Real Price Drop Time for Real-Time MPEG-2 Encoders, DVD Authoring Engines
onlineinc.com
Rapidly dropping prices in both real-time MPEG-2 encoding systems and DVD-Video authoring engines now make DVD authoring much more accessible than even a few months ago. However, the confusion caused by competing playback specifications-- especially in the form of MCI APIs and the upcoming DirectShow support for DVD in Windows 98--are causing corporations to move cautiously into DVD production, threatening to disrupt the anticipated volume sales fueling the decreased pricing.
DVD authoring systems require two basic functions, encoding video into the proper MPEG-2/AC-3 formats, and premastering software that adds DVD-Video interactivity and enables emulation and testing. Until very recently, such systems were targeted at big-budget Hollywood producers and cost more than $200,000.
In early 1998, however, several systems costing under $100,000 should be available from reputable manufacturers like Optibase and CagEnt Technologies, who purchased the MPEG encoding technology from 3DO. While not cheap, these new prices are within the range of moderately sized multimedia developers and many corporations.
Fueling the price decreases are drops in component pricing and the availability of DVD authoring on the NT platform. According to C-Cube Microsystems senior product marketing manager Bob Saffari, C-Cube has integrated their 7-chip, $2,700 CLM-4730 chipset into a one chip, MPEG-2 encode/decode solution, the DVX-5110, that now costs $1,500. These and similar price decreases from IBM have enabled manufacturers like Vela Research to offer a real-time MPEG-2 encoder without DVD authoring for $38,000, down from around $100,000 in early 1997.
On October 29, 1997, Daiken Industries released their popular Scenarist DVD authoring software on the NT Platform at a breakthrough price of $29,000 ($32,000 with DVD emulation capabilities). This pricing enables a number of very aggressive DVD authoring bundles like the $59,000 MPEGXpress from CagEnt, a turnkey, NT-based system with 2 channel AC-3 audio. Prices for complete surround sound audio were not released at that time.
In early 1998, Optibase will offer similar functionality in the DVD Fab! costing $100,000, with 6 channel surround sound available for around $120,000. Daiken also announced similar deals with Minerva Systems and Digital Vision, laying the foundation for competition that should spawn further price reductions.
However, not all MPEG-2 encoding manufacturers are chasing the lure of low-cost DVD production. Zapex Industries, who sells the $60,000 ZX-2000G MPEG-2/AC-3 encoder, is eschewing the low-end to sell to more quality conscious users. John Chen, Zapex's vice president of marketing, points out, "Just because it's digital doesn't mean it's all the same level of quality. Cheap encoders can't match our quality, and we're focusing on the high-end market segment, like post-production facilities, that prioritize quality over price."
Casting a pall over all these efforts is the continued standards disarray. CagEnt's vice president of sales, Cliff Reader, says, "Critical to our pricing assumptions are volume sales from corporations. And confusion across the product space, particularly the audio format in Europe, is confusing the corporate market and slowing their commitment to DVD." |
