Receiver Manufacturer Information

Go to the local electronics store and look at the dozens of radio models on the shelves. Color graphic displays, multi-function buttons, "capable-this", "ready-for-that" - it's hard to tell them apart. By implementing FMeXtra, DRE provides radio receiver manufacturers the opportunity to provide truly distinguishing features for radios. Real-time video clips, navigation system updates, continuous one-button multilingual traffic, news, and weather; services that have real draw and instant impact.

DRE has developed an inexpensive, field-proven FMeXtra reference receiver design, which can be readily incorporated into FM radios. This design is already included in a special-purpose radio that are in volume production. The reference design uses off-the-shelf integrated circuits and a general-purpose digital signal processor (DSP) running DRE's custom software. FMeXtra is compatible with both analog and digital FM receiver implementations. However, for optimum performance in worst-case reception conditions, a digital intermediate frequency (DIF) tuner implementation is recommended. DIF reference chips and designs are available from multiple tier-1 semiconductor suppliers, including ST Microelectronics. Radio receivers implemented with DIF technology have many advantages over conventional all-analog radios. DIF-enabled radios greatly diminish the negative effects of multipath and interference and can reproduce audio quality comparable to digital audio systems. For those DIF radios implemented with general purpose DSPs, such as some IBOC radios, FMeXtra can be implemented at no additional hardware cost.

The relatively low cost and worldwide market makes DRE's FMeXtra product a perfect complement for a large array of consumer electronics products. For example, FMeXtra can be combined with the worldwide standard Digital Radio Mondiale short-wave/medium-wave open digital radio standard to make a multiband world digital radio. FMeXtra receivers can be embedded in any number of devices that either already contain radios, or else could benefit from long-range wireless remote access, including cellphones as demonstrated by the Nokia Visual Radio™.