English press release ahoy, mateys.
It was less than a year ago I was translating my first ever article for TechJapan, about an 8x DVD+R drive from Plextor.
However, this is o­nly an LSI. Can we expect DVD writing speed to double yearly?

Begin English press release NOW!

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NEC Electronics Introduces Industry's First Chipset for 16x Speed Rewritable DVD Drives

"µPD63635, µPC3335"

KAWASAKI, Japan and DUESSELDORF, Germany, June 22, 2004 -
NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) and its subsidiary in Europe, NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH, today introduced a chipset for rewritable DVD drives that supports 16x recording speed in DVD-R and DVD+R formats. The improved efficiency enables users to record high data volumes o­n DVD recorders and personal computers in approximately half the time required by previous 8x speed devices. Compliant with recording and playback formats such as DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, and DVD-RAM, the new chipset enables OEMs to easily configure rewritable DVD drives capable of handling all major standards.

The chipset consists of the µPD63635 digital signal processor (DSP) with ATAPI interface, and the µPC3335 analog signal processor (ASP), which controls the laser and servo systems of the optical pickup unit. The µPD63635's new LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) driver, 50% reduction of clock jitter, write strategy for high-precision control of the recording laser power, and high logic speed enabled by optimizing the design flow in C, together with the µPC3335's high-bandwidth amplifier optimized for higher operating speeds, help ensure stable recording at 16x speed for DVD-R and DVD+R.

Despite the higher recording speed, the power consumption of the µPD63635 and µPC3335 have decreased by 10 percent (to 1.0w at 8x playback speed) by deactivation of the clock when it is not performing necessary functions. Additionally, both processors are housed in thin quad flat packages (QFP), making them ideal for the slim DVD drives used in notebook PCs.

"The global market for rewritable DVD drives is growing rapidly, especially in the area of personal computers, which we expect to grow 50% by next spring," said Kats Nakazawa, General Manager, PC Peripheral Systems Division, 2nd Systems Operations Unit, NEC Electronics Corporation. "As the world's leading supplier of chipsets for rewritable DVD drives, we will continue to meet the strong market demand for DVD recording applications."

The chipset is expected to be used by Pioneer Corporation and NEC Corporation for their new rewritable DVD drives. Both companies are among the world's leading manufacturers of DVD writers.

Pricing and Availability
Samples of the chipset are now available at US$35 per unit. Volume production will begin at the end of June. Monthly production is expected to reach 2 million units by the end of 2004. Pricing and availability are subject to change. For detailed product information, please refer to the specifications sheet.

Please refer to the attachment for product specifications.

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<< Related Content >>
- System Applications :
DVD Recordable Drive

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About NEC Electronics
NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) specializes in semiconductor products encompassing advanced technology solutions for the high-end computing and broadband networking markets, system solutions for the mobile handsets, PC peripherals, automotive and digital consumer markets, and platform solutions for a wide range of customer applications. NEC Electronics Corporation has 25 subsidiaries worldwide including NEC Electronics America, Inc. (www.necelam.com) and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH (www.ee.nec.de). In addition to marketing, selling and supporting NEC Electronics products to customers in their respective regions, NEC Electronics America and NEC Electronics Europe also operate local manufacturing facilities in Roseville, California, and Ballivor, Ireland, respectively. Additionally, NEC Electronics America for North America and NEC Electronics Europe for Europe are the sales and marketing channels of NEC AM-LCD and PDP modules. For additional information about NEC Electronics worldwide, visit www.necel.com.

Note: The 16x speed DVD recording specifications are currently being reviewed by the DVD Forum.

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End English press release. Sorry for bumping off your image, NEC.