Posted by: cksla
In reply to: None Date: 7/9/2001 4:40:40 PM
Post # of 11825
Local MP3 developer signs joint development tie-up with AIWA
DnC Tech, a Korean multimedia solution developer, has signed with AIWA of Japan to jointly develop a portal digital music player. Their joint project is based on DnC's novel technology that encodes any format of sound to MP3 files without having to use a computer.
The new product will be the world's first audio player that records music from radios, CDs or other ordinary audio equipment, said Park Han-seo, DnC president, at a signing ceremony yesterday. "Our device will expand MP3 markets dramatically by making them available to those who are unfamiliar with PCs and the Internet," he said.
MP3 refers to a format for condensing large-size audio signals into digital files without harming sound quality. The music files are downloaded on the Internet and played back on computers or audio players.
Last year, DnC developed the world's first digital audio encoding chip that enables MP3 player to record music from ordinary audio devices, not just from computers.
The invention is far ahead of that of Sharp of Japan, the first manufacturer of MP3 player with an encoding function. Sharp's products are able to record music from computers only.
DnC's player, however, is not without drawbacks. The sound quality suffers from noise and other irregularities caused in the encoding process.
"We have spent more than four months trying to clarify sound, without a desirable result," he said. Park said technical tie-up with AIWA solved the problem. "Thanks to AIWA's advanced sound tuning technology, we have improved sound quality close to that of CDs," he said.
DnC estimates the global market for MP3 players to exceed 10 million units this year and more than 50 percent of analog audio devices are expected to be replaced by digital players over the next two years. With its user-friendly features, DnC's new players will help speed up the market transition, he said.
DnC is a forerunner in developing Internet-based multimedia solutions and chip design technology in Korea. It signed a chipset design agreement with Texas Instruments in June 1999.
It also agreed with Microsoft Corp. in December to jointly develop an audio encoding and decoding chip solution based on the software giant's audio signal processing code called Window Media Audio (WMA). DnC has sent its engineers to Microsoft headquarters to develop the chip solution and will have the exclusive right to worldwide sales of WMA-based chip.
The contract established DnC as the only company in the world to possess both the mainstream audio chip solutions
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