Mobile phones blamed for DVD-ROM drought
Posted on 16/03/00 15:23 by Jan Willem                             
Mobile phones blamed for DVD-ROM drought
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Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/000316-000026.html

DVD-ROM drives are likely to stay on allocation until summer while the mobile phone industry eats up much-needed components.

Soaring demand for Digital Signal Processor (DSP)chips, needed as PC punters rush to switch from CD-ROMs to DVD-ROMs, as well as for mobile phones, is to blame for the drought.

Lead times are currently around 24 weeks for DSPs in the IT industry, but mostly the chips are on allocation. In the words of Les Billing, Microtronica MD, "they're like gold-dust".

"Very small quantities are getting through as manufacturers try to support the channel. But everyone is capacitied out making chips for the mobile phone industry," he said.

The DVD explosion seems to have taken the industry by surprise. Adrian Thompson, Carrera's marketing director, said: "Growth of the DVD-ROM business was way over what a lot of people realised it would be. Nobody realised how quickly they would take off."

The same DSP component is used in CD-RWs. As demand for these devices has boomed recently '“ partly thanks to consumers increasingly using them for copying PC games '“ manufacturers have been unable to cope.

The industry has been told not to expect supply to start meeting demand until May '“ the time when PC orders generally start to decline. The grey market isn't much help either '“ sources told The Register it is possible to get DVD-ROMs via the back door, but they cost the earth. And it is extremely rare to find DSP chips on the grey market.

It looks like the PC industry will have to wait and play second fiddle to the mobile phone frenzy.®
Reactions
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By Unknown, Thursday 16 March 2000 22:39
sucks, i guess there's more profit in the IT branche then in the GSM-branche
By Unknown, Thursday 16 March 2000 22:41
otherway around I mean, more profit in GSMs then in IT
By Unknown, Friday 17 March 2000 05:25
THis stuff is true!!! I ordered my CD-RW and I got it 25 days later instead of 3 days and now I have ordered a DVD drive 32 days ago and they say the have an estimated arrival date 15 days from now !!!
By Unknown, Friday 17 March 2000 22:50
Great... I just fiund out that the DVD I ordered will be available for shipping 1st May '00 !!! Anybody has the same problem? Does anybody know if DVD drive prices are going up due to this story?
By Unknown, Monday 20 March 2000 04:46
DVD players are very hard to get and the prices are going up by 25 %!
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