Following in the steps of Cirrus Logic, ESS Technology and LSI Logic, Taiwanese IC design houses are expected to launch self-developed MPEG-2 encoders for DVD recorders in the second half of this year, according to DigiTimes. Cirrus Logic and ESS recently started volume production of DVD recorder-use encoders, while LSI Logic has also come out with its own encoder controllers used in DVD recorders. Seeing great potential in the consumer-oriented DVD recorder market, local IC design companies have geared up efforts in developing new products in the area, the sources said.

MediaTek and ALi reportedly are the only companies in Taiwan providing MPEG-2 decoder and servo controller integrated chips used in DVD-ROM drives and DVD players. According to earlier reports, the two companies also expect to introduce solutions for DVD+RW and DVD-RW drives in the second half of 2003, but details about the solutions are unavailable at the moment.

MPEG-2 encoders and decoders are reportedly priced between US$30 and US$32 as a set, sources said.