- XJTAG used during development to test and debug faults on BGA-populated printed circuit boards; and integrated with production JIG to provide in-line test and programming capability
- XJTAG selected due to its price, floating licence, easy-to-learn programming language and extensive library of re-usable test scripts
CAMBRIDGE, England, and PENCOED, Mid Glamorgan, Wales, March 26, 2008 – TVonics Solutions (www.tvonics.com), the British digital television device manufacturer, has selected the XJTAG boundary scan development system to debug, test and programme its diverse range of energy efficient digital TV products, which include the newly-released DTR-FP2500 FREEVIEW playback digital TV recorder.
The XJTAG development system is being used by engineers at TVonics’ design facility in Bridgend, South Wales (UK), to speed up debug and test of ball grid array (BGA) populated printed circuits boards containing a wide range of electronic devices including MPEG source decoder chips, Flash memory, Ethernet controllers, I2C devices, and termination resistors.
TVonics has also integrated XJTAG with the production JIG tester at its’ contract manufacturing partner’s site (Sony Manufacturing in Pencoed, South Wales) to enable products to be tested and programmed in-line in one single process.
Andy Carr, engineering director at TVonics Solutions, said: “It’s essential that we have the right tools in place to enable our engineering teams to be confident of meeting production timescales particularly as we extend our range to address the emerging strong market demand for High Definition TV reception for Terrestrial, Satellite and Broadband networks across Europe and the UK.”
TVonics was founded in late 2004 and reunites a talented and experienced former Sony design team. The company designs and manufactures digital TVs, receivers and recorders for the UK and European markets. TVonics holds a significant share of the UK set top box market selling devices under its own brand, as well as making products for retailers including DSGi, Tesco, Argos and Marks & Spencer.
Mike Jones, hardware manager at TVonics Solutions, said: “The XJTAG Professional system is an extremely cost-effective and flexible boundary scan solution. It is helping us to further shorten our already challenging development cycles, which is so critical in the fast-changing consumer electronics market. We looked at other boundary scan systems but opted for XJTAG due to its price, the easy-to-learn programming language and the extensive library of re-usable scripts for testing non-JTAG devices.”
“Having floating licences has also been a major benefit as it means the system is not tied to one computer and can be moved around the lab or to another site as and when required,” added Mike Jones. “Technical support has also been first rate which is important to a small design team with relatively limited resources.”
“We are using XJTAG right across the product lifecycle,” added Mike Jones. “Our designers are using it to get prototype boards up and running more quickly, and our production engineers have built XJTAG into an automated in-line JIG tester, which has greatly improved our production line test times. We are currently using this JIG to test our latest FREEVIEW DVR (digital video recorder) and, as part of the same process, programme a small boot loader into the NOR Flash memory prior to the main software download via the hard disk interface.”
The XJTAG development system is a cost-effective solution for debugging, testing and programming electronic printed circuits boards and systems throughout the product lifecycle. The XJTAG system reduces the time and cost of board development and prototyping by allowing early test development, early design validation of CAD netlists, fast generation of highly functional tests and test re-use across circuits using the same devices.
XJTAG enables engineers to test a high proportion of the circuit (both boundary scan and cluster devices) including BGA and chip scale packages, such as SDRAMs, Ethernet controllers, video interfaces, Flash memories, FPGAs and microprocessors. XJTAG also enables In-System Programming of FPGAs, CPLDs and Flash memories.
For more information please contact XJTAG, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0DS, UK. Telephone +44 (0) 1223 223007, fax +44 (0) 1223 223009 or email enquiries@xjtag.com. Alternatively, visit www.xjtag.com. XJTAG has a global network of distributors servicing Europe, the Far East, North America, the Middle East and Australasia.
About TVonics Solutions, part of the Contact Group (www.tvonics.com)
TVonics Solutions is an award-winning British digital television product manufacturer. Formed in late 2004 and based in Bridgend, South Wales (UK), TVonics Solutions reunites a talented former Sony design team with, collectively, more than 60 years of experience in the design and manufacture of digital set top boxes and TVs for the mass market. The team brings together expertise in semiconductor device design and applications to ensure in-depth understanding of the entire system. The company has shipped nearly 100,000 devices in three years.
About XJTAG (www.xjtag.com)
XJTAG is a leading supplier of IEEE Std. 1149.x compliant boundary scan development tools. Its JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) development system offers a highly competitive solution for designers and developers of electronic printed circuit boards and systems. Utilising XJTAG allows the circuit development and manufacturing process to be shortened significantly by facilitating early test development, early design validation, fast development of functional tests and test re-use across circuits that use the same devices. XJTAG is based in Cambridge, UK, and is part of the Cambridge Technology Group (www.cambridgetechgroup.com).
Photography to accompany this news release
