ZiVA chip will be added to notebook PCs and portable DVD players by first quarter of 1998
To TMSC: We'll let you build the DVx if you drop the next payment requirement...
C-CUBE DVx CHIP DEBUTS
Consumer Electronics
Mon, Aug 25 1997
C-Cube Microsystems has unveiled DVx MPEG-2 chip that combines encoding and decoding on single IC, saying goal is broadening DVD, digital VCR and camcorder applications by 2000. DVx, built for C-Cube by Taiwan Semiconductor, has been shipped in limited quantities to broadcast industry for signal transmissions ($1,500 in lots of several hundred) and interstudio transfers of video and data ($2,500). However, it said aim is to reduce cost of 35-micron chip below $50 in building it into mainstream CE products.
First step into consumer market is likely to be as part of DVD-RAM PC add-in card in 1998, followed by digital VCR in 1999 and disc-based camcorder in 2000, C-Cube Product Mktg. Mgr. Christine Cadwell said. "There are still a lot of open issues with DVD-RAM including copyrights and most people are waiting to see how things shake out," she said.
"Once you see DVD-ROM and DVD-RAM start going together in the PC, you will start seeing some compatibility between the technologies in a DVD player. Right now, DVD-RAM isn't compatible with DVD-ROM, but that's definitely a goal."
DVx currently has 100-MHz clock speed and variable compression rate of 1.5-50 Mbs, but IC will be modified for consumer market, including shrinking it to 0.25 or 0.18 microns, Cadwell said. Power consumption, currently about 4 w, will have to be reduced to meet camcorders' 0.5-w requirements, she said. "We need to go back and look at clock issues and it's a fairly straightforward modification that we didn't want to address initially. Among other things, you can power down to stop clock routing to certain areas of the chip that aren't being used." Combining technologies also will shorten development cycles to 3 months or less from 6-12 months, she said. "The most difficult design issues are dealing with layout and cross-talk."
On current DVD front, C-Cube is negotiating agreements to broaden use of its ZiVA decoder that integrates 8 key DVD functions on single chip (TVD March 3 p15). Samsung and Aiwa are current DVD player licensees. Chip combines Dolby Digital AC-3, MPEG audio and linear PCM stereo decoding, subpicture decoding, other features. Chip currently is selling at $35 in large quantities for PCs and DVD players, C-Cube spokeswoman said.
"We're going to see the volumes on the PC and those prices will continue to drop," she said. ZiVA chip will be added to notebook PCs and portable DVD players by first quarter of 1998, spokeswoman said. |
