Harris Broadcast reaches technology partnership with Freescale Semiconductor

Cincinnati-based Harris Broadcast Communications is teaming with Freescale Semiconductor, one of the leaders in semiconductor design and manufacturing, to improve its new TV transmitters. Harris plans to use Freescale technology that allows broadcasters to reduce power, potentially saving them thousands in operating costs. At the same time, the design is engineered to provide a dramatic increase in device power, a combination that Harris says will enable it to design and build its most compact and efficient TV transmitters to date.

The Freescale/Harris partnership has "resulted in a change in our approach to the manufacturing process, producing a far more efficient range of TV transmitters that allows us to stay competitive in the marketplace," says Tim Thorsteinson, president of Harris Broadcast Communications. The Freescale technology will allow Harris to reduce the physical space required for its transmitter, enabling Harris to produce a transmitter footprint of less than half the previous size. The space-saving design ultimately cuts the long-term cost of ownership, improves transmitter cooling and reduces electricity costs.

Writer: David Holthaus
Source: Robin Hoffman, Harris Broadcast Communications