Test and Measurement News

dScope Series III ensures Hyundai's memory chips are top quality

Seoul, November 2006: Korean manufacturer Hyundai has recently purchased its first Prism Sound dScope III Audio Analyzer, which will be used to test semiconductor memory in an MP3 player application.

Established in 1947, Hyundai is one of Korea's leading brands comprising a large group of companies with products ranging from ocean-going vessels, plants and machinery to automobiles and electronics. In recent years, it has been expanding into the information and communication markets with commodities such as LCD, PDP and mobile handsets, which are characterised by their high quality and innovative technology.

The acquisition of the Prism Sound dScope III Audio Analyzer will enable audio engineers in Hyundai's product development division to run automated tests that will identify faults in MP3 memory chips.

Application developer Mr Choi says: "By working with the Prism Sound engineering team, our controllers found it very easy to modify the unit's Visual Basic Scripting to give them complete control of the dScope Series III. The unit's unique multi-tone capability means that we can acquire measurements very quickly and it is this feature, along with its compact design, that ultimately persuaded us to use it in our production line. With the dScope III, we can now conduct many automated audio measurements in our production department."

The Prism Sound dScope Series III, combined with the company's engineering expertise, provides an economical alternative test platform for product developers wishing to develop and manufacture high-performance consumer electronics for digital television and related applications. The test process can be further speeded up if automated I/O switching is employed, so that the test operator does not need to manually connect the relevant channels from the 5.1 format outputs of the equipment under test (EUT) as the testing progresses. This is achieved using the Prism Sound dS-Net I/O Switcher, controlled from the dScope Series III unit using the dS-Net connection. With this device the unit can test up to 16 input or output channels on one switcher - and up to a maximum of 1024 channels using multiple switchers.

"dScope Series III is small enough to fit into a briefcase and because it employs a USB connection to its host computer it can easily be shared among several engineers," says Prism Sound director Graham Boswell. "We can also provide scripted solutions for automated Infra-Red remote control of external devices such as STBs or DVD players. This speeds up the test process and avoids the need for a user to operate the STB/DVD."

Since its launch in 2002, Prism Sound's dScope Series III has become the audio test tool of choice in many market sectors including broadcast, multimedia, CD, DVD, computer audio, transducer, digital telephony and communications. As well as covering the traditional audio test functions, dScope incorporates the important new features needed to work with the latest audio technologies. These include digital interface test tools such as carrier waveform and eye-pattern display, jitter measurement and AES3/IEC60958 channel status generation and analysis as well as support for higher sampling rates. dScope has a uniquely simple, state-of-the-art synchronous multi-tone capability, which can measure dozens of parameters simultaneously. The fact that it costs significantly less than other popular test systems commonly used for Dolby Digital conformance tests makes it ideal for all STB and PVR manufacturers looking for a simple, quick and cost-effective audio tests.