Here's another MPEG-2 announcement from IBM, curiously dated later than the one I just posted.
This company is so mysterious it makes me suspicious.
Are there any technophile out ther who can comment on just where the Innovacom chip is relative to the competition?
IBM introduces family of six MPEG-2 encoder
and decoder chips
March 25, 1996
Fishkill, New York -- IBM today announced six chips, including three MPEG-2 encoder chips and three MPEG-2
decoder chips, to deliver sophisticated digital video and audio functions for the broadcasting, consumer electronics and
communications industries.
The chips also support network-centric computing applications, enabling large amounts of digital video and audio to be
transmitted and received via satellite or computer networks. They will appear in products made by manufacturers
designing the latest MPEG-2 digital video and audio equipment for professional broadcasters and movie makers, as
well as multimedia PCs and workstations, and digital set-top boxes. (MPEG refers to the Moving Pictures Experts
Group, the industry group that has devised the primary standards for digital video and audio.)
"IBM's three-chip encoder set offers the industry's fewest number of chips to deliver broadcast-quality MPEG-2
encoding at breakthrough prices," said Nick King, general manager of communications, input/output and storage
products for IBM Microelectronics. "Fewer chips cut down on the expense for manufacturers in building their
products."
Some of the customers committed to IBM's MPEG-2 products include: MPR Teltech Ltd. of Burnaby, British
Columbia; Tektronix, Inc. of Beaverton, Ore.; The 3DO Company, of Redwood City, Cal.; Sonic Solutions of Novato,
Cal.; Vela Research, Inc. of St. Petersburg, Fla.; Wired Incorporated, of Mountain View, Cal.; and the IBM PC
Company.
Three of the six chips offer full-function MPEG-2 encoding, or compression, to solve requirements for economical
storage and transmission of digital video data. The other three are single-chip MPEG-2 decoders, including a
video-only decoder, and two audio/video decoders.
Encoder chips
The new encoder chip set provides real-time, full-function MPEG-2 encoding, or compression, and operates in several
combinations, of one, two or three chips working together. Potential uses include products to help:
Hollywood movie makers to design special effects
Cable companies to insert local advertising in national broadcasts
Professional video producers to create digital video segments for television
"Desktop" publishers in small offices or home offices, (called "SOHO" users) to develop computer-generated
digital video material
Video conferencing with higher-quality, more life-like digital video images
Decoder chips
At the same time, IBM is also introducing three new single-chip MPEG-2 decoders, including two different chips that
each deliver the highest quality of video decompression in a single audio/video chip, and a single-chip, video-only
decoder. The MPEG-2 decoder chips can be used in such products as set-top boxes for video on demand, multimedia
PCs, or on add-in cards made by manufacturers to upgrade personal computers into more powerful machines.
"IBM's ThinkPad 760CD uses the MPEGCD1 video-only MPEG-2 decoder and produces excellent video on its
12-inch display screen," said Frank Zurla, product manager of IBM Microelectronics' MPEG-2 design team. "These
three new decoders have the industry's best decompressed digital video quality and are ideal components for such
demanding applications as multimedia PCs and set-top boxes."
IBM will demonstrate the chips at the National Association of Broadcasters' (NAB) convention in Las Vegas, Nev.,
from April 14-18, Booth 10338.
Pricing and availability
The MPEGSE10, MPEGSE20 and MPEGSE30 encoder chips are available for sampling now, with general availability
in June. The price of the three-chip set is $1,500 in quantities of hundreds. The price of the three-chip set in prototype
quantities is $2,500.
The MPEGCD10 video decoder chip is generally available now and the MPEGCD20 and MPEGCD21 audio/video
decoder production level chips will be generally available in October. Audio/video decoder chip samples are currently
available. Price per MPEGCD20 decoder chip is approximately $30-$35 in set-top box quantities above 100,000.
Complete reference designs that illustrate how IBM's MPEG-2 semiconductors can be used with other
industry-standard interface and control components will be made available.
IBM Microelectronics is a merchant market supplier that offers an extensive portfolio of products, ranging from
semiconductor design and fabrication to complete and fully tested functional assemblies. *IBM Microelectronics is a
trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. All other names or products are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
Information on IBM Microelectronics' MPEG offerings is also available via IBM's fax service at 415/855-4121.
Pricing is current as of March 25, 1996 and is subject to change without notice. |
