Cirrus Logic is backing the Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP) audio compression with its new DVD decoder chip, the first to support the Hi-Fi format. The Crystal CS49300 decoder delivers 24-bit output resolution and sample rates of up to 192KHz, giving very high quality audio playback. In comparison, a CD player has 16-bit output resolution with a sample rate of 44.1KHz. The chip also supports alternative formats such as MPEG and Dolby Digital.
The MLP format was developed by Cambridge, UK-based Hi-Fi company Meridian Audio Ltd and launched in March last year. Other audio compression formats such as MP3 and MPEG use aggressive compression on the data and, when decompressed, sound quality is degraded because some data is lost. The MLP algorithm uses gentler compression and so maintains the quality of the original sound source. Dolby is handling the licensing of the MLP format.
Chris Russell, European director of marketing at Cirrus, said that the new chip has attracted interest from major European and Asian DVD player manufacturers. The CS49300 is available for sampling now and will go into volume production in the third quarter of this year. Russell expects DVD players using the chip to be on the market in time for the crucial Christmas period. The chip costs $15 each in volumes of 10,000 units.
