[OLD] C-Cube 's MPEG-2 Codec Hits a Speed Bump
11/02/1998
Multimedia Week
(c) 1998 Phillips Business Information, Inc.
C-Cube Microsystems Inc. [CUBE] will have volume shipments of a consumer-market targeted MPEG-2 codec ready in January for $75 each, but the company does not expect board vendors to ship peripherals with the silicon until mid-'99-six months later than originally expected.
Chris Day, C-Cube director of marketing, blamed the delay on the lack of applications available to take advantage of the chip, which lets users encode and decode high-quality video. C-Cube is working with roughly 10 software companies on consumer-level tools that take advantage of the chip, called DVxplore.
Previously C-Cube referred to the codec by the code name 2Real. (see MMW, Aug. 25, 1997 p.1; Jan 28, 1998, p. 1)
Estimating that two million video-capture devices sold this year will mean $30 million to companies supplying video-capture and compression silicon, Day views DVxplorer as a catalyst for video editing in the consumer market.
OEM Expectations
On the hardware front, the company expects peripheral makers to offer boards with DVxplore for about $300. C - Cube officials would not say which vendors have agreed to buy the chip, but the two most likely companies are Matrox and STB Systems Inc. [STB]. DVxplore will show up in consumer PCs for the back-to-school selling season next year, Day said.
The company decided to include DV to MPEG-2 transcoding (MMW, Sept. 7, p.1) in the chip based on demands of certain customers and the growing number of digital camcorders available using 1394 silicon. Also, the transcoder will prevent C-Cube from having to rev second-generation silicon next year.
Eventually, Day expects DVxplore to migrate into DVD-RAM PCs and consumer electronics recording devices.
As for competitors, Day is least worried about companies claiming to have MPEG-2 software codecs but has his eyes on Sony Electronics [SEL] and Philips Semiconductor [PHG]. ( C-Cube , 408/944- 6700) |
