To: Robert DeHaven who wrote (12728 ) 1/16/1998 12:03:00 PM From: Peter V Respond to
Japanese encoders coming soon and will use .025 ......................
nikkeibp.com
Kenji Tsuda, Tokyo
Makers Seek Replacement for Memories
Japanese chip manufacturers, in an effort to escape the memory-dependent
business, are pushing the development of various kinds of multimedia
chips: image/sound processing, graphics, networking, multimedia
interface, and others.
In image processing, for example, major chip manufacturers are focusing
on Moving Picture Experts Group Phase 2 (MPEG-2) encoder and decoder
chips.
NEC Corp of Japan announced the MPEG-2 encoder chip with main profile at
main level (MP@ML) at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference
(ISSCC) 1997. The company also demonstrated the chip at Japan's
Electronics Show in October 1997. The chip which measures 12.45mm x
12.45mm with a 0.35æm design rule, is a little large to mass-produce,
however, the firm plans to sample a smaller version in the spring of
1998. The new version of the MPEG-2 encoder chip, with 0.25æm design
rule, will be aimed at the market for professional digital video disk
(DVD) authoring tools.
While the general-purpose MPEG-2 encoder chip does not have peripheral
circuits, NEC plans to develop dedicated encoder chips for DVD recorders
or digital video cameras (DVC) in 1998. The company also plans to
develop the MPEG-2 main profile at high level (MP@HL) encoder chip for
digital high-definition television (HDTV) applications in 1999 or later,
depending on the TV infrastructure, according to Shizuo Eguchi, general
manager of NEC Semiconductor Solution Engineering Division.
Sony Corp of Japan announced an MPEG-2 encoder chip for professional
applications in April 1997. It was later used in the firm's 12-Gbyte
optical disk recorder, which was announced in October 1997. Sony plans
to sample the encoder chip to the commercial market at the beginning of
1998 and start volume production by mid-98.
In 1999, Sony plans to release a codec (a single chip encoder and
decoder) and a highly integrated audio/video (A/V) encoder with a system
multiplexer.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Ltd of Japan has prototyped a 100mm2
single chip MPEG-2 MP@ML encoder integrating a multitasking RISC A/V
controller. Matsushita plans to announce the full details of the chip at
ISSCC 1998. ISSCC, which runs February 5-7, 1998, will be held in San
Francisco. The 0.25æm CMOS chip integrates 5.5 million transistors,
operating at 81MHz with 0.95W power consumption.
The firm plans to ship samples of the chip in the first quarter of 1998,
and to market a low power version of the A/V codec, and MP@HL video
encoder for HDTV applications.
Fujitsu Ltd of Japan is also developing an MPEG-2 encoder chip at the
firm's System LSI Development Laboratories, and plans to announce it in
the spring of 1998.
