Micronas presents the MAP-M, a fully integrated single-chip audio solution for the soundbar market. Soundbars are wide-but-thin powered speakers, located below a flat-panel TV. Thin TVs simply don't have room for good-quality conventional speakers. Soundbars deliver top-quality sound and solve the audio shortcomings of flat-panel TVs, bridging the gap to high-end home theater systems. They range from 2-speaker types that use virtual surround sound technologies to 4 to 6 built-in speaker designs that add e.g. enhancements for speech clarity. Soundbars enclosing 16 to 32 loudspeakers can generate "sound beams" to fill the room with cinema-like surround sound. MAP-M supports all applicable audio standards and interfaces, and offers OEMs a range of audio post-processing technologies.

The solution provides the features that consumers expect. MAP-M-powered designs decode Dolby Digital, DTS, and AAC format audio to deliver theater-like surround-sound. They create surround-sound without the need for rear speakers and cables with third-party audio post-processing technologies such as 1Ltd Digital Sound Projector, BBE ViVA, Dolby Virtual Speaker, and SRS TruSurround HD4. OEMs can also choose from a wide range of royalty-free meloD audio processing technologies by Micronas. Micronas manages the complete connectivity issue by including, on-chip, all required interfaces: digital via S/PDIF and I2S, or analog, via stereo line I/O, 6-channel input, or microphone. Micronas-equipped soundbars connect to DVD and BluRay players, set top boxes, and gaming consoles as well as standard and high-definition TVs.

Micronas lets manufacturers differentiate their products with an optional DSP-code download capability. This feature allows for manufacturer's own audio processing algorithms to be embedded in MAP-M single-chip designs. Micronas has integrated a lip sync function, including all required memory, into the MAP-M, thus relieving OEMs from the need to engineer a solution to this challenge.