MaxLinear Inc. announced that Pro Brand International Inc. (PBI) has chosen its MxL865 Full-Spectrum (News - Alert) Capture system on chip for developing the next-generation direct broadcast satellite digital outdoor unit (D-ODU). Integrating MxL865 with the D-ODUs will enable PBI to deliver devices that consume less power and provide unprecedented performance with lesser time to market the device. PBI chose MxL865 for its low power consumption feature, which is one the major aspects for commercial viability of high-density channel-stacking D-ODUs.

In a release, Brian Sprague, vice president and general manager at MaxLinear, said, “Digital ODUs enable a new range of satellite services. MaxLinear’s MxL86x SoC family has significantly higher levels of integration and lower power draw, which vastly simplifies ODU installation compared to legacy analog ODUs in the market. The MxL86x SoC family is ideally suited to help satellite operators with the transition from analog to digital ODUs,” said Brian Sprague, MaxLinear Vice President and General Manager. “We’re pleased to enable PBI to be a leader in the transition to digital ODUs in the satellite market.”

MxL865 supports 24 channels over a single cable, thus eliminating the complexities associated with connecting the indoor set-top boxes/gateways with rooftop LNBs and other related multi-dwelling unit switches. The device features five FSC inputs and single L-band IF outputs to enable bandwidth capture up to 10 GHz. MxL865 also guarantees superior RF performance, which far exceeds the performance of other similar devices available in the market.

Speaking of the decision to choose MxL865, Jim Crownover, Chief Executive Officer at Pro Brand, said, “Developing this D-ODU is vital to PBI because our operator customers want to deliver an increasing number of channels to the home, which cannot be supported in a cost-effective manner with analog roof top equipment. The MxL865 dramatically simplified the design of the D-ODU and helped us get to market quickly with a performance leading solution, which was one of our key criteria for vendor selection.”

MxL865 is also capable of integrating various CPU microcontrollers, DiSEqC modems and FSK, as well as power management controllers to integrate all analog functions. This includes RF gain blocks, broadband input and output filters, PLLs, channel filters and automatic gain control (AGC) circuitry.