Thanks William. Here's LG Semicon's HDTV plans...
LG Defines Digital TV Technology with Total Chip Solution
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11/17/97
PR Newswire
(Copyright (c) 1997, PR Newswire)
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Company targets 30% market share through technology leadership and aggressive
product rollout
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- LG Semicon announced the commercialization today of the world's first Digital TV (DTV) chipset, designed by its sister company LG Electronics. Consisting of 5 chips, the LG VSS (Vestigial sideband Super Star) has been proven to provide complete DTV performance by Zenith Electronics, a pioneer in DTV and a strategic technology partner of LG Semicon and LG Electronics.
LG Semicon will fabricate and sell the chipset worldwide, and is aiming for a 30% market share of the DTV market, which is expected to total over 130 million systems in the US alone by 2006. The company's early advantage in developing the world's first commercialized DTV chipset and its strategic relationship with Zenith will make this achievement possible.
"By working with a member of the Grand Alliance, LG Semicon will provide the first semiconductors to meet the Advanced Television System Committee (ATSC) standard in the United States," stated Duke Koo, Sr. Managing Director of International Sales & Trade Affairs at LG Semicon. "Our technological leadership will be augmented by our ability to supply a total DTV chip solution, including processors, ASICs, LCD drivers, PDP drivers, Smart Cards and memory."
"The first cut of the LGS VSB solution, which replaced a rack of equipment with a seven-inch circuit board earlier this year, already met most of our specifications for the ATSC transmission standard," said Paul A. Snopko, Zenith's director of research and development. "Current samples are meeting or exceeding our expectations for chips we plan to use in our first HDTV products planned for introduction next year."
Specifications of the LG VSS
A Vestigial Side Band (VSB) receiver processes incoming signals through two chips: a VSB Sync/EQ (GDC21D001), which performs sync recovery, equalization, and phase correction, and a VSB channel decoder (GDC21D002), which performs the decoding of incoming data from transmitter as a terrestrial broadcasting mode (8VSB) and a cable mode (16VSB) using Viterbi decoder and RS-Decoder. These two chips are well-matched with LA 7785M which is I/F demodulator of Sanyo Semiconductor Corp.
A video signal processor, made up of three chips, completes the process by converting the signals into high-definition display formats. A revolutionary one-chip video decoder, (GDC21D401) performs the decoding process of MPEG2 (ISO/IEC 13818-2) MP@HL compressed data, which are formatted in the ATSC digital TV standard. A transport chip (GDC21D301) provides the user with efficient MPEG2 transport layer demultiplexing. It demultiplexes transport stream packets into packetized elementary streams and decodes program specific information. Finally, a video display processor (GDC21D701) receives all Grand Alliance input image formats, including HD and standard definition and converts them into 1080 x 1920 interlaced HD display formats.
Samples of four of the five DTV chips are currently available. Product samples of the video display processor (GDC21D701) will follow in 1Q 1998.
Zenith's Snopko said, "The complete chipset solution for ATSC transmission, transport and HDTV video nearing production at LG Semicon represents world-class technology that will help usher in the digital age for consumers."
Benefits of Digital TV
Digital television means better picture resolution and Dolby AC-3 sound quality for viewers, who will have access to video and data services simultaneously, and in the same bandwidth as current analog TV. DTV also offers better interface with other digital services, such as the Internet, DVD and DBS. DTV will come into broad usage beginning in 1999. Broadcast PCs will hit the market in the same year.
About Zenith Electronics
Based in Glenview, Ill., U.S. and founded in 1918, Zenith (NYSE: ZE) is a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of electronic entertainment and information products for consumer and professional markets; display devices including color television picture tubes, computer display tubes and components; and network systems products, including digital and analog set- top-boxes and cable modems for the cable TV, telecommunications and satellite industries. Zenith is a pioneer in the development of digital TV technologies, including high-definition television. Zenith's website is at zenith.com.
About LG Electronics
Over the past five years, LG Electronics has recorded a 25% annual growth rate as it expands its global production and sales network throughout the world. It currently has 46 overseas subsidiaries with more on the horizon. Its 1996 revenues topped $9.1 billion. LGE's 50,000 employees are committed to the company's strategy for the future, entitled LEAP 2005. This vision anticipates $78 billion in revenues and a 15% return on investment by the year 2005.
About LG Semicon
A leader in memory chip development and supply, LG Semicon is rapidly diversifying its product mix with particular emphasis on media processors and thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays. A $2.4 billion company in Korea's $73 billion LG Group, LGS employs 9,500 employees at 2 domestic manufacturing facilities, 4 research and development laboratories and 30 overseas subsidiaries and branch offices. It is currently constructing a $1.9 billion fabrication plant in Newport, Wales, United Kingdom, and intends additional facility investments in North America and Asia by the year 2000.
/CONTACT: Matt Afflixio, 415-904-7070 ext. 278, or mafflixio@accesspr.com, or Anne Stendel, 415-904-7070, ext. 224, or astendel@accesspr.com, both of Access Communications for LG Semicon/ 08:06 EST
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