S3's Trio3D Sets a New Standard for Business Desktop Productivity In the Mainstream Market
PR Newswire - November 03, 1997 08:59
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Jump to first matched termCombining the Industry's Highest 2D Graphics Performance with Advanced 3D and
Video Capabilities, S3's Trio3D Brings New Productivity Capabilities to
Corporate and SOHO PC Users
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's largest supplier
of graphics, video and multimedia accelerators, S3(R) Incorporated
(Nasdaq: SIII) announced today the newest member of its Trio(R) family of
business acceleration solutions, the Trio3D accelerator. Tailored to the
needs of corporate and SOHO PC users, S3's Trio3D accelerator delivers the
industry's highest 2D graphics performance, advanced video conferencing/video
training capabilities and "business-ready" 3D graphics. Part of S3's complete
business solution, the Trio3D accelerator provides the next-generation
hardware platform for S3's 3D-based productivity applications announced last
week.(B)
"Our research indicates a continued strong demand for solid 2D
capabilities, especially in the business segment. By providing higher 2D
graphics performance without compromising on multimedia capabilities such as
video and 3D graphics, S3's Trio3D has the right set of features for next-
generation business graphics solutions," said Dr. Jon Peddie, president, Jon
Peddie & Associates in Tiburon, CA, a leading research firm tracking digital
multimedia technology. "More importantly, S3 delivered this feature set
within a hardware/software compatible configuration and well within PC
manufacturers' cost constraints."
"Leveraging the strength of its Trio family of products -- the single-
largest installed base of graphics accelerators in the world -- S3 established
itself as the leader in graphics solutions for the business desktop PC
market," said Mike Nell, vice president and general manager of S3's Desktop
Graphics Group. "With the launch of Trio3D, S3 is continuing this leadership
role by providing new hardware and software capabilities focused on meeting
the productivity needs of business users."
Industry Leading 2D Graphics Acceleration
As productivity applications continue to evolve - becoming more and more
data intensive -- end-user demand for higher performance 2D graphics
acceleration will continue to increase.
"Each new generation of business productivity applications has placed a
significantly higher level of demand on the graphics accelerator," said Dean
McCarron, principal at Mercury Research in Scottsdale, AZ. "Looking forward
to the launch of future productivity applications, such as Microsoft's Office
'98, this trend will likely continue. As applications continue to manage and
present more data to an end user, they will require more graphics horsepower."
Designed to meet the needs of tomorrow's productivity applications, S3's
Trio3D features a newly developed 2D graphics engine that delivers the highest
level of 2D graphics performance available for the mainstream PC market. Key
features of the Trio3D's 2D engine include a 128-bit pipelined architecture,
support for 125MHz SGRAM memory and S3's Burst Command Interface - a
proprietary protocol technology that works in conjunction with either the PCI
or AGP bus to increase the command and data efficiency of the Trio3D
architecture.
Advanced Video Capabilities
With features such as high quality video manipulation
(blending/stretching/scaling) and the ability to simultaneously accelerate
dual video windows, S3's Trio3D provides an optimal hardware platform for the
emergence of advanced video conferencing and video training applications on
mainstream business PCs.
The Trio3D is the first accelerator to fully implement the industry
standard Video Interface Port (VIP) bus which provides a dedicated interface
from the graphics accelerator to digital video devices and streamlines the
movement of this data versus current PCI bus solutions. S3's Trio3D also
allows for a low-cost, easy-to-implement interface to third party multimedia
peripherals such as video cameras, TV-tuners and DVD/MPEG-2 decoders.
"Business-Ready" 3D Graphics
Trio3D's "business-ready" 3D feature set delivers the right mix of 3D
performance and quality needed for emerging mainstream 3D productivity
applications.
Based on S3's widely adopted S3d architecture, the Trio3D's rendering
features include MIP mapping, tri-linear filtering and perspective correction
of textures to deliver images that are free of visual artifacts such as
"sparkle" and "jaggies." Other features include transparency for enabling
realistic rendering of glass, water and plastic objects; depth cueing to
enable the rendering of real-world environments; and Z-buffering to speed the
removal of hidden surfaces for improved performance and visual quality.
S3's Trio3D also provides support for Intel's Accelerated Graphics Port
(AGP) standard to enable higher levels of visual realism while helping to
contain solution costs for memory intensive 3D applications.
S3's Software Productivity Program
S3's Software Productivity Program leverages the capabilities of S3's
advanced multimedia hardware to provide software solutions that allow
professionals and consumers alike to work more effectively. Moving beyond a
traditional 2D interface, products within S3's Productivity Program allow
users to better find, convey and understand information.
S3 last week (see S3 press release dated October 27th) announced the
following products in its Software Productivity Program:
-- LiveWork3D -- Co-designed by S3 and TGS, LiveWork3D enables users to
more effectively convey information through the easy addition of real-
time, interactive 3D content to many of today's most popular
productivity applications.
-- VisiDrive3D -- Jointly specified and developed by S3 and InXight, a
spin-off of Xerox PARC, VisiDrive3D is the industry's first 3D
visualization tool for PC file systems, allowing users to better manage
and understand information contained on their local or network drives.
Software/Hardware Compatibility
Available in either a 208 Plastic Quad Flat Pack (PQFP) or 336 Ball Grid
Array (BGA) package, the Trio3D provides add-in card, motherboard and PC
manufacturers with a pin compatible hardware upgrade path from existing Trio
and ViRGE(R)-based designs as well as to future S3 3D accelerators. With this
hardware compatibility, manufacturers can leverage their investments in
engineering by using a single design across multiple product lines. In
addition, by taking advantage of the Trio3D's software compatibility with
previous generations of S3 products, the Trio3D enables faster time-to-market
for manufacturers.
Pricing and Availability
The Trio3D is sampling now and will be in volume production in the first
half of 1998. In quantities of 10,000, the Trio3D will be available for
$22 USD.
About S3 Incorporated
S3 Incorporated, founded in 1989 with headquarters in Santa Clara,
California, is the world's largest supplier of multimedia acceleration
hardware and its associated software. S3 is committed to applying its
expertise in audio, video and graphics acceleration to create innovative and
affordable products for the home, desktop and mobile markets. The company's
vision for the future is to also bring a rich, consumer electronics-type
experience to PC users -- integrating the best available consumer multimedia
technologies into the mainstream PC platform.
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth
in this press release, such as statements relating to the company's ability to
drive market trends, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risk
and uncertainties, including the impact of competitive products and pricing
and of alternative technological advances, market acceptance of the company's
and its customers' new products, and other risks detailed from time to time in
S3's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 1996.
S3, Trio and ViRGE are registered trademarks of S3 Incorporated. The S3
corporate logo is a trademarks of S3 Incorporated. Other marks referenced
herein are the property of their respective owners. All third party quotes
and product information are furnished by the respective companies.
A) Sources: Dataquest (San Jose, CA), In-Stat(Scottsdale, AZ), Jon Peddie
Associates (Tiburon, CA), Mercury Research (Scottsdale, AZ).
B) See October 27, 1997 press release entitled "S3 Delivers 3D-Based
Productivity Applications for the Corporate and SOHO PC Markets"
SOURCE S3 Incorporated
/CONTACT: Press Inquiries, Paul Crossley of S3, 408-588-8664, or
Pcross@S3.com, or Investor Inquiries, Sandy O'Halloran of S3, 408-588-8000,
ext. 3994, or SandyOH@S3.com/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804,
ext. 111409/
/Web site: s3.com /
(SIII) |
