Internet Players and Multimedia Digital Speakers Boosting Audio Chip Market According to New Report From Forward Concepts
07/06/1999 Business Wire
(Copyright (c) 1999, Business Wire)
TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 6, 1999--Forward Concepts has announced the publication of its newest market research report that covers the market for audio integrated circuits.
"The Convergence of Audio: A Chip Market Analysis" covers the three major markets for audio chips: for the personal computer (PC), consumer entertainment products, and professional audio applications.
The report describes how the professional audio market drives the consumer entertainment market and how increasing consumer sophistication and new technology such as 3D positional sound are driving the PC audio market.
"The really hot market for personal audio Internet players based on MP3 and similar technologies is an example of the convergence of PC and consumer audio markets," according to Mahy Churylo, Senior Analyst and principal author of the report. She went on to say, "Chips for Internet players are forecast to balloon at an 80% compound annual growth rate to the $50 million level in 2003. But that market is dwarfed by another major growth market, the one for multimedia digital speakers."
Enabled by digital signal processing (DSP) technology in conjunction with the universal serial bus (USB), the report indicates that digital speakers will ultimately supplant AC'97 PCI controllers and codecs for audio application, with shipments of chips dedicated to PC digital speakers exceeding a half-billion dollars in 2003.
According to the report, Cirrus Logic is the overall audio chip market leader, with 14% of the $1.6 billion 1998 market that's growing at a compound rate of 18% to the $3.6 billion level in 2003. The report includes unit and revenue forecasts for the several audio chip types in each of the three major market segments. The report also covers the analog and mixed-signal as well as DSP contributions to the audio chip market. Coverage of audio data converters as well as stereo codecs are included along with specialty audio chips and programmable DSPs for audio.
Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts, said, "In the consumer market, audio is increasingly paired with video, such as in the MPEG-2 markets for VideoCD and DVD players as well as set top boxes and HDTV. These combination audio/video products are discussed from the audio standpoint, and the silicon contribution of audio is assessed and projected ... a technique that will be necessary for forecasting future system-on-a-chip (SOC) integrated circuits," he elaborated.
In the consumer "integrated" audio market, the report ranks C-Cube Microsystems first, followed by ST Micro and ESS Technology -- all driven by the VideoCD and set top box markets. In the consumer "audio-only" IC market, Yamaha maintains its number-one position, followed by Cirrus Logic, Motorola, AKM, Zoran and Burr-Brown. In the PC audio market, Cirrus Logic ranks first, followed by ESS Technology, Creative Labs and Yamaha.
According to the report, Yamaha still has the number-one market position in the professional audio chip market, followed closely by Cirrus Logic. Other players in the professional audio chip market include (in share order) Motorola, Analog Devices, AKM and Burr-Brown. The report notes that DSP-based chips account for 60% of the revenue in the professional Audio IC market, while codecs, DACs, ADCs and other mixed-signal chips constitute the other 40%.
"The Convergence of Audio: A Chip Market Analysis" is 138-pages in length and includes 19 figures and 40 tables. It is priced at $2,895.00 and is immediately available from Forward Concepts, 1575 W. University Dr. Suite 111, Tempe, AZ (Tel: 480/968-3759, Fax: 480/968-7145, e-mail: info@fwdconcepts.com). Details are available on the company's website at: forwardconcepts.com by clicking on "studies."
Contact: CONTACT: Forward Concepts, Tempe Will Strauss, 480/968-3759
07:32 EDT JULY 6, 1999
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