A new implementation of the Silicon Audio Player based on an MPEG/audio decoder LSI

A new implementation of the Silicon Audio player is presented. It decodes data which has been encoded by the MPEG/Audio Layer II algorithm standardized by the ISO (International Standardization Organization). The encoded data is stored in a semiconductor memory card. Decoding is carried out by an MPEG/audio decoder chip. Thanks to this dedicated LSI chip, the power consumption of the player is reduced so that the player could be driven by four nickel-metal hydride batteries for four and a half hours. Since the Silicon Audio player has no mechanical movement, it is robust against vibration that has been a serious problem for portable audio players. The recording time is defined as a function of the memory-card capacity and the compression ratio. Assuming one eighth compression with a sampling rate of 48 kHz, a 24-minute recording is possible with a 32-Mbyte memory card.