VCD changes again...................................
eet.com
Posted: 3:00 p.m., EDT, 7/17/98
China chooses consortium plan for Video CD
By Yoshiko Hara and Junko Yoshida
TOKYO - The Chinese Ministry of Information Industry has tapped the Video CD Consortium to devise a next-generation, higher-quality Video CD format. The government's decision to back the plan by Matsushita, Philips, Sony and Victor Co. of Japan (JVC) rather than competing formats was made to fend off market confusion. But it was done with the understanding the spec would fold in aspects of the government's own format.
At least three incompatible formats have been duking it out in China: China Video CD, pitched by C-Cube Microsystems and its Chinese system OEMs; Super Video CD, developed by the government with support from ESS Technology; and the consortium's HQ-VCD.
The government is expected to announce as early as next week an outline of the new format, which will basically merge Super Video CD with HQ-VCD. Picture quality will be MPEG-2 with variable-bit-rate compression, and playback time will be about 50 minutes. Audio will have four channels.
The deal is a big win for the consortium, which came to the table late. C-Cube has been involved for well over a year in developing next-generation Video CD with Chinese OEMs, software publishers and the government. The consortium's negotiations stalled for months over royalty issues. But after products using the C-Cube format appeared last month, the government's attitude suddenly changed, according to a source. A meeting late last month in Beijing resulted in a deal, the source said. On July 4, the government announced in a Shanghai newspaper that it was preparing a new format and that manufacturers should make their products comply.
A C-Cube spokeswoman said last week the decision won't exclude C-Cube from having a say in the final technical details. "We are currently closely working with the Video CD Consortium members and the [ministry]," she said. The Video CD market hit 12 million units in China last year. But thus far no royalties have been paid. The licensers expect that through the collaboration in building the next generation Video CD, they can establish a way to resolve the license issue as well.
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