Chip Developers Ready Low-Cost DTV Designs
Zoran will have a version of the SupraHD DTV multimedia processor integrated with a demodulator by 2nd quarter 2006 priced at $10-$15 in volume, CFO Karl Schneider told us Tues. at a Pacific Growth Equities investor conference in N.Y.C. The chip is expected to be among those that will allow entry-level DTV prices to dip below $300 in 2006. Meanwhile, Genesis Microchip also will ship a single-chip solution for HDTV by late 2006, CFO Michael Healy said.
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The new DTV chip was fueled by Zoran’s acquisition this year of Oren Semiconductor, which designs demodulation ICs and unveiled a joint HDTV reference design with its new owner a year ago based on the Generation 9 processor. Zoran’s push in DTV comes as the chip developer moves to broaden its business beyond the DVD processors that accounted for 60% of annual revenue in 2004. DTV-related ICs accounted for 14% of 3rd-quarter revenue of $117.5 million, up from 11% the previous quarter as DVD processors were reduced to about 38%, Schneider said. Zoran also has expanded its presence in digital cameras, having gained design wins with Pentax and Samsung for its Coach 8 CMOS image processor.
While Zoran’s DTV business has yet to turn a profit, it’s expected to do so in 2006 as related quarterly revenue reaches $20 million, Schneider said. Zoran expects to land agreements for its SupraHD chip with several customers including 2 “fairly substantial” TV manufacturers in Japan, said Schneider, who declined to identify the customers. Zoran also has held discussions with LG Electronics regarding use of the SupraHD with a separate demodulator in TVs, Schneider said. “LG is very interested in what we can do from a TV perspective,” he said.
Healy, however, cautioned against a rush to integration unless product quality is assured. Some customers may prefer to use a separate demodulation chip, he said. “Integration is very important in this market, but you have to do it with the best quality,” Healy said. “If customers have to spend additional money to assure that quality, they will do it” even it means forgoing a single-chip solution.
Meanwhile, Silicon Optix plans to launch a financing round in 2006 that may include investments from customers as it seeks to raise more than $25 million, CEO Paul Russo told us. The financing would serve as a bridge to an IPO in late 2006 or early 2007, Russo said.
As Silicon Optix prepares for a funding round, it has received “first silicon” of Reon VX IC, a less expensive version of its Realta HQV that combines geometric scaling with video processing. Sample quantities of the Reon VX, which will be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC) using a 0.13-micron process, will ship to 3-4 potential customers by year-end with production to follow in the first half of 2006, Russo said. The first products to contain the chip -- LCD TVs, AV receivers and DVD players/recorders -- will likely ship in the 2nd half of 2006, Russo said. Reon VX, which was originally expected to be available in sample quantities in Dec., will replace the Reon GX. It contains a 200-250 MHz processor vs. the 330 MHz found in the Realta HQV and will be less programmable.
The Reon VX will be priced in the low-$30 range in volumes of 10,000-20,000 and high $20 in quantities of 200,000 or more, Russo said. Silicon Optix expects a more than doubling of revenue in 2006 from $11-$12 million this year, Russo said.
Syntax will deploy Silicon Optix’s Realta HQV in some of its 40W and up LCD TVs, pairing it in some cases with an MPEG decoder from either Pixelworks and ATI Technologies, Russo said. Syntax also is expected to deploy the Reon VX, he said.