November 26, 2007 -- SMSC today announced that its Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) PHY networking technology has been selected as part of the infotainment system by Audi for its A4 model. MOST is used today in over 50 car models for various worldwide manufacturers and serves as the communication backbone for their information and entertainment equipment.
“The MOST technology is already the in-car network across the A8, A6 and A5 vehicle lines and we are very excited to announce the A4 win as it secures the highest volume Audi model for MOST,” said Dr. Christian Thiel, Vice President and Managing Director of SMSC’s automotive group.
MOST multimedia technology enables the networking of feature-rich infotainment systems in automobiles by providing the means to distribute multimedia entertainment functions among the various control devices around the car. For example, a CD changer, radio, global positioning system, mobile telephone and DVD player can be established in an efficient ring network and can send crisp, static-free audio signals digitally to the amplifier by utilizing the MOST network. Since introducing its first MOST solution in 2001, SMSC’s networking technology has evolved to address increasing bandwidth needs for consumer applications in the car, starting at 25Mbps, and now provides up to 150Mbps for applications such as high definition video and multi-channel surround sound.
MOST is a de facto industry standard for high bandwidth automotive multimedia networking deployed by virtually every major European automobile manufacturer and, more recently, by Asia manufacturers. SMSC is a member of the steering committee of the MOST Cooperation, an association of several carmakers and their premier suppliers working to establish and refine a common standard for the evolving requirements of automotive multimedia networking.
Go to the SMSC website to find additional information.
