Philips Unveils 8x DVD+R/RW Chipset

Royal Philips Electronics has introduced a highly integrated chipset, optical pickup unit (OPU), firmware and reference design for the industry's highest-speed DVD+R/RW recorders. The design incorporates new technology to minimise recording errors caused by common disk defects such as fingerprints while the software and chipset, based on Philips Nexperia streaming media technology, will allow consumers to create 4.7GB DVDs of home videos, photo albums and PC data in less than 15 minutes or half the time of existing drives, Philips said in a statement.

Designed primarily for PC use, the Nexperia DVD+R/RW system solution is capable of supporting record speeds up to 8x.

This leap forward in recording speed is achieved by a new approach to optical recorder design: Philips moved the write strategy generator (WSG) to the same board as the laser driver, eliminating the data bottleneck that limited recording speed.

The new design also supports disk reading during the record process, which in turn supports a Philips innovation, eliminating most recording errors caused by common defects on the disc surface, and ensures higher levels of compatibility with legacy DVD players, according to analyst firm Creative Strategies president Tim Bajarin

"Of the DVD recording formats available today, DVD+R/RW has the most long-term market potential due to its solid format and features," Bajarin said.

"Devices incorporating this technology will be poised for steadfast growth."

The Philips chipset includes the PNX7850 main processor, the TZA1039 analogue processor and the TZA1047 laser power controller.

The entire system is designed to work with Philips OPU66.20.

A sample kit, including a PNX7850 DVD processor, TZA1039 analogue processor, TZA1047 laser power controller and an OPU66.20 optical pickup unit, is available now, each in volumes of 100,000 units.

Volume production is scheduled for Q1, 2003.