More news here. I just copied the highlights....................
onlineinc.com
More encoders....................................................
MPEG-2 Debuts with New Encoding Solutions from HEURIS, Zapex, and OKI Paving the way to DVD-Video are three new encoding solutions that support MPEG-2, the video standard for DVD. Long-time MPEG player HEURIS has weighed in with MPEG PowerBox, its first MPEG-2 solution, while Zapex Technologies has debuted its own MPEG-2 video compression engine. Rounding out the new releases are three MPEG-2 codecs from OKI recently bolstered by technology tip-ins from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT).
MPEG encoder vendor HEURIS (formerly HEURIS/Pulitzer) has announced its first MPEG-2 solution, MPEG PowerBox, a high-end MPEG-2 turnkey solution based on the Reimay MPEG-2 hardware encoder jointly developed by Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT) and its subsidiary, NTT Electronics. Designed to produce video for high-bandwidth environments and to meet the MPEG-2 standard for distribution on DVD, the MPEG PowerBox combines the Reimay encoder with a rack-mounted or desktop 133MHz Pentium computer with a 4GB hard drive, 17-inch VGA monitor, 6X CD-ROM drive, keyboard, and pointer device. The PowerBox also includes an ATM card to ensure reliable network access without requiring users to configure a network board from a separate vendor. The package ships in a high-impact safety case and lists for $49,000. Two software-based upgrade solutions are also available for MPEG Power Professional users seeking MPEG-2 encoding capability; MPEG Power Professional with MPEG-2 will sell for $2500. An AC-3-enabled version will list for $4000.
(HEURIS, 2675 Scott Avenue, Suite G, St. Louis, MO 63103; 314/534-1514; Fax 314/534-4351; heuris.com)
Zapex Technologies, Inc. has also joined the MPEG-2 migration with the release of the ZX-2000G, a real-time MPEG-2 compression engine. Based on Zapex's own MPEG-2 compression algorithm and high-performance Digital Signal Processor (DSP) chip, the ZX-2000G combines full-search motion estimation, Macroblock-based adaptive frame/field, and real-time preview to deliver low-bit-rate, high-quality MPEG-2 video. As a DSP-based dedicated subsystem--rather than a PC plug-in board--the ZX-2000G engine performs all compression, classification, motion estimation, and multiplexing functions, leaving the PC to handle control, capture, and the user interface. The system also features four MPEG-1 audio channels. It is compatible with a wide range of audio and video input sources, capable of performing MPEG-2 encoding for either NTSC or PAL video systems, and offers AC-3 5.1 channel audio encoding with system stream bit-rates that can be set between 2Mbps and 15Mbps. OEM pricing for the Zapex system, which will be sold through resellers and system integrators, starts at $60,000.
(Zapex Technologies, 1927 Landings Drive, Mountain View, CA 94043; 415/254-2380; Fax 415/254-2399; zapex.com)
OKI Electric Industry, Ltd., which released the first products in its YS3000 series of MPEG-2 encoding systems in mid-1996, has announced the YS3110, a desktop-based multichannel MPEG-2 codec that adds technology developed in partnership with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) to provide multichannel, real-time MPEG-2 encoding and decoding, with bit-rate support ranging from 1.5 to 40Mbps. Features of the system include support for various analog video sources. The YS3110 joins two earlier models in the series, the YS3100 MPEG-2 multichannel encoder, a one board per channel real-time encoder, and the YS3200, a VCR-sized compact single-channel real-time codec. The YS3110 will be distributed through various system integrator arrangements.
(OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd, 10-3, Shibaura 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108 Japan; +81/3-5445-6417; Fax +81/3-5445-6336) |
