Cirrus Logic's Encoder/Decoder Chip Enables Sony Spressa CD-RW Drives to Achieve Top-Speed & Maximum Performance - Product Announcement

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Dec 27, 1999

Cirrus Logic Inc., the world's leading supplier of CD-ReWritable (CD-RW) encoder/decoders, Thursday confirmed its advanced encoder/decoder chip (CR3470) has been designed into the new Spressa CD-RW drives from Sony Electronics.

Sony's recently introduced Spressa CD-RW drives (two internal, one external) are targeted at the professional, corporate, small office/home office and consumer users. The Spressa Professional SCSI & EIDE drives (CRX140S/C, $399 SRP; CRX140/CH, $349 SRP) support 8x recording of CD-R media and enhanced CD-ROM maximum reading performance of 32x and the Spressa USB Plus drive (CRX100E/X2, $329 SRP) supports 4x CD-RW recording, which is twice the speed of the previous version. All of the drives are bundled with easy-to-use CD-management software for either Windows or Macintosh platforms along with Sony's toll free 24 hour, 365 day technical support.

"Our success in CD-RW drives is based on delivering unparalleled convenience and reliability in archiving and storing large data files," said Dirk Peters, general manager of Value Added Products for Sony Electronics' Computer Components & Peripherals Division. "Our strategy of providing consumers with easy-to-use CD-RW drives that offer faster speeds and higher performance is certainly enhanced by Cirrus Logic's chip solution."

High-Speed CD-RW Encoder/Decoder Sets New Performance Standards Cirrus Logic's CR3470 encoder/decoder, featured in the new Spressa CD-RW drives, support 12x record and 40x read. This unprecedented level of performance enables drive manufacturers to create solutions that, at 40x read, not only allow the drive to equal the performance of today's high-speed, read-only CD-ROM drives but can also read data at up to 4 times faster than a Zip drive. In addition, the supported 12x record speeds enable the drive manufacturer to offer the ability to record data faster than a Zip drive and three times faster than current CD-RW drives.

"In the CD-RW drive market, consumers want the highest record speed possible," said Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts. "With its industry leading 8x record speed, Sony has a clear competitive advantage in a market that is poised to grow over 100 percent in 2000." Strauss noted that Sony is currently the market share leader and their Spressa as well as OEM drives account for more than 25 percent of the CD-RW drive market.

To ensure the highest data integrity at the industry's fastest data transfer rates, Cirrus Logic has embedded its industry-leading programmable Error Correction Code (ECC) circuitry in the CR3470. At a raw error rate as high as 1%, this error correction logic can sustain a throughput equivalent to 90x CD-ROM speed. It also can perform multiple-pass correction, fully exploiting the intrinsic correction capability incorporated in the data structure. Its operation is asynchronous and fully independent of disc and host transfer operations. Thus, fluctuation in correction speed due to error pattern variations will not effect the data throughput. This powerful, proprietary ECC algorithm allows the decoder to retrieve otherwise unrecoverable data.

"As CD-RW drive speeds continue to increase, the ability to quickly identify and correct errors is critical and requires that the encoder/decoder provide a powerful ECC capability," said Bob Dickinson, vice president and general manager of Cirrus Logic's Optical Storage Division. "We will continue to leverage our leading-edge ECC technology to increase write speeds and expand our strong market position in the CD-RW segment." Dickinson noted that Cirrus Logic pioneered ECC technology, and currently has 25 patents related to error correction.

Cirrus Logic is a premier supplier of high performance analog and advanced mixed-signal chip solutions. The company's products, sold under its own name and the Crystal product brand, enable system-level applications in mass storage, audio and precision data conversion. Additional information about Cirrus Logic is available at www.cirrus.com.