ASIC v. microprocessor-choice and implementation. Case study-TV control

The author considers the functionality provided by remote control TV tuner chips and concludes that they are probably overspecified. An understanding of how the specification might be relaxed led to the replacement of one of these ASICs with a mask programmed microcontroller. The benefits were considerable and included: the ability to add unique features to allow the OEM to differentiate his product in the market place, the ability to alter the functionality up to a late stage in the development programme, including last minute market driven features, design skills required for software development are more readily obtainable than corresponding ASIC experience, significant parts cost saving (approximately 50%), and fast mask turnaround (4-6 wks) on the chosen microcontroller