Trimedia in settops /w external MPEG-2 decoder...........................
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PHILIPS' TRIMEDIA SETS SIGHTS ON DIGITAL TV
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PC component suppliers looking for Digital TV deals need to seek out customers now because at least one semiconductor company, Philips Semiconductor [PHG], has already secured two design wins.
Philips is now gaining momentum with its TriMedia processor, and last month the chip supplier drew closer to inking a deal with a Samsung Corp. U.S.-based subsidiary. Philips Consumer Electronics Inc. also has commited to use TriMedia in DTV products.
Samsung will incorporate TriMedia chips into set-top boxes in the fourth quarter, and San Jose, Calif.-based Samsung Information Systems America (SISA) is developing a software module that will enable the chip to convert programming broadcast in ATSC high-definition for playback on traditional NTSC TVs. This down-conversion process is similar to the approach Intel Corp. [INTC] is taking to market the Pentium II as a DTV option.
The economic advantage Philips has over Intel, at least in the short term, is significant.
Jack Chaney, manager of Samsung's Digital Media Lab, said the set-top implementation will require two TriMedia chips, which today sell for about $50 each in OEM quantities, offering OEMs a far more compelling sales proposition than adding a 300 MHz Pentium II. That Intel processor costs more than $700 now, and likely will sell for $200 to $500 in the fourth quarter, depending on pricing trends.
Industry watchers agree Intel will have a hard time convincing OEMs to use the P II for the first wave of low-cost, down-converter boxes.
"The economics for Intel don't pan out," said Michael Bernstein, an analyst with market research firm Semico. "The set-top boxes are going to have to be $200 or $300, otherwise the market isn't there."
Will Strauss, an analyst with industry watcher Forward Concepts, said the Pentium II as the main processor for Digital TV products is a "pipe dream on Intel's part that makes no sense."
"If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail," he said.
Neil Mitchell, Philips marketing manager for Digital TV and TriMedia, offered a similar observation. "The Intel architecture carries a lot of baggage with it in terms of costs," he said. "I'm sure they have similar things in the works, but the question is in what time frame and at what cost."
Intel initially is likely to target vendors building high-end set-top boxes designed to display more than digital video.
Tom Galvin, Intel's director, market development for digital broadcast and broadband, envisions the P II implementation into Digital TV hardware as a way to enable users to receive rich electronic publishing information and participate in electronic commerce. Moreover, Galvin expects Intel's pricing to be in line with a sub-$500 set-top once the market takes off in mid-1999.
Like Intel, Philips wants its chips to be a part of the DTV road map over the long haul. To that end, the company has developed a reference design that offers higher-grade capabilities with external hardware used for MPEG-2 decoding that can be built into a variety of DTV products. (Forward Concepts, 602/968-3759; Philips Semiconductors, 408/991-2332; Samsung Media Lab, 408/544-5470; Semico, 602/997-0337) |
