ESS: The Sony connection? Fits the rumors I have heard.
IMHO: It may be little to late, although it may play well in China in the near term. A DVD/Web browser product will be the one that becomes more universally attractive longer term.
ESS Technology's Latest Video Chip Includes Video CD Player and Internet Access in Single Chip Solution
FREMONT, Calif., March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- ESS Technologies Inc is announcing a new video chip that provides Video CD playback and Internet access functions in a single IC. The new ES3228 video chip will enable end-user products that can play back Video CD titles and provide Internet connection using the single processor that is contained in the ESS chip.
With current solutions available on the market, separate processor chips are required for each function. ESS uses its unique Programmable Multimedia Processor (PMP) technology to provide the Video CD requirements, as well as the Internet connection. By utilizing the capability of the PMP in the ES3228, the need for an additional processor and certain redundant logic circuitry is eliminated, thereby reducing the total system cost.
According to ESS, the ES3228 is suitable for the pending VCD Internet standard now being developed in Japan. The VCD Internet standard specifies how a video CD and an Internet browser can be tied together. The standard is being developed jointly by a group of manufacturers headed by Sony, Philips, JVC, Matsushita, and Hitachi.
"The ES3228 is ESS Technology's first product that combines a PC and a consumer product into one solution," said Fred Chan, ESS' chairman and chief executive officer. "By combining video CD and Internet capabilities into a single chip, we can offer a reduction in the number of system components, which lowers the overall cost of the system. That should serve to expand the market to meet the growing desires of the consumer."
A graphical user interface circuitry is included on the chip to provide all graphics display functions, as well as a "virtual keyboard" on the television set. This keyboard is emulated by ESS-developed browser software that runs on the ES3228 and is loaded from a local CD ROM. A flicker filter is also integrated in the chip to eliminate flickering characters on the television screen.
The video portion of the ES3228 contains all the features contained in other ESS MPEG-1 video products:
-- SmartZoom(TM) allows the user to zoom in or out of any selected portion of a still picture frame;
-- SmartScale(TM) function automatically scales video images from NTSC to PAL and PAL to NTSC formats;
-- SmartStream(TM) function enables playback of video CDs that have poor quality encoding or that have been scratched;
-- Power management provides ACTIVE, STANDBY, and SUSPEND modes; this power management feature expands the play time in portable applications;
-- Playback Control sequence for interactive Video CD 2.0 applications;
-- Full Screen On-Screen-Display (OSD) feature to display system status and serve as user interface;
-- Karaoke for sing-along, with key shift and echo functions;
-- DiscScan(TM) function enables the user to scan through a video CD and display a few seconds of each track in multiple small windows (the user can select individual tracks and zoom out to play that track on a full screen);
-- TrackScan(TM) allows the user to scan a single track;
-- QuickScan(TM) enables the user to play back a few seconds of each track on a full screen;
-- Remote Control interface logic which eliminates the requirement of an external microcontroller for remote control.
The ES3228 will be available for sampling in the second quarter of 1997. Projected pricing for the chip in production quantities is $28.00.
ESS Technology, Inc. is a leading supplier of PC audio and digital video semiconductor solutions for the PC and consumer markets. ESS designs, develops, and markets highly integrated mixed signal semiconductor and software solutions for multimedia applications. ESS, headquartered in Fremont, California, has sales and technical support offices in Beijing and Shenzhen, China; Tokyo, Japan; Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong; and Austin, Texas. ESS Technology is listed on the Nasdaq Market System under the symbol ESST. World Wide Web site: esstech.com
SmartZoom, SmartScale, SmartStream, DiscScan, TrackScan, and QuickScan are trademarks of ESS Technology, Inc.
The matters discussed in this news release include certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including the timely availability and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the dependence on continued growth in demand for PC and consumer multimedia products, the management of growth of the company, and the other risk detailed from time to time in the SEC reports of ESS, including the report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1996. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. SOURCE ESS Technology Inc. |
