Technologically prepared, South Korean makers wait for HDTV to take off
asiansources.com
Despite sales projections for HDTV falling far short of expectations, South Korean chipset makers anticipate strong demand from digital set-top boxes. Makers have given considerable impetus to R&D and are ready to launch 'third-generation' chipsets.
The HDTV boom in the United States is yet to materialize, hamstrung by high prices and inadequate digital broadcasting infrastructure. As a result, the aspirations of South Korean HDTV chipset makers have received a setback. However, digital set-top boxes are emerging as a major application segment for HDTV chipsets. Makers forecast the HDTV chipset market to grow to $50 million by 2010, the growth expected to be driven by more than 40 export-oriented manufacturers of digital set-top boxes. Lee Jong-soo, assistant digital marketing manager of LG Semicon echoes the prevailing market sentiment. "Though HDTV sales have been sluggish, we expect strong demand from digital set-top boxes." Last year's sale of chipsets by LG Semicon Co. Ltd to Sharp Corp. of Japan signaled the arrival of South Korean companies in the line.
LG Semicon and Samsung Electronics are leading the race to capture the HDTV chipset market with a strong impetus on R&D. The companies are securing narrower linewidth technology. Reportedly, LG Electronics has embarked on the development of 0.25µm technology for "third-generation" chipsets. Samsung's second-generation HDTV chipsets consist of less than three chips and are manufactured with 0.25µm and 0.35µm linewidth technology. LG Electronics' early foray into this market has helped it make some headway, observes Kang Rok-hee, senior analyst at Daishin Securities Economic Research Institute. The company has already obtained about 300 patents in the United States, Japan, South Korea and the European Union.
Lee Jong-soo, assistant digital marketing manager of LG Semicon, claims that the company is ready to launch third-generation chipsets as soon as the market improves. These chipsets will come as a systemized single chip, with customer programmability. The launch of these chipsets is scheduled for early next year. LG Electronics' "first-generation" HDTV chipsets consisted of five chips manufactured using 0.6µm CMOS technology. The subsequent "second-generation" chipsets, developed jointly with LG Semicon Co. Ltd, featured a combination of two digital TV receivers — the Sync/Equ and Channel decoder— in one chip. This chipset had an ADC to simplify chip exterior circuit and facilitate system integration, eliminating typical problems such as 'ghosting'.
While LG Semicon's first-generation chipsets were manufactured with 6-inch silicon wafers, the second-generation chipsets use 8-inch wafers. The company will continue to research its HDTV chipsets at LG Electronics' Digital TV Research Laboratory. "Our competitive edge lies in chipset architecture, not manufacturing," says Park Jong-Seok, CEO.
Another cause for optimism among South Korean makers is that the combined effort of the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) and four local companies — Samsung Electronics, LG Semicon, Hyundai Electronics and Daewoo Electronics — has borne fruit. Chipsets developed by the KETI in association with this pool passed commercial tests of the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee). The government-backed $38.5 million project initiated in 1995 was executed by KETI, which integrated the tuner and channel decoders from Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Electronics, video decoders from LG Semicon and Daewoo Electronics, audio decoders from Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Electronics, and display processors from LG Semicon and Daewoo Electronics. The new chipsets can accommodate GA (grand alliance) type digital TV signals and are capable of receiving 18 display formats.
According to KETI's senior engineer Lee Byong-ryul, these chipsets will contribute to a reduction in the number of components for HDTVs. "This will considerably reduce production costs of HDTVs. We are now geared to export these chipsets," he says.
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