Tensilica has made the DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) decoder available on its HiFi 2 Audio DSP (digital signal processor), which can be integrated into SoC (System-on-Chip) designs. The implementation is based on software developed by Dolby and has passed Dolby's certification procedure. Designers of digital radio systems can use just this one processor core to run all decoders required throughout the world for digital radio, enabling a universal worldwide digital radio receiver. The audio DSP already has support for four other terrestrial and satellite standards: DAB, DAB+, HD radio, and XM radio. The decoder can deliver FM-comparable sound quality on frequencies below 30MHz—the bands currently reserved for AM broadcasting—for very-long-distance signal propagation. It can fit more channels into a given amount of spectrum with higher quality because it employs digital-audio-compression rather than amplitude-modulation techniques. The product has been approved by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), and the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) has approved its use throughout most of the world. Approval for ITU region 2 (North and South America and the Pacific) is pending. The DSP is based on the company's programmable Xtensa processor; it provides chip designers with a single hardware platform that can be used for multiple audio standards.
