INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY and configurable cores outfit, ARC International, has announced that it will now be offering its multimedia codecs on a fixed price, use-as-many-as-you-want, subscription model.

ARC’s range of audio, video and imaging codecs will now be packaged into annually licensable libraries, which the company reckons will help befuddled chip makers simplify matters.

In its press release, ARC noted that semiconductor companies found it difficult to plan for supporting existing multimedia codecs, never mind new standards which the chipmakers had to keep up with for new and improved consumer devices.

This is where ARC’s subscription model comes in, giving designers access to the multimedia codec libraries of their choice on an yearly basis, along with assured access to all currently supported and future standards. It also does away with "per-codec" purchases, which apparently makes it easier on accounting and licensing.

Bill Jackson, ARC's vice president of marketing gushed "Our fixed-price, all-you-can-use codec library model ensures customers can have access to the current and future codecs required for their application", adding, "This provides a compelling competitive edge for our customers ensuring that they always have the latest codec available to them."

The company press release boasted that all codecs in the library were fully standards compliant, certified, pre-verified and optimised to run on a plethora of applications including digital photo frames, mobile TV handsets, camcorders, Digital TVs, set top boxes, cameras, portable media players, and mobile phones. µ