With the Digital Visual Interface standard for connecting computers to flat panel and other digital displays now a done deal, Silicon Image Inc has begun selling a chipset for use in flat panel displays which is claimed to bring digital monitors the same Multisync screen quality as cathode ray tube, CRTs. The controller, SiI 801, which also implements DVI costs $17.25 for 10,000-up.
Silicon Image says that it will announce its first large PC OEM for the chipset and expects that PCs implementing DVI will be widely available in the second half of the year. DVI uses electrical and other IP donated royalty-free by Silicon Image. The 801 which supports XGA panel and includes the company’s PixelPrecision technology said to be the first all-digital image processing solution which deliver Multisync-like quality. It’s the first in a family of Digital Visual Controller products. DVI, now supported by VESA the Video Electronics Standards Association, will enable the development of a new generation of connectors which connect PCs and digital displays without passing through analog converter (although VESA’s specification will also support analog devices).
In future Silicon Image will target other types of displays including LCDs, plasma and digital CRTs especially those which serve as multipurpose displays for TVs and PC monitors. Silicon Image expects the market for flat panel displays to take off when they get below the $550m mark. Last year they broker the psychologically important $1,000 barrier in 14 and 15 configurations. Manufacturers are expected to sell all that they can make this year.
