But wait there's more!!!!!
Monday September 22 6:02 AM EDT
Company Press Release
Mpact 2 "3DVD" is the World's First Single-Chip 3D/2D Graphics
and DVD Solution
Single-Chip Approach To Provide PCs With Free DVD
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 1997--Chromatic Research, in partnership with LG
Semicon, SGS Thomson Microelectronics and Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. (TAEC), today
announced Mpact 2 3DVD(TM) -- the world's first single-chip 3D/2D graphics and DVD solution for multimedia
PCs.
Based on the Mpact 2 media processor --a multitasking ``supercomputer on a chip'' capable of performing six
billion operations per second -- the Mpact 2 3DVD solution works in conjunction with a PC's X86/MMX(TM)
CPU to provide leading 3D/2D graphics performance and home theater-quality DVD video and audio.
Mpact 2 3DVD eliminates the need for separate DVD chips and cards but costs the same as graphics-only
solutions, thus enabling PC manufacturers to add high-quality, hardware-accelerated DVD to their PCs without
the added cost of additional DVD decoder chips.
This cost-effective approach will allow PC manufacturers to offer best-of-class 3D and 2D graphics
performance and the highest DVD quality on their mainstream, midrange Windows(R) 95 home PC models.
Mpact 2 3DVD will provide users with faster and more realistic 3D gaming, higher-quality display for 2D
graphics applications like digital photo editing, and new forms of PC-based DVD entertainment that combine
the highest-quality video and audio with 3D graphics, the Internet and the interactivity unique to the PC platform.
Add-in card manufacturers will be able to offer PC users a step up to high-performance 3D and 2D graphics
together with home theater-quality DVD, all in a single, low-cost add-in board.
Among the early customers for Mpact 2 3DVD technology are Leadtek Research Inc. (Fremont, CA,
510/490-8076) and E4 (San Jose, CA, 408/441-6060) who will offer add-in cards for both OEM and end user
retail markets. Pricing and availability will be announced separately by these companies.
``The Mpact 2 media processor, with its powerful floating-point enhancements, offers the leading-edge 3D
graphics that will be required for mainstream multimedia PCs in 1998,'' said Martin Reynolds vice president of
technical assessment for Dataquest. ``Coupled with the top-quality DVD support that Mpact provides, Mpact 2
represents a true bargain for system manufacturers and their customers.''
``By leveraging the increasing power of X86/MMX CPUs, and with the resources of world-class semiconductor
companies like LG Semicon, SGS Thomson and Toshiba behind it, the Mpact 2 media processor is on track to
redefine PC multimedia price/performance,'' said John Monti, vice president of marketing, Chromatic
Research Inc.
Accelerating Adoption of DVD
Mpact 2 media processors are expected to quicken the pace of DVD becoming a standard PC feature.
According to Dataquest (San Jose, CA), the cost of DVD-ROM drives will dip below the cost of
high-performance CD-ROM drives in mid-1998, leaving only the cost of DVD video and audio acceleration as
the barrier to DVD becoming a standard 1998 PC feature.
Because the Mpact 2 media processor also functions as the PC's graphics chip (a required component in
PCs), it eliminates this cost of extra DVD chips while still providing the hardware acceleration required for
high-quality DVD video and audio.
Industry-Leading Mainstream 3D and 2D Graphics Performance
Because the Mpact 2 3DVD solution integrates video decoding capabilities on the same chip, it is capable of
providing television-quality MPEG video as textures on 3D graphics objects. This will enable a future
generation of 3D games to achieve an unprecedented degree of realism in their 3D environments. For
example, if a 3D game uses a forest as a background, the current approach would be to use many textured
triangles that collectively create a static, cartoonish forest. By incorporating video footage of an actual forest
into the game, however, a detailed forest would be displayed, complete with individual trees and leaves
blowing in the breeze.
The Mpact 2 media processor has also been optimized for real-time 3D graphics speed and performance,
providing 10 to 20 times the performance of first-generation 3D graphics processors. In current testing, it
measures well over 200 3D Winmarks. (see footnote 1)
This exceptional 3D graphics throughput is made possible by:
Dedicated 35-stage 3D pipeline -- 3D rendering engine that complements the programmable 3D
operations already occurring in other sections of the Mpact media processor architecture;
1.3 MB/second memory bandwidth addressing up to 8 MB of high-speed, concurrent Rambus RDRAM
memory;
500 MFLOPS (Millions of Floating Point Operations Per Second) set-up engine to define polygon points
and their color spaces;
A dedicated texture cache that provides the 3D rendering engine with ultra-fast access to the most
often-used textures.
The combination of these features results in faster, smoother and more realistic definition, drawing and
refreshing of 3D polygons, a requirement for sophisticated 3D games.
The Mpact 2 media processor also includes high-end 3D features not found in most other 3D graphics
accelerators, such as:
MPEG video textures;
Trilinear filtering, which smoothes flat, textured surfaces like walls during zooms; and
Specular highlighting, which shows reflection from a light source on an object's surface.
The Mpact 2 3DVD solution provides a high level of compatibility and flexibility in addition to its performance
features. It is one of the few 3D solutions that accelerates all of the features offered in the Microsoft Direct 3D
API (Application Programming Interface), giving it the best compatibility and performance with 3D PC games
being written to this Microsoft standard. It can be implemented on both PCI-bus and the new Intel AGP
(Accelerated Graphics Port) bus, which provides even greater bandwidth for large textures.
Because the Mpact 2 media processor is software-upgradable, it also protects users against obsolescence as
3D standards evolve.
