Chipmaker ATI Technologies, in comments at the FCC on the Commiss...

“reference design” chip should help reduce the retail price of DTV converter boxes to about $50 by fall 2006 “if substantial demand for such devices materializes through steps taken by the Commission or other means.” The Xilleon 240 incorporates all the functions of a DTV converter box in a single chip, ATI said. Assuming “historical price reductions and anticipated manufacturing volumes,” ATI said, the production cost of adding DTV functionality to a TV set will be less than $40 by fall 2006. Other chip producers such as Motorola and Zoran have offered similar cost projections. In considering an earlier deadline for the tuner mandate, the FCC also should study the time and cost burdens of CE makers’ redesigning existing engineering and manufacturing plans, “as well as the logistical, distribution and marketing hurdles that an earlier deadline would create,” ATI urged. But the company said it believes “all affected industries will address these issues in the most appropriate manner to ensure full compliance with the Commission’s mandate.”