David,
I have difficulty finding the artcile on EETimes site. But I did find
on different site for the Dec/3/98 article by Mr. Liu.
techweb.com
China Invests In DVD Industry
(12/03/98, 7:37 p.m. ET)
By Sunray Liu, EE Times
China is stepping up efforts to kick-start a domestic DVD industry,
investing in such key technologies as laser diodes for optical heads,
MPEG-2 decoder development, and the improvement of DVD
manufacturing capabilities, in the hopes of building demand among
consumers for the emerging but expensive technology.
In anticipation of the new market that the Chinese government's
investment in DVD technology will open, foreign companies such
as C-Cube Microsystems, ESS Technology, STMicroelectronics,
Panasonic, and LSI Logic are offering their own single-chip DVD
solutions to Chinese OEM.
Manufacturers and industry analysts, who gathered in Beijing last
month for a government-sponsored symposium, predicted Chinese
consumers will buy 15 million video CD (VCD), super video CD
(SVCD), and DVD players in each of the next five years. Demand
for DVD players is expected to take off next year, with as many as
10 million players sold annually beginning three to four years from
now.
Peng Fu, chief analyst for market researchers Advanced
Forecasting-HuiCong, in Cupertino, Calif., said relatively cheap
video CDs and VCD players will make it tough for DVD
manufacturers to crack the Chinese market. "At least for the next
two years, the DVD market in China will not grow so fast," Peng
said. "After two or three years, maybe the [DVD] market will be
better."
The China State Press and Publication Administration "is supporting
the new products in electronic publishing," said Mao Xiaomao of
the Administration's Department of A/V and Electronic Publishing.
"We approved the importing of seven DVD-manufacturing lines and
a mother-disk [production] line."
Despite progress on several fronts, the nascent Chinese
DVD-software industry faces other barriers. The biggest is the lack
of national DVD standards to support the software industry.
Another is the lack of high-quality titles that can drive demand for
DVDs. As things stand, most domestic films must be reproduced to
improve their audio to international standards like 5.1-channel
sound.
The Chinese government is pumping funds into research on key
technologies in the hopes of seeding a home-grown DVD
capability. Supported by the government, the Semiconductor
Institute of the Chinese Academy of Science has developed a new
650-nanometer red lightwave laser diode. The laser's power,
optical, and temperature characteristics appeared promising in tests
in which it was used as an optical head. Researchers at Tsinghwa
University are developing other parts of the optical head, including
work on a lens, actuator, and other components.
Feng Jichun, vice director at the High-Technology Development
and Industrialization Ministry, called the laser-diode work a
"breakthrough of key technologies," adding that the focus now is on
volume production. "Our scientists and engineers are paying more
attention to the innovation of technologies that will help our
enterprises release the pressure of [intellectual property rights],"
Feng said.
Elsewhere, fabless design houses like the state-sponsored China IC
Design Center and other domestic chip makers are focusing on
developing MPEG-2 decoders. VCD player makers are also
investing in similar video technology. Some are working
independently, while others are cooperating with U.S. partners.
300 Titles So Far
As the number of DVD titles in the Chinese market grows to about
300, so does the list of foreign companies announcing single-chip
DVD solutions. Among the first was C-Cube Microsystems, in
Milpitas, Calif. C-Cube announced it will supply fully tested chip
sets that will let DVD manufacturers in China quickly incorporate
them into their players. The company also said it will help Chinese
OEMs produce DVD cameras based on its DVD-RW technology.
One of C-Cube's chief rivals, digital video-chip vendor ESS
Technology in Fremont, Calif., is also trying to help manufacturers
ease the transition from SVCD to DVD production. Its ESS 4408
solution aims to provide audio functions like 5.1-channel sound and
karaoke via software. The 4408 integrates 32-bit RISC video
and a 64-bit DSP, letting developers use high-end C language
programming to develop DVD functions. ESS' programmable
multimedia processor also lets OEMs offer other capabilities
through DVD players, including video telephones and
teleconferencing.
France's STMicroelectronics and Japan's Panasonic have also
jumped into the Chinese DVD market, promoting themselves as
one of the few IC makers offering manufacturers a complete line
of DVD design solutions. STM announced a low-cost
DVD-on-a-chip based on a 32-bit RISC processor. Meanwhile,
Panasonic's solution includes the necessary chip sets and a kit that
were originally released in Japan. Panasonic's DVD chip sets are
now attracting Chinese partners through its joint ventures in China
as well as through its national support network.
LSI Logic, which set up a facility in Beijing, has announced design
wins for its DVD decoder chip, and expects to announce more
before the Consumer Electronics Show in January. LSI's Hong
Kong-based partner has also developed DVD solutions for the
Chinese industry that are expected to help China meet its goal of
producing 1 million DVD players next year.
Meanwhile, the state-run Xinhua Bookstore, China's largest, said it
would use its chain of stores to form a network for renting DVD
titles. |
