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C-Cube aims MPEG-2 codec at consumer-PC space
Junko Yoshida
Milpitas, Calif. - Betting that the big trend for consumer PCs in 1999 will be
DVD-quality video-recording capability, C-Cube Microsystems is launching
DVxplore, a single-chip consumer MPEG-2 codec. The chip will let PC users
record and edit DVD-quality video stored to a rewritable DVD or hard drive.
With full-featured DVD-playback capability, including Content Scrambling
System (CSS) copy protection, DVxplore also decodes DVD disks on a PC.
"We've designed the chip so that it can become a standard on a mainstream
consumer PC, priced around $1,500 to $1,100, next year," said Chris Day,
director of PC marketing at C-Cube.
By leveraging the same Microsparc-core-based DVx architecture used in its
other codec products, C-Cube kept the price of the real-time MPEG-2
consumer codec to $75. The Microsparc core runs at 110 MHz. The chip,
fabricated on a 0.25-micron process at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Co., also integrates custom video DSP and motion-estimation coprocessors. It
runs off a 1.8-V power supply and consumes 2 W.
C-Cube is not alone in its zeal to zero in on the consumer-PC market with codec
silicon. Startup iCompression (Santa Clara, Calif.) began sampling an MPEG-2
encoding chip-decoding capability is not included-at $195 in the summer (see
June 29, page 1). Japanese companies such as Matsushita and Sony are also
working on solutions.
DVxplore, integrated with a PCI interface, is optimized for PC applications.
While leaving both audio encoding and decoding tasks to the host CPU, the chip
enables a number of PC video applications: MPEG-2 and DV25 video encoding
and decoding; dual-stream MPEG decode, for real-time transitions and real-time
rendering of special effects; frame-accurate editing of MPEG-2 and DV25
video; MPEG-1 support for Internet video; DVD playback; and support for both
analog and DV video sources.
One feature in DVxplore's favor is its DV25-to-MPEG transcoding ability; the
feature is particularly important when a consumer connects a DV camcorder to
a PC for video editing (see related story, page 20).
C-Cube's chip allows 6 hours of video recording on a 10-Gbyte hard drive when
encoding occurs at 4 Mbits/second in 720 x 480 resolution.
DVxplore's time-shifting capability, meanwhile, lets PC users record a TV show
while simultaneously playing back video from any point in the recording. Users
can replay any scene instantly or rewind to the beginning of programs while
they are still being recorded.
The chip's variable-bit-rate capability can be leveraged not only for adjusting the
quality of video encoding but also for making sure an entire program can be
recorded in a given storage space. "Depending on the space constraint, a PC
can switch its video recording to a lower bit rate, so that it can fit a whole
program into a hard-disk drive," said William Chien, PC-encoder product-line
manager at C-Cube.
The company is working with developers to leverage DVxplore's features in
applications software. Taiwan-based Ulead System, for one, has developed a
full-featured, frame-accurate MPEG-2 editing program that is said to exploit
DVxplore's dual-stream and real-time transitional effects features.
C-Cube is sampling the chip now, with volume production slated for January.
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