Cirrus Logic have announced that it is getting its manufacturing suppliers to work together on a single-board based DVD-recorder. BenQ believes that by integrating components such as the MPEG encoding processor, pick-up unit and so on onto a single-board, this would significantly lower the cost compared to using separate circuit boards and components from each manufacturer.
It is due to using various materials from each manufacturer that is keeping most standalone DVD recorders above $ 300 at present. By integrating the components on to a single to simplify mass production, consumer standalone DVD-recorders are expected to drop to the low $ 200's by the end of 2004. With dropping prices, the number of consumers purchasing DVD-recorders is expected to significantly rise as with the sale of DVD-players back in 1999. BenQ and Cirrus expect to have this new single-board based DVD-recorder in volume production in the first quarter of 2004.
At the forefront of these single board DVD recording platforms, BenQ, a leading DVD recorder drive manufacturer, has been working closely with Cirrus to provide a complete and powerful solution to consumer electronics OEMs wishing to drive DVD recording into the consumer mass-market adoption. BenQ believes that the BenQ drives and Cirrus Logic semiconductors offer a compelling solution for CE OEMs in this highly competitive marketplace. This single-board DVD recorder reference design includes the mechadeck (combination of the optical pick-up unit and mechanical drive parts) and a single board that integrates both the digital front-end components of a DVD-recordable drive with the digital back-end electronics -- including Cirrus Logic DVD processors and MPEG encoders. The result is significantly reduced overall parts count and cost compared to traditional DVD recorder designs. By teaming with leading drive suppliers, Cirrus is also providing a ready supply of DVD recording drives to its customers, amidst a tight global supply of DVD-recordable drives for this fast-growing market. As a result, Cirrus and its drive suppliers anticipate significantly lower bill of materials costs for manufacturers, resulting in dramatically lower prices for consumer DVD recorders, possibly in the low 0s by the end of 2004. "A costly bill of materials -- drive components, chips and other hardware -- is the number one factor keeping most DVD recorders above 0 in today's market," said Brian Heuckroth, vice president of DVD Recording, Cirrus Logic. "We are teaming up with BenQ to eliminate redundant components and integrate much of the traditional hardware found in today's DVD recorders. This will bring DVD recording price points to the level that brought DVD players to the big time way back in 1999." "In 1999, the DVD player market began to soar, primarily because many players were available for less than 0," said Michelle Abraham, senior analyst, In-Stat/MDR. "I expect a similar trend in the consumer DVD recorder market. Cirrus' single-board platform with its drive partners, such as BenQ, will help push DVD recorder prices into the low 0 range in 2004, at which point we foresee a sharp upturn in consumer demand." DVD recorders are expected to become the fastest-growing segment in digital entertainment during the next several years, with expected unit sales of up to 51 million by 2007 (source: IDC, September 2003). These devices will allow consumers to upgrade more than 30 years of VCR technology and begin to store and view content in the digital domain. Cirrus' reference platform is designed to help customers such as Mustek, Sampo, CyberHome, and Profilo drive volume production of more affordable DVD recording products. The new reference design will be sampling to Cirrus and BenQ customers in October 2003 and will be in volume production in the first quarter of 2004. Read more information on this here. |
It is nice to see consumer DVD-recorder prices continue to drop. Back in 1999, DVD-players were just starting to take off to replace VCRs for the playback of movie rentals. In the last year, DVD recorder prices for PCs and standalone units have sharply fell and I'm sure that within the next few years, DVD-recorder sales will overtake VHS Video recorder sales.
DVDs and VHS tapes both have their up & down sides. While VHS tapes were great for taping soaps over & over again and repetitive playback, they do ware out, but at least if you scratched or cracked the casing, chances are that it does not affect the playback quality. DVD rewritable's can also be 'taped' over & over and will tolerate much more reuse's than VHS, but get them scratched and they become as useful as a chewed tape! TDK are the only DVD-recordable manufacturer that has designed a series of DVD recordable's to be scratch resistant against all those 'accidents'. 🙂
Source: Yahoo Financial News
