Semiconductor firm launches MP3 chip-set for set-tops

US-based ESS Technology has released a chip-set designed to allow set-top boxes and hi-fi separates to play back digital music encoded in the MP3 format. The ES4280 chip-set can play not only downloaded MP3 files but also MP3s recorded on a CD-ROM. It also supports other digital audio formats, including Real Audio and Microsoft's Windows Media Player format. The company said it had chosen to support MP3 because it had become the de facto standard format for digital music distribution. ®