NEC/RamBus media processor....................
NEC Multimedia Microcontroller Puts Rambus Technology Directly On-Chip
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 1997--NEC Electronics Inc. will today announce the first multimedia
microcontroller design to include the Rambus Inc. high-bandwidth memory interface directly on the processor.
NEC will unveil the V830R/AV "embedded multimedia superscalar RISC chip technology" at Hot Chips IX, the annual
conference on high-performance chips held here.
The V830R/AV is a superscalar, general-purpose microcontroller that incorporates a number of multimedia peripherals as
well as a Rambus ASIC Cell (RAC) directly on chip. The design uses the currently shipping Concurrent Rambus technology
and, when coupled with a Concurrent Rambus dynamic random-access memory (Concurrent RDRAM) device, enables a
peak bandwidth of 533 Mbytes/second.
The microcontroller is designed to perform real-time, full-speed, full-resolution MPEG-2 decodes and to satisfy the
bandwidth requirements of applications including real-time, high-speed 3D rendered video graphics; digital video disc (DVD);
speech recognition; speech, sound and music synthesis; and high-bandwidth Internet communications.
"Until now, the benefits of high-speed processors have been restricted," said George Wang, general manager for the
microcontroller business unit at NEC Electronics Inc. "Having Rambus technology on chip will provide the necessary high
bandwidth to optimize the flow of data between memory and the microcontroller.
"This design demonstrates NEC's continued leadership in the Rambus-compatible intergrated circuit market," said Subodh
Toprani, vice president and general manager of Rambus Inc.'s Logic Products Division. "Designing the Rambus interface
directly onto a processor realizes the full performance benefit of Rambus technology."
NEC was the first to demonstrate a graphics system using two Rambus interfaces in a single design -- the Rambus Universal
Graphics Back End, or RUGBE, system. Using two Rambus interfaces, called "Rambus Channels", in a single design
effectively doubles the performance of the technology. NEC was also the first to ship a 16-Mbit Rambus DRAM. In addition,
Nintendo uses an NEC application-specific integrated circuit in its Nintendo 64 game system.
Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq: RMBS), based in Mountain View, Calif., develops and licenses high-speed memory-interface
technology that enables semiconductor memory devices to keep pace with faster generations of processors and controllers.
Providers of Rambus-based integrated circuits include the world's leading DRAM, ASIC and PC controller manufacturers.
Even while delivering higher performance, Rambus technology enables low pin-count, high-bandwidth components to use
conventional integrated circuit fab processing, packaging and printed circuit-board designs that result in low-cost, compact
systems.
Systems and chips publicly announced that employ Rambus technology include personal computers from Gateway 2000 and
Micron Electronics Inc.; Silicon Graphics Inc.'s Indigo2 IMPACT workstations; Nintendo's N64 64-bit real-time, 3D video
game system; Cirrus Logic Inc.'s Laguna family of graphics controllers; the Chromatic Research Inc. Mpact media processor;
and future PC main memory controllers from Intel Corporation. More information on Rambus Inc. and its high-bandwidth
memory-interface technology is available at rambus.com .
Note to Editors: The forward-looking statements contained in this release, which reflect management's best judgment based on
factors currently known, involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements contained in this release.
RDRAM is a registered trademark of Rambus Inc. Rambus, Direct Rambus, Direct RDRAM are trademarks of Rambus Inc.
Indigo2 IMPACT is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Laguna is a trademark of Cirrus Logic Inc.
CONTACT: Rambus Inc.
Michele Clark, 415/903-4766
mclarke@rambus.com |
