**MN**
RE: CHPS.
Were you aware?
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Business Wire - February 10, 1997 08:45
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 1997--Chips and Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHPS), the world's number one supplier of video graphics controllers and accelerators for flat panel displays, today announced the HiQVPro(TM) graphics accelerator (65555). An
extension of the popular HiQVideo(TM) graphics controller family, the HiQVPro accelerator's enhanced multimedia capabilities make it an ideal solution for driving images and text on television sets with reduced flicker.
The HiQVPro graphics accelerator enables system manufacturers to offer significant product differentiators in their medium- to high- end notebook computer models, including:
-- Reduced flicker with a high vertical contrast when displaying images on TVs
-- Integrated HiQColor(TM) technology for TFT quality viewing on STN panels
-- Memory interfaces for EDO RAM or high performance 64-bit SDRAM/SGRAM
-- 135MHz RAMDAC operation for 1280 x 1024 display on CRTs at 72Hz
-- Vertical interpolation for playback of 720-pixel wide MPEG-2 images at full screen.
"The new HiQVPro graphics accelerator gives notebook computers the power to drive large television displays for video playback, presentations to large audiences, video gaming, Internet access, and a host of other multimedia applications," said Tim Erjavec, director of marketing at Chips and Technologies. "Because the HiQVPro accelerator is software and pin compatible with the HiQVideo family, a single board design can flexibly accommodate several different graphics controller devices. This allows notebook computer manufacturers to differentiate their products for specific market segments on the basis of video graphics performance and capabilities."
HiQColor Technology for Higher Image Quality STN Panels
The HiQVPro graphics accelerator integrates Chips and Technologies' breakthrough HiQColor technology with TMED (Temporal Modulated Energy Distribution). TMED increases the color
depth and image quality of low cost, passive STN panels, making them competitive with high cost, active matrix TFT panels. This technology enables PC manufacturers to offer value priced
notebooks with large, bright STN panel displays capable of high color fidelity and image quality. By improving the image quality of less expensive STN technology, HiQColor technology also helps
drive the acceptance of large flat panel displays as CRT replacements in the desktop PC marketplace.
New Vertical Interpolation for MPEG-2 Playback
The HiQVPro graphics accelerator solves two important multimedia display problems for the notebook computer industry -- television flicker and MPEG-2 playback. Conventional vertical interpolation is sized for television and MPEG-1 at 352-pixels wide. The new HiQVPro accelerator offers a vertical interpolation circuit that accepts unprocessed images up to 720-pixels wide. This enables smooth scaling of MPEG-2 images up to a full screen at 1280 x 1024 resolution.
Reduced Television Flicker
Television flicker normally occurs when displaying images with high vertical contrast. Because television is interlaced, the high contrast between horizontal lines is exaggerated when "bright" images
and "dim" images appear on alternate scan fields. The alternating bright and dim images on the interlaced display are noticeable to the eye as "flicker."
Chips and Technologies uses on-chip circuitry to average data from odd and even fields, dramatically reducing the flicker from images with a high vertical contrast when displaying on television sets. Three tap horizontal filters and two tap vertical filters provide a stable, flicker-free
image.
Since computer generated images and text are two common sources of high contrast data, this on-chip filter circuitry allows notebook computer users to take advantage of relatively inexpensive large screen televisions to display presentations, access the Web, or play computer based games.
High Performance Graphics Core
Based on an enhanced HiQVideo core, the HiQVPro graphics accelerator integrates an even faster BitBLT engine for optimized Microsoft Windows(TM) performance, as well as a higher
performance PCI interface. The 64-bit multimedia accelerator supports the display modes and high refresh rates required by notebook computer manufacturers today. Supported resolutions range from VGA (640 x 480) up to SXGA (1280 x 1024) with color depths up to 24 bits per pixel (bpp). Refresh rates range from 85Hz to 72Hz.
A highly versatile 64-bit memory interface supports up to 4MB of EDO, SDRAM, or SGRAM memory types and provides up to 50% higher memory bandwidth than previously available with the HiQVideo family. In fact, the HiQVPro accelerator provides sufficient bandwidth to keep dual displays running or run complex vertical interpolation algorithms. The HiQVPro accelerator provides direct interface support for a wide variety of monochrome and color STN/TFT panels; it is footprint compatible with the HiQVideo family and software compatible with the earlier HiQV64(TM) (65554) device.
Price and Availability
The 65555 is packaged in a 256-pin ball grid array (BGA). Pricing is $40.00 in 10,000 unit quantities. Sampling is scheduled to start in March 1997.
Mark |
