Mustek Shipping First Mass-Market DVD Recorders, Powered By Cirrus Logic Chipsets, Software

25-Jun-03

Taiwanese consumer electronics giant Mustek has begun volume shipments of its first DVD recording devices, the DVD-R100A and DVD-R100B. The products, which will soon be available in retail outlets across Europe under the Mustek brand and in North America under the Classic brand at expected retail prices below $450, are powered by Cirrus Logic's DVD+RW integrated silicon/software platform. Cirrus' ""+RW"" platform, based upon its flagship CS98200 DVD processor and CS92288 A/V codec, offered Mustek a comprehensive solution that encompasses the hardware, software, and manufacturing tool kit necessary to help establish the DVD-R100A as the DVD recorder market's standard-bearer product for reaching mass-market consumers. The DVD-R100B is expected to provide consumers with high-quality A/V record and playback, and an IEEE 1394 connection that enables a high-speed connection to digital media for long-term storage and playback on the installed base of DVD players worldwide. DVD recorders play standard DVDs while also allowing consumers to record video content--such as broadcast television or home movies--onto DVD disc media. DVD recorders and other devices that can record digital content are expected to become the fastest-growing segment in digital entertainment during the next several years, with expected unit sales of up to 40 million by 2006 (source: IDC). 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. Until now, most DVD recorders have been priced too expensively for widespread consumer adoption. Cirrus' reference platform is designed to help customers such as Mustek drive volume production of more affordable DVD recording products. ""Mustek sees a tremendous opportunity in 2003 to penetrate the mass market for DVD recorders as replacements to consumer VCRs,"" said Jack Chang, Director of Engineering for Mustek. ""Mustek has the product design experience, manufacturing power, and channel presence to succeed in this new market. Cirrus Logic is providing us with all the technology we need in chips, software, and systems to make a very competitive entry into the market."" The showpiece of Cirrus' DVD+RW recording platform is the CS98200, which is the industry's highest-performance DVD processor. DVD recording devices featuring the CS98200 can utilize its support of a wide range of enhanced consumer features such as DVD-Audio, MPEG-4 simple profile support, and Enhanced DVD technology, which provides access to Web-based interactive content through a broadband-enabled DVD device. Cirrus' CS92288 encoding solution provides high-quality video recording over a wide range of bit rates, enabling consumers to enjoy up to six hours of high-quality content on DVD recordable media while retaining compatibility with the installed base of DVD players. Companion Cirrus audio codecs complete the reference platform. ""Cirrus has taken an early leadership position in enabling the volume DVD recording market through the strength of our reference platform, which is helping customers such as Mustek accelerate the market for affordable digital video recording products,"" said Brian Heuckroth, Vice President of DVD Recording, Cirrus. ""With its established retail distribution channels, we believe that Mustek is poised to become a DVD recording market leader, and we're delighted to be a key part of that success."" For more information about Cirrus Logic, visit www.cirrus.com. For more information about Mustek Systems, visit www.mustek.com.tw.

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