Tektronix Drives Dramatic Shift in Mainstream Oscilloscope Market

BEAVERTON, Ore., Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tektronix, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of oscilloscopes, today announced that its MDO4000B Series of Mixed Domain Oscilloscopes are now available at the same price point as MSO4000B Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes.  Unlike any other oscilloscopes from any other manufacturer in the world, the Tektronix Mixed Domain Oscilloscopes (MDO) include a built-in spectrum analyzer along with 4 analog channels and 16 digital signal inputs — with the MDO4000B Series enabling engineers to capture synchronized analog, digital and RF signals for a complete, time-correlated system view, saving days or even weeks of debug time.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130103/SF36616LOGO-b)

The vast majority of system designs in production or in development today include at least one form of wireless capability such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or ZigBee. From input devices like mice and keyboards to smart homes and streaming media boxes, consumers demand the convenience of wireless. With RF becoming so mainstream, designers in response expect superior RF test support from their test equipment. Even for designs without wireless technologies, engineers are facing EMI, noise, modulation and other types of frequency related signals. Now, for the same price as an MSO without spectrum analyzer capability, engineers can purchase a single instrument that meets the vast majority of their test and measurement requirements, including RF test and debug.

"There's a fundamental shift with regard to wireless in embedded systems. With RF technologies so established and affordable, they are becoming as accepted and widely used as serial data was a few years ago," said Dave Farrell, general manager, Mainstream Oscilloscopes at Tektronix. "In addition, with digital signals increasing in speed, the effects of electromagnetic interference (EMI) has become a common problem requiring looking at the RF spectrum of even non-wireless systems.  Just as MSOs have replaced analog-only oscilloscopes, it follows that MDOs are the next logical evolution and are becoming the accepted mainstream industry standard."

Under the new pricing structure, Tektronix is offering MDO4000B-3 models with a built-in 3 GHz spectrum analyzer at the same prices as current MSO4000B oscilloscopes with equivalent analog bandwidth across the entire lineup. Given identical pricing, there is no reason for designers to purchase MSO models, even if they don't have an immediate need for RF capability. Further, there is a strong likelihood they will need RF measurements at some point, saving thousands of dollars in future expense for a spectrum analyzer. With this change, Tektronix will be discontinuing** the MSO4000B oscilloscopes.  For customers who require 6 GHz frequency coverage, Tektronix has lowered prices on its MDO4000B-6 Series by ~15% making performance even more affordable.

Underscoring the shift to mixed domain oscilloscopes, Tektronix today also expanded its range of offerings with the MDO3000 series (see separate announcement). The MDO3000 brings the ability to capture analog, digital and RF signals to a lower price point, making it an ideal entry level general purpose instrument. For more advanced debug and troubleshooting, the MDO4000B offers more scope performance and functionality such as synchronized acquisition of all signals including RF.

MDO4000B Product Details
In addition to 4 analog and 16 digital inputs, the MDO4000B-3 oscilloscopes provide a 3 GHz maximum frequency spectrum analyzer across all MDO models from 100 MHz to 1 GHz scope bandwidth. Additionally the MDO models offer all features and options offered with the MSO4000B series.  For applications that require higher frequency coverage, new pricing for the Tektronix MDO4000B-6 oscilloscopes that provide a 6 GHz spectrum analyzer is now equivalent to previous pricing of the 3 GHz spectrum analyzer models.

Introduced in August 2011, the Tektronix mixed domain oscilloscopes have gone on to win more than a dozen industry innovation awards and continue to be the only oscilloscope with an integrated spectrum analyzer that can capture time-correlated analog, digital and RF signals for a complete system view of a user's device. Engineers using MDO4000s report significant gains in debug productivity coupled with the versatility and technical capability they need to tackle a wide range of test challenges. Available analog bandwidth ranges from 100 MHz to 1 GHz with 2.5 or 5 GS/s sample rate and 20 Mpoints record length.

Pricing & Availability
MDO4000B-3 and MDO4000B-6 oscilloscopes are available now worldwide. Pricing starts at $9,500 US MSRP.

** For customers with existing MSO models integrated into systems or special requirements, select MSO4000B models will remain available to support these distinct needs.

Wondering what else Tektronix is up to? Check out the Tektronix Bandwidth Banter blog and stay up to date on the latest news from Tektronix on Twitter and Facebook.

About Tektronix
For more than sixty-five years, engineers have turned to Tektronix for test, measurement and monitoring solutions to solve design challenges, improve productivity and dramatically reduce time to market. Tektronix is a leading supplier of test equipment for engineers focused on electronic design, manufacturing, and advanced technology development. Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, Tektronix serves customers worldwide and offers award-winning service and support. Stay on the leading edge at www.tektronix.com.

Tektronix is a registered trademark of Tektronix, Inc. All other trade names referenced are the service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

SOURCE Tektronix, Inc