CD-RW chip from Cirrus Logic allows read capability for DVD discs. It has a port that connects to an MPEG-2 decoder. Very cool..
newsalert.com
New Cirrus Logic CD-RW Chips Provide Industry's Fastest Performance
and Optional DVD-Port
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 27, 1998--
As Fast As Read-Only CD-ROMs and Faster Than a Zip, New Chips Position CD-RW Drives to Replace Floppies, Zips and CD-ROMs
Underscoring its position as the technology leader in the optical storage market, Cirrus Logic Inc. (Nasdaq:CRUS) today
introduced two of the industry's fastest CD-ReWritable (CD-RW) chips.
Delivering the industry's fastest 40X read and 10X write speeds, Cirrus Logic's new chips (CR3470/75) enable CD-RW
drives to outperform Zips and equal the performance of high-speed CD-ROM drives.
In addition, the CR3475 is equipped with an integrated DVD port, which allows the new device to connect directly to a DVD
data decoder, creating a new class of CD-RW plus DVD read-capable drives. With these significant performance
advantages, both new devices have already been selected by a major CD-RW drive manufacturer and are poised to establish
Cirrus Logic as a leader in the emerging CD-RW market.
"Competition between read-only drives and rewritable drives has been almost nonexistent mainly due to the large price
differences," said Wolfgang Schlichting, analyst IDC.
"With CD-RW OEM costs reaching high-volume territory in 1999, price will not disqualify this technology as a CD-ROM
upgrade choice. We believe that the desktop home and notebook PCs will continue to be early adopters of DVD, but for
business PCs early upgrades will lean toward CD-RW since data backup and media interchange are such important
applications."
IDC forecasts the CD-RW drive market to grow from more than 5 million units in 1998 to more than 23 million units in 2001,
an average annual growth rate of a 115 percent.
"In addition to price, the rapid growth predictions for the CD-RW market are being fueled by the advent of 'Drag and Drop'
software, which makes CD-RW drives as user-friendly as a floppy drive," said Nicos Syrmis, general manager of Cirrus
Logic's Optical Storage Division.
"Combine the estimated cost reduction and user friendly software with the high-speed capabilities of our new chips, and
next-generation CD-RW drives are poised to replace the end-user's need for a separate floppy, Zip and CD-ROM drive.
Add to that the DVD input port of the CR3475 and drive manufacturers can now create CD-RW plus DVD drives, which
offer the optimum in optical storage capacity and video playback."
Optimum Capacity and Video Playback
With its built-in DVD input port, the CR3475 bridges the gap between CD-RW and DVD by enabling drive manufacturers to
create a CD-RW plus DVD drive. When combined with a MPEG-2 decoder board or a software MPEG-2 decoder these
CD-RW plus DVD drives offer the end-user 650 megabytes of storage capacity -- more than 400 floppies or six Zip disks
worth of data -- and the ability to read DVD content with a CD-RW drive.
Raising The Performance Level
Cirrus Logic's new chip solutions have elevated the performance level of CD-RW drives to the next plateau. In fact, the
supported 40X read speeds not only allow the new drives to equal the performance of today's high-speed, read-only
CD-ROM drives, but they can also read data at up to 4 times faster than a Zip and twice as fast as the current CD-RW
drives. In addition, the supported 10X write speeds enables next generation CD-RW drives to write data as fast as a Zip
drive and more than twice as fast as current CD-RW drives.
Eliminating The Performance Bottleneck
Equipped with an Ultra ATA interface, both new devices are capable of bursting data from the decoder to the host at 33 MB
per second, significantly reducing ATA/IDE bus utilization and CPU overhead. This high-speed interface enables CD-RW
manufacturers to increase the drive's performance with no cost to the end-user. This allows the CPU to retrieve data faster,
freeing up the CPU to handle additional tasks and eliminating the performance bottleneck associated with sequential streaming
applications, such as video playback.
ADB Perfect For Portable and CAV Drives
Both devices have an integrated audio DAC interface, which is armed with Cirrus Logic's audio data buffering (ADB)
technology. This advanced technology enables the chips to buffer audio data at the maximum 40X read speed, providing
continuous playback.
In addition, the ability to buffer data is especially useful in portable applications because if a shock occurs to the drive,
playback can continue from the buffer while the read heads are reset on the disc, without performance degradation.
Cirrus Logic's ADB technology is also extremely important for the newer constant angular velocity (CAV) drives, where the
transfer rate will no longer be constant and will vary dramatically based on whether the optical read head is reading from the
inner or outer track of the CD.
Therefore, if the CD has audio data at the outer edge, the decoder must have the ability to buffer the data at the drive's
maximum transfer rate. If the decoder is unable to buffer the audio data at the maximum disc speed, the end-user will have to
wait for the drive to slow down to a disc speed that the decoder can handle, resulting in extremely long data delays and poor
sequential streaming application performance.
Packaging, Pricing and Availability
The CR3470 CD-RW chip is packaged in a 144-pin LQFP and is priced at $12 each in quantities of 25,000. The CR3475
ATAPI CD-RW chip with DVD interface is packaged in a 176-pin LQFP and is priced at $15 each in quantities of 25,000.
Sample quantities for both chips are now available and volume production for both is planned for the third quarter of 1998.
Cirrus Logic
Cirrus Logic is a premier supplier of system-level integrated circuits that demand high-performance mixed-signal processing
and algorithmic expertise. The company's products, sold under its own name and the Crystal product brand, enable
high-volume applications in mass storage, communications, consumer electronics and industrial markets. Additional information
about Cirrus Logic is available at www.cirrus.com.
Note to Editors: Cirrus Logic is a registered trademark of Cirrus Logic Inc. All other product names noted herein may be
trademarks of their respective holders.
CONTACT: Tsantes & Associates (Media Contact)
Mary Jane Reiter, 408/369-1500
maryjane@tsantes.com
or
Cirrus Logic Inc. (Reader Contact)
JD Estella, 510/226-2255
jde@corp.cirrus.com |
