New - BU8844FV Voice Generation ADPCM Decoder LSI with Reduced Current Consumption

ROHM recently completed development of the BU8844FV ADPCM decoder LSI featuring high-quality voice generation and low current consumption specifically developed for home electronic appliances. Sample shipments started in September 2006 at a unit price of 500 yen and a monthly production rate of 500,000 units. ROHM is currently planning to increase production to 3,000,000 units per month sometime in the future. ROHM's headquarters (Kyoto, Japan) is in charge of the primary stage of production while ROHM ELECTRONICS PHILIPPINES, INC. is in charge of the secondary stage.

Home electronic products that cater to the elderly or equipped with functions to prevent incorrect operation are in great demand. As a result, sets incorporating voice warning and guidance functions are on the rise. Realizing highly functional voice generation, however, requires expertise for low power consumption and in order to generate uninterrupted voice without depending on the microcontroller. ROHM's BU8844FV ADPCM decoder LSI for voice generation reduces current consumption to 1/6 (or lower) that of conventional products and integrates all of the functions required for voice generation into a single package. The BU8844FV incorporates a first-in, first-out (FIFO) function that significantly reduces the load on the microcontroller and makes it possible to add onto existing systems without making a large number of changes. In addition, tools are provided in order to create and verify voice guidance data on a PC, enabling users to easily add voice guidance functionality. The sampling rate can be set in 1-kHz increments, and ROHM delivers total support, including introducing content providers that will help the user develop customized voice content, greatly reducing product development. ROHM's sophisticated BU8844FV, along with its comprehensive support system, make it possible to easily add voice generation functionality to existing sets.

· Features

1. Reduced current consumption: 1.3 mA (1/6 that of conventional products)
2. Built-in FIFO function makes it possible to send voice data in bulk, reducing the load on the microcontroller.
3. Comprehensive support is available, including introduction to content providers, and software is offered that can easily create ADPCM voice data on the PC for evaluation on a demo board (also provided).
4. ADPCM decoder for voice generation, FIFO, DAC, and all CPU interfaces integrated into a single compact chip (SSOP-B16 package), contributing to increased space savings and reduced mounting costs.
5. The sampling rate can be set in 1-kHz increments between 4 and 32 kHz for each system, resulting in high-quality voice generation optimized to the sampling rate of the system.
6. Compatible with not only voice-compressed ADPCM data but 16-bit PCM music data as well, making it possible to reproduce high-quality music AND voice.

ROHM utilizes special audio processing technology and manufactures a large number of sound source LSI chips for a wide variety of devices, such as game machines, audio sets, and mobile phones. The newest gaming console from Nintendo Co., Ltd., Wii, is slated to incorporate ROHM's ADPCM decoder LSIs. The BU8844FV is a user-friendly ADPCM decoder LSI specifically developed for voice generation utilizing ROHM's considerable expertise. ROHM strives to expand its product lineups while developing products that meet the most demanding requirements.

* Wii is a trademark of Nintendo Co., Ltd.

· Glossary

• Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation (ADPCM):
  A form of pulse code modulation (PCM) that produces a digital signal with a lower bit rate than standard PCM. ADPCM records only the difference between adjacent samples and adjusts the coding scale dynamically to accommodate for large and small differences.
• First In, First Out (FIFO):
  RAM that stores data temporarily.