parameters of the STx5105 and QAMi5516 devices are shown in Table 1.

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As can be seen from Table 1, the STx5105 has two notable features. The first one has no built-in demodulation module, and the second one has a wide range of applications. It can be applied to DVB-S and DVB through externally different decommissioning devices. C and DVB-T set-top box, Figure l is the application block diagram of STx5105.

3 Application circuit comparison analysis The application circuit principle based on DVB-C set-top box designed by STx5105 and QAMi5516 is shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3, respectively.

It can be seen from the application circuit principle of Figure 2 and Figure 3 that the overall structure of the circuit modules of the two device boards is the same, but the application details also need to pay attention to the characteristics of each device.
In terms of tuner selection, the set-top box of the STx5105 solution uses the CUl216L tuner produced by Philips (with built-in QAM demodulation module, which directly outputs TS stream to STx5105); the QAMi5516 solution set-top box uses the CDl316L tuner produced by Philips. (The output IF signal is processed by QAMi5516). For memory selection, the set-top box of the STx5105 solution uses a DDR memory model HY5DU561622 (64 MB). It is recommended that the two-way interactive service set-top box use 64 MB of memory. Otherwise, the interactive service requirement cannot be met. For the one-way set-top box, K4H561638F (32 MB) can be used. DDR memory for data buffer storage in system control circuits and MPEG-2 decoders; S29GL064 (8 MB) Flash ROM is used as program memory for curing machine control programs. The set-top box of the QAMi5516 solution uses a model 57V641620ET (8 MB) SDRAM, which is used as the data buffer memory of the AV decoder; a 57V281620ET (16 MB) SDRAM is used as the data buffer memory of the system control circuit: one piece of M28W640 (8 MB) The Flash ROM acts as a program memory to assimilate the control program of the machine.

4 Factors affecting the speed and quality of the set-top box Although the set-top box is a home appliance, it is similar to a microcomputer in terms of hardware and software, so it is similar to a computer in terms of running speed and extended application. The main factors that determine the speed and quality of the set-top box are given below.
4.1 CPU frequency is higher. The faster the processing speed, especially the processing of audio and video signals and data signals. The STx5105 has a clock speed of up to 200 MHz. It is the highest speed device in the mainstream set-top box. The frequency of other models is generally between 100 and 166 MHz, and the speed is significantly lower than STx5105.
4.2 The memory frequency corresponds to the CPU frequency. The memory frequency is higher. The higher the memory frequency, the faster the running speed. If the CPU is fast, the memory frequency is slow. Then the CPU takes time to wait to read data from memory, which will slow down the processing. The set-top box memory mainly uses SDRAM and DDR memory. Currently, the mainstream of the set-top box memory adopts DDR memory, and the DDR memory bandwidth is higher than that of the SDRAM, which can reduce the waiting time for the CPU to read data from the memory and improve the processing speed. At the same time, since the data transfer rate of the DDR interface is higher than that of the SDRAM, it is easy to support the extended service. The SDRAM interface has a low transmission rate and a slow running speed, and cannot support large extended services. The STx5105 uses DDR-166 MHz memory to ensure overall performance.
4.3 Packaging Process Excellent packaging process can reduce the “time lag” phenomenon of data exchange between motherboard components, and improve the anti-interference ability of the system, because the interference will also affect the processing speed. At present, the main components of the set top box are generally packaged in a TOFP (Plastic Square Flat) package and a BGA (Ball Grid Array) package.
Devices in TQFP package are easy to install and repair, and are not prone to faults such as solder joints. BGA packages are not conducive to maintenance and are prone to faults such as solder joints. The STx5105 series is available in a variety of packages, primarily in TQFP packages.


5 Comparative analysis of advantages
    The STx5105 is superior to the QAMi5516 in terms of frequency, memory frequency, packaging process, and application market.
The STx5105 has no built-in demodulator. Set-top boxes for DVB-S, DVB-C and DVB-T DVB standards, with standard off-chip boxes designed by using different off-chip demodulator in front of the STx5105. The QAMi5516 market positioning is only applicable to DVB-C set-top boxes, and the built-in QAM demodulator. The STx5105 has no built-in demodulator, so the STx5105 generates less heat than the QAMi5516 because the demodulator is a module that consumes a lot of power and generates heat.
The STx5105 is at a disadvantage compared to the OAMi5516 in terms of on-chip cache and number of digital-to-analog converters (DACs), but for a mid-range and low-end set-top box, a 4 KB instruction cache and a 4 KB data cache are sufficient. The QAMi5516 has six video DAC modules and two audio DAC modules; the STx5105 has only four video DAC modules and two audio DAC modules. QAMi5516 can support CVBS (Composite Video Broadcast Signal composite video signal, occupy 1 video DAC) interface, YPbPr/YCbCr (color difference component video signal, occupy 3 video DAC) interface, S terminal (S-Video video signal, occupy 2 Road video DAC) interface, SPDIF (Sony/
Philips Digital Interface, which occupies 1 channel of audio DAC) simultaneous output of digital audio interface; STx5105 can only support CVBS, S-Video video signal and SPDIF audio signal output, or YPbPr/YCbCr, S-Video video signal and SPDIF audio signal simultaneously Output. It can be seen that the STx5105 supports fewer output interfaces than the QAMi5516. However, as a mid-range and low-end set-top box, the signals of the standard format (image horizontal resolution 500 lines) are generally received, processed and output. If the YPbPr/YCbCr interface is used on the set-top box, it is of little significance for improving the image output quality. . The STx5105 reduces the number of DAC modules by two, which reduces the number of components integrated internally and reduces the integration. Reduces device heat generation and improves reliability. Therefore, the cost of STx5105 is lower than that of QAMi5516, and it has better cost performance.
Comparing the actual application test of set-top box products: After testing the set-top box products of different manufacturers and different devices on the market, it is found that the STx5105-based set-top box is indeed slightly more than the QAMi5516-based set-top box in terms of startup speed, changing speed, and data broadcast receiving processing speed. Winning. In terms of temperature control, some manufacturers' QAMi5516-based set-top boxes used heat sinks to reduce the temperature of the devices. Now, by increasing and increasing the heat dissipation holes on the outer casing, the heat conduction is not used to quickly dissipate the heat of the set-top boxes. . Since the set-top box generally adopts a metal case, after a long time of operation, the case is a little hot, and the test is performed on the set-top box products of different manufacturers at an ambient temperature of 35 ° C. The set-top box runs continuously for 24 hours, and the measured case temperature is up to 46 ° C and the lowest is 42 ° C, which are far below the national standard (the national standard stipulates that for the tin-shell home appliance, the case temperature should not exceed 70 ° C after long-term operation).


6 Conclusion Through comparative analysis, it can be seen that the STx5105 can meet the requirements of mainstream applications in terms of functions and speeds; reduce internal power components (such as buffers, DAC modules), reduce high-power modules (such as demodulator), and reduce integration. Degree, reduce device temperature and improve reliability. At the same time, STx5105 can be applied to DVB-S, DVB-C, DVB-T 3 DVB standard platforms to reduce market risk and provide guarantee for device supply in downstream manufacturers of set-top boxes; currently more and more STD5105-based set-top boxes are used in the market. Continuous maturity.

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