LSI Logic's MPEG-2 CODEC Goes into Pioneer DVD-R/RW Recorder

LSI Logic Corporation just let us know that Pioneer will be using its DVxcel MPEG-2 CODEC as a key component for its DVR-7000 DVD recorder. The DVR-7000 is Pioneer's first DVD-R/RW recorder to be introduced worldwide. The DVR-7000 lets you digitally record standard analog video in DVD format as well as letting you playback commercial DVD movie titles. It also allows direct archiving of digital camcorder content via its i.LINK interface onto DVD-R and DVD-RW discs. LSI Logic's DVxcel MPEG-2 CODEC entered the LSI family as a part of the C-Cube acquisition, which wrapped up last month. The DV-enhanced DVxcel builds on the original DVxcel feature-set by adding integrated DV25 CODEC capabilities. This additional functionality enables DVxcel to encode and decode both MPEG-2 and DV25, as well as digitally transcode from DV25 to MPEG-2 on a single chip. DVxcel features include DV25 encode, decode, and DV25-to-MPEG-2 transcode; simultaneous encode and decode of MPEG-2 video streams with audio synchronization; single-pass, variable bit rate (VBR) and constant bit rate (CBR) encoding; multiple, programmable horizontal resolutions; on-chip program stream multiplexing of compressed or uncompressed audio; and on-chip DVD-VR Real-time Read/Write (RTRW) system level formatting. Pioneer's DVR-7000 DVD recorder will be introduced in Japan this month and in North America by the end of this year. It may not be time to toss the old VCR out the window just yet, but that day may be drawing near.