DVD Status Grows

Tokyo, Japan ñ DVD as a format continues to gain strength, even though its ability to influence the music market remains unclear. The DVD-Audio specification has been completed for months, though the copy-protection scheme has yet to be worked out. Nevertheless, labels and hardware manufacturers say they will release product and titles later this year.In the meantime, the format gains strength in other areas that will influence the audio post-production market. The most notable recent announcement comes from Nintendo, which has forged an alliance with Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co. (parent to Panasonic). The deal will help Nintendo gain access to key DVD technology for its next-generation game console, which is scheduled to hit the market by the end of 2000. At the same time, Nintendo said the forthcoming game machine will use a custom PowerPC from IBM, an undisclosed high-bandwidth memory architecture and a 0.18-micron custom graphics chip with embedded DRAM to be manufactured by NEC Corp.The agreement between Nintendo and Matsushita spans three technology areas. Matsushita will develop and produce DVD disks and a drive for Nintendoís next-generation game console, code name Dolphin; the two companies will collaborate on the development of products that merge games and digital audio/video functionality; and the two will also jointly develop a new digital network platform named x21. Details for the new platform were not disclosed.The alliance will benefit both Matsushita and Nintendo. Nintendo has been looking for a software-distribution medium with higher storage capacity than the cartridges it has used until now. This would allow a richer experience for gamers, including the possibility of surround sound and high-quality graphics. It also helps the game company tap the expertise of Matsushita, which played the leading role in developing the Contents Scramble System (CSS), a DVD-encryption technology.The alliance will give Matsushita the chance to get into the game business again after the failure several years ago of the 3D2 game platform, in which Matsushita had a substantial stake. To enrich DVD applications, Matsushita intends to market the DVD/game combo products that are developed as the second step of the alliance. The company, however, will not sell the game console.The game console will be powered by a customized 400 MHz PowerPC from IBM using a 0.18-micron copper process. The use of the PowerPC marks a break from the technology of the current Nintendo 64, which uses a MIPS based CPU. As for the memory, the system has a bandwidth of 3.2 Gbytes/second, the same level as Sonyís Playstation2, which uses DRAMs.What this means is that both companies will be competing in a $7 billion arena with a voracious demand for rich media content which, in turn, should create demand for high-quality stereo and sophistication surround sound audio programming.