Everybody wants to make chips for Digital Video...........................
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NEC, Philips to codevelop chips
By Reuters
November 14, 1997, 9:40 a.m. PT
TOKYO--Japan's biggest chip maker, NEC Computer (NIPNY), today said that it and a unit of Philips Electronics (PHG) of the Netherlands have signed a partnership agreement to jointly develop chips for digital consumer applications such as televisions, cameras, and video discs.
NEC and Philips Semiconductor will develop integrated chips called system-on-a-chip, which mount a microprocessor and memory technologies on a tiny silicon chip. With consumer devices rapidly converging--computer and communications technologies are fusing--there is a large demand for such new devices, the two firms said.
"We can form a strong team, with NEC's processor core technology and Philips' consumer applications know-how," Arthur van der Poel, chairman of Philips Semiconductors, told a news conference.
In the initial stage of the agreement, NEC will provide its 64-bit processor core based on MIPS (million instructions per second) architecture, while Philips will work with NEC on chip integration, the two firms said. The agreement also enables NEC and Philips to produce and market jointly developed consumer products.
Target applications of the new chip include digital television set-top boxes, still cameras, and digital video discs, said NEC executive vice president Hajime Sasaki. The two firms aim to introduce their first jointly developed product in late 1998, Sasaki said. |
