Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) today announced that Pioneer
Corporation (NYSE: PIO) will use Philips' Super Audio CD (SACD) single-chip
solution, the SAA7893HL chip. Pioneer will integrate Philips' SAA7893HL chip
into its DVD Player (DV-563A-S) and Home Theater System (HTZ-830DV) targeted at
the U.S. market, providing consumers with sound quality superior to that of a
CD. SACD is a key feature for multichannel audio in DVD players, and Philips'
SAA7893HL chip is the ideal semiconductor solution to seamlessly and
cost-effectively add SACD capabilities to DVD devices.
'The SACD format has been gaining momentum in the DVD market, presenting a
growth opportunity for chipmakers," according to Michelle Abraham of leading
industry analyst firm In-Stat/MDR. 'By 2005, 35 percent of all DVD players will
include SACD as a standard feature." Co-developed by Philips, the SACD format
represents the next level of audio reproduction, and offers DVD manufacturers an
easy-to-integrate solution that provides consumers with a high-quality audio
experience '” equivalent to that of a live concert performance. Equipped with
Philips' SAA7893HL chip solution, Pioneer's new Player and Home Theater System
will offer DVD-V/SACD and DVD-A playback.
'Using Philips' SAA7893HL chip made it straightforward to integrate SACD into
our new range of advanced DVD video players," said Hiroshi Ohtsubo, general
manager of video planning department at Pioneer's Consumer Video Product
Division. 'SACD delivers the highest possible multichannel audio quality, and
therefore presents a compelling feature in our premium DVD video players."
'We are providing our partners cost-efficient, flexible chip solutions to
bring the latest innovations and developments in laser optics to the market,"
stated Jeroen Keunen, general manager of consumer and multimedia, Philips
Semiconductors. 'Pioneer's expertise in DVD applications combined with Philips'
leadership position in optical storage proved to be a strong combination,
pushing the frontiers of multichannel audio within DVD players and recorders."
Philips' SAA7893HL chip is a flexible and cost-effective single-chip hardware
and software solution offering complete SACD functionality, avoiding the need
for continual redesign and re-integration of SACD into various applications. The
SAA7893HL chip can support many different DVD platforms because of the
integrated multiple loader and host interfaces. It enables manufacturers to
introduce DVD video players that can support six-channel SACD and DVD-A
playback. The six-channel DAC outputs of the DVD host are routed via the chip,
which provides a DAC switch function between SACD mode and DVD mode. Offering a
complete solution, including Annex J+ level SW API, the SAA7893HL chip also
incorporates a full SACD software stack.
Source: Philips.com
