Monday April 10, 10:51 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: ATI Technologies Inc.
ATI Announces New Personal Video Recorder Technology
- Demonstrates new industry leading features - Time-shifting and Interactive Program Guide - ATI the first to offer PVR on the PC
TORONTO, April 10 /CNW-PRN/ - ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE:ATY - news; NASDAQ:ATYT - news) today announces the first new technology enabling the PC to become a personal video recorder (PVR). ATI's low cost, high quality PVR solution will be demonstrated at the ATI booth MI 1044 in the Sands Convention Center at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, April 10th to 13th, 2000.
ATI also announced an agreement with Gemstar, the leading provider of interactive electronic program guides, that will allow ATI's PVR users access to the widest range of interactive program guide information.
ATI's new technology builds on its already renowned ATI All-in-Wonder(TM) line of multimedia and TV tuner add-in boards and its ATI MultiMedia Center(TM) smart TV software. Future versions of the All-in-Wonder will incorporate these advanced PVR features: Time-shifting and Interactive Program Guide.
Time-shifting
Time-shifting combines the immediacy of live TV with the storage and replay capability of a VCR to create a whole new way of watching and interacting with TV. By pressing a single button, the user can pause a live TV broadcast, and simply carry on viewing later without missing any of the action. If the user wants to replay a sequence they can back up the program, see what was missed and then catch up to live programming. The user can vary the speed of playback or alternatively skip ahead by a pre-set number of seconds.
Interactive Program Guide
Through the partnership with Gemstar, ATI will integrate Interactive Program Guide (IPG) functionality into the ATI Multimedia Center(TM), offering current TV listings anywhere in North America. Users can scroll through the grid displaying full details of their local and national TV listings, while simultaneously watching the current channel in a live on-screen TV window. With a single mouse-click, the user can mark a program to be recorded or viewed at the scheduled time.
``Gemstar is delighted to partner with ATI on this exciting new software technology. The power and flexibility of the PC is the ideal vehicle for giving the user ultimate control over their TV viewing', said Mike Jeffress, vice president of Internet development at Gemstar.
Summary
Taken together, these new features give the user control over the TV schedule rather than the other way around, turning the PC into a personal video recorder. The user can catch all the action, an entire program or the last few minutes when a distraction momentarily takes them away from the TV.
ATI's existing intelligent TV functionality, as featured in the All-in-Wonder product line include: channel browsing capabilities, instant replay, favorite channel selection, naming channels, parental and program locking, scheduling, stills capture and video desktop functionality, among other applications. The All-in-Wonder line also incorporates support for playback of DVD, Audio CD, Video CD and other popular formats.
Corporate Profile
ATI Technologies Inc., the world's largest supplier of 3D graphics and multimedia technology, designs, manufactures and markets innovative and award-winning multimedia solutions and graphics components for the personal computer, set-top box, consumer electronics appliance and e-appliance markets. An ISO 9002 company, ATI is the world's leading supplier of video and 2D/3D graphics accelerators to OEM and retail customers. Founded in 1985, ATI employs more than 1,800 people at headquarters in Thornhill, Ontario, and in offices in the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Barbados, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. ATI is a public company whose shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.
For other ATI news releases visit our web site at ati.com.
Copyright (C) ATI Technologies Inc., 2000. All company and/or product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.
SOURCE: ATI Technologies Inc. |