The Mpact 2 media processor is also a very powerful 2D accelerator for both Windows and DOS VGA. In
current testing, it delivers top-tier 2D WinMark performance of 120+ million (see footnote 2) with fast,
flicker-free, high-resolution color modes, including 1600 x 1200 x 18 bit x 85 Hz and 1280 x 1024 x 24 bit x 85
Hz. Fast 2D performance is especially important for mainstream PC applications such as digital photography
and games.
Setting The Quality Standard For PC DVD
In addition to its cost-effectiveness for DVD, the integrated, single-chip 3DVD solution eliminates quality
degradation and inefficiencies inherent in forcing a DVD chip to work with a separate graphics chip.
Mpact 3DVD takes advantage of its integration, exceptional processing power, and the flexibility of
software-driven functionality to advance the state-of-the-art in PC DVD:
720 x 480 native resolution playback. Other DVD solutions must scale DVD's native resolution of 720 x
480 to fit into a standard PC graphics mode, such as 640 x 480 or 800 x 600, creating distortions and
artifacts in the process. Because Mpact 3DVD controls the PCs graphics as well as DVD, it is able to
adjust the PC's graphics mode to the DVD's native 720 x 480 resolution, providing artifact- and
distortion-free playback that is true to the source material.
De-interlacing. Because most DVD video content is created for TV's ``interlaced display'' method which
alternates between drawing odd and even lines to compose each video frame, distracting visual
distortions often result from displaying the image on a PC's ``progressive scan display'', which draws
lines of a video frame sequentially. Mpact 3DVD de-interlaces (synchronizes) these video lines prior to
PC display, eliminating jagged lines and motion artifacts.
Dynamic, high-quality scaling of screen size. DVD can be displayed in a window and can be arbitrarily
scaled to virtually any size while maintaining the highest-quality image and frame rate, providing visibility
to the PC's desktop and other applications while enjoying DVD content.
Chromabright(TM) and Chromadjust(TM) features provide real-time digital control over brightness, color,
contrast and more. These exclusive Mpact technologies enable computer monitors, which ordinarily play
dark video with muted colors, to provide bright, vivid color similar to television sets.
SRS TruSurround(TM) technology provides digital surround sound from just two speakers.
AVsync(TM) technology ensures exact synchronization between audio and video, a problem with many
other DVD implementations.
Further, in contrast to specialized graphics chips that can accelerate only small parts of DVD video such as
motion compensation, the Mpact 3DVD solution works with the X86/MMX CPU to deliver high-quality
acceleration for all critical aspects of DVD video and audio, including:
Full-screen, 30 frames-per-second MPEG-2 video decoding, even at the maximum DVD bit rate;
Full six-channel Dolby Digital(TM) surround sound audio decoding;
CSS (Content Scrambling System) for playback of Hollywood movies;
Full sub-picture processing, navigation, via an intuitive player application
MPEG-1 decoding, VideoCD 2.0 compatibility, and more.
Mpact Media Processors
Mpact media processors are low-cost, supercomputer-like chips that work in conjunction with an X86/MMX
CPU to provide virtually any combination of high-performance multimedia functions. Functionality is determined
by specialized software, called Mpact Mediaware modules, that run simultaneously on the Mpact media
processor and CPU.
Chromatic Research architects Mpact media processors and develops and sells Mpact Mediaware. LG
Semicon, SGS Thomson and Toshiba co-develop, manufacture and sell Mpact media processors.
First-generation Mpact media processors with Mpact Mediaware for DVD are currently used in products from
Gateway 2000, Micron Electronics, STB, E4 and others.
Mpact 2 Mediaware Roadmap
Mpact Mediaware for 3DVD, designed specifically for the Mpact 2 media processor, includes integrated Mpact
Mediaware modules for 3D graphics, 2D graphics and DVD.
The same Mpact 2 media processor will be capable of providing even more high-performance multimedia
functionality in the near future. New Mpact Mediaware modules for videophone, home movie editing, audio,
fax/modem and telephony are expected to be made available by Chromatic Research to PC and add-in card
manufacturers 1H 1998.
Mpact 2 Pricing and Availability
Pricing and availability of Mpact 2 media processors will be announced separately by LG Semicon, SGS
Thomson Microelectronics and Toshiba. Complete Mpact 2 solutions including Mpact Mediaware for 3DVD will
be available to computer OEMs and add-in card manufacturers in October, 1997.
About Chromatic Research and Mpact
Chromatic Research is the leader in media processor technology and the world's first ``chipless''
semiconductor company. Based on a unique business model, the company has joined forces with LG
Semicon, SGS Thomson and Toshiba who co-develop, manufacture and sell Chromatic-architected Mpact
media processors while Chromatic Research develops and sells the enabling Mpact mediaware software.
Customers include Gateway 2000, Micron Electronics, STB, E4, Sharp, GVC, ProSide, Anam, Ocean,
OpenTech and Unico. Founded in 1993, the company is privately held. For more information on Chromatic
Research or Mpact, please visit www.chromatic.com or www.mpact.com .
1. As measured in July, 1997 by Business Graphics WinMark 97, developed by Ziff-Davis Benchmark
Operations. Platform: Intel Pentium II 266 MHz.
2. As measured in July, 1997 by Business Graphics WinMark 97, developed by Ziff-Davis Benchmark
Operations. Platform: Intel Pentium II 266 MHz.
Note to Editors: Mpact, 3DVD, Chromabright, Chromadjust and AVsync are trademarks of Chromatic
Research. Other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
Chromatic Research
Dave Wilt, 408/752-9217
wilt@chromatic.com
or
Technology Solutions
Greg Vitarelli, 408/280-6000
gvitarelli@tsipr.com
or
Cindy Morgan-Olson, 212/696-2000
colson@tsipr.com |
