Microtune Shipping ‘VideoCaster’ Upconverter

Microtune Inc. said Monday that it has begun shipping its “VideoCaster MT5001 MicroModule.”

The VideoCaster is based on a custom radio-frequency upconverter chip set, and it was designed to reduce the costs associated with sending thousands of simultaneous channels of on-demand movies or other digital content to subscribers via existing cable networks.

Microtune said that because it is packaged in a small 4.5-inch-by-4-inch form factor, the VideoCaster MicroModule replaces up to eight upconverters, since each chip set can simultaneously process two adjacent channels, delivering up to 80 streams of high-quality digital video per VideoCaster.