and last continuation of previous post (and best part of all !):
DVD and Convergence:
As can been seen from the discussion of DVD players, the DVD decoder chip is the
heart of a DVD player. And DVD is based on the MPEG-2 standard for digital video
distribution, as are most direct to home satellite systems and wireless cable systems. In
fact, the DVD decoder chip is a super set of the video and audio decoder chips
required to build a home satellite receiver or a wireless cable settop box.
The Convergence Box
Because DVD players have much in common with satellite receivers and cable settop
boxes, it is likely that one or more of these devices may converge in a single unit, a so
called convergence box. In fact, the PC is a kind of convergence box as well.
DVD and the Internet
One PC application is browsing the Internet; however, a DVD player also contains
almost all of the circuitry required to support an Internet browser, making full-fledged
PC unnecessary. While at first the synergy between the browser and DVD player may
not be obvious, the combination offers a wealth of opportunities.
For example, it would be possible to showcase all of the clothes in all of the
departments in a department store, complete with video of much of the merchandise
on a DVD. The connection to the Internet would allow the customer to get current
prices, order merchandise, communicate (via email) with a personal shopper or pay
their bill. Such a service via the Internet alone is not practical: the low bandwidth
available to users would make the "catalog" intolerably slow and limit the audio and
image quality that the catalog could deliver. A DVD-based catalog would deliver great
interactive performance with a rich audio and video experience, but at $1 to duplicate
and deliver, a DVD catalog would be far cheaper than today's print media.
This combination of DVD and Internet can be extended to other applications as well,
including education, training and on-line games.
DVD and Game Platforms
DVD versions of today's gaming platforms will also likely appear. Today's Sega
Saturn, Sony and 3D0 platforms use CD technology as the delivery platform for their
games. However, the single-speed CD drives used in these machines limit interactive
performance, which in the twitch game world is everything. DVD provides access and
data transfer rates that are ten times faster than single-speed CD-ROM, and the video
experience DVD brings can significantly expand the scope and quality of the games,
not to mention the utility of the game machine itself.
We at C-Cube do not know which, if any, of these merged devices will become
popular. Certainly devices with decidedly different applications are likely to remain
separate. Take the PC for example. While a PC can be made into a perfectly good
DVD viewing system with the addition of a DVD-ROM drive and a DVD decoder
chip, the PC is likely to remain in the study or den because of its other applications --
word processing, tax return preparation, electronic mail and the like -- and the need
for a desk-bound keyboard.
On the other hand, stand-alone DVD players and satellite receivers will be attached to
the TV in the family room, making these two devices good candidates for
convergence, especially in Europe where the Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) standard
is guaranteeing compatibility between satellite receivers from various manufacturers.
---
LSI's BBC work relates to DVB in Europe?
Also I made this point earlier but the more integrated these gadgets become the more I think this plays into LSI Logic's hand.
Other companies may have a STB or a NC chip or a DVD chip or a gaming chip or a camera chip or a communications chip but not too many have design experience in all.
Like I said I bought LSI for the consumer area and the more I see the more I like!
Just seems to be taking a bit longer than I initially anticipated! |
