China's first ever home-made digital TV chip "Zhongshi No. 1" Saturday passed technical appraisal by experts from Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The chip, which integrates more than 70 memory units, 2 million logic gates and 20 million transistors, has outperformed European and American products in terms of sensitivity and anti-jamming capacities at far lower costs.

The chip was made by Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, according to Zhou Dian, president of the School of Microelectronics of Fudan University, independent designer of the product.

"Zhongshi No. 1" was based on China's DMB-T standard and has outdone European and US standards for experimental broadcasts of digital TV, respectively known as DVB-T and ATSC, in terms of definition, noted Zhou.

He acknowledged that a dozen domestic electronics makers have integrated the new chip technology into their products, including Changhong, TCL, Skyworth and Haier. Central China's Henan Province has applied the new technology to launch mobile TV programs, and at least 10 other localities -- including Beijing, Tianjin and Guangzhou -- have reported success in trial operations.

Analysts say mass production of the cost-effective chip is for sure to boost China's digital TV industry.

The chip embodies the core technology for the new generation high definition television (HDTV) that has been the focus of research and development for many countries since the early 1990s.

Official statistics say the world's most populous nation has more than 370 million TV sets and an average 40 million sets are being sold each year. China plans to broadcast the 2008 Beijing Olympics with digital TV and to popularize digital TV nationwide by 2015.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2005)