A Silicon Valley start-up says it has developed a chip that will let mainstream music lovers convert their CDs into digital music files without ever touching a PC.
PortalPlayer Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., says its chip and software will allow next-generation boom boxes and home stereos to translate analog music into digital as the music plays and pull content off the Internet using a phone line.
Today, consumers who want to carry music in digital form must use PC software that makes a digital copy, known as “ripping” a CD. They can then either play it through the PC or transfer the digital file onto a portable digital music player.
PortalPlayer joins a growing field of semiconductor companies that want to lead the charge into a new era in consumer music devices. Cirrus Logic, Micronas Semiconductor Holding AG, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments all have their chips in products on store shelves today, but there’s plenty of room: Market research firm Forward Concepts predicts the market for portable digital music players will nearly quadruple, to 11 million units in 2002 from a projected 3 million this year.
So far, digital music has existed only on the fringe–epitomized by PC-savvy techies who carry portable MP3 players and college students who swap tunes using on-line music-sharing services such as Napster. Technology like PortalPlayer’s could change that, bringing digital music to folks who don’t see their computer as a home stereo component.
“This is huge,” said Mike Feibus, analyst with Mercury Research in Scottsdale, Ariz. “As long as it’s tied to computers, the digital audio market is limited to people who enjoy music and are computer-savvy. That’s the challenge: to break the link between their MP3 player and PC, so everyone will want the MP3 player to be their last Walkman.”
PortalPlayer won’t say which manufacturers have agreed to build around the chip. But analysts who have seen the chip’s design say that at least a few companies are bound to jump at the chance to use it and differentiate themselves.
PortalPlayer’s chip has security measures built in that were finalized nearly a year ago under the Secure Digital Music Initiative, a group of more than 100 music, consumer electronics and information technology companies. Devices built to SDMI specifications make it more difficult for music pirates to trade copyrighted material without paying.
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