NEWSLETTER APRIL 2003

HIGH GROWTH FORECAST FOR STORAGE SYSTEM CHIPS

Battles over data-storage formats for the next generation of consumer electronics and PCs are gradually being resolved. The DVD optical system now appears to have become the main medium-term solution ? displacing videocassettes in home multimedia applications and offering effective high-capacity storage for PCs. However, in the longer term, next-generation storage may well be based on the Blu-ray Disc, which offers more than five times the capacity of a DVD. This standard was announced in 2002 by nine of the world?s leading consumer electronics manufacturers covering Europe, the USA and Asia-Pacific. Novel storage systems are also being developed for new-generation personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other mobile multimedia applications.

Analyst IDC sees DVD semiconductors as one of the healthier electronic application sectors. In a recent study of the worldwide DVD semiconductor market, it forecasts a projected compound annual growth of 19.3% from 2002 until 2007 ? when the global market should be worth nearly ? 9 million, principally in DVD writers. At the same time, IDC sees DVD drives for PCs continuing to predominate over those for consumer electronics, despite growing convergence between the two areas. The fastest growing segment is likely to be integrated drive-management and image-management chips. And there will be continuing high demand for analogue application-specific chips (ASICs), SRAM and flash memory.

MEDEA+ identified future storage as a key area for research in the initial White Book outlining reasons and content for the initiative. The MEDEA+ A202 future storage (FUST) project is already coming to an end. The aim of this important research effort is to strengthen Europe?s ability to deliver system-on-chip (SoC) devices for future mass storage systems. To achieve this it has had to focus on new formats, general chip architectures and the development of suitable building blocks and standards to ensure maximum flexibility.

Main trends identified in the FUST project are the switch to fully digital applications and enormous increases in storage density possible with both optical and hard disks. The main uncertainties have arisen from the choice of formats, both for optical drives and for the audio and video compression systems ? including MP3, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4.

New components developed to prototype stage in this MEDEA+ project include channel Codec SoCs for optical storage, audio-visual Codec devices for high-density hard disks (HDD) to enable time-shift applications, improved mechanical systems for linear magnetic tape systems aimed at multimedia use, and alternative storage devices to tape for camcorders. Application Codecs have also been developed from both DVD and HDD, including video and audio compressors, decoders and copy protection, as well as optical and HDD interface systems.

In addition, tools have already been developed for authoring, verification and testing of hardware-software co-design of system architecture for the new DVD+R/RW, super audio CD (SACD) and Blu-ray disc formats. And IP libraries have been assembled that should speed design and therefore time to market for the chips to support new equipment.

DVDs now seem set to be the storage system of choice for the medium term ? able to handle the requirements of both computer and multimedia applications, with sufficient capacity for standard definition TV and films. HDDs also have an important role in time-shift off-air recording and in the growing number of residential gateway computer systems in the home.

However, the relatively long development time for new drives means that drive manufacturers must stay well ahead of developments in storage systems so that they can get products to market quickly once a particular format gains market acceptance. Several leading manufacturers have already demonstrated prototype Blu-ray Disc drives for consumer products such as video recorders that can read and write DVD and Blu-ray Discs, and PC drives that can offer high capacity while both reading and writing CD, DVD and Blu-ray Discs.

The success of the FUST project has ensured that European component and systems manufacturers now have access to the technologies required, whatever the storage medium. And, as importantly, many MEDEA+ participants ? including Philips, STMicroelectronics and Thomson, all partners in the FUST project ? are closely involved in the formulation of the new storage and compression standards. This involves work through bodies such as the DVD forum, the ISO Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) working group and the Blu-ray Disc industry group.