Analog Devices is into the programmable DSP biz. Here is its audio processor, which acts a DVD audio processor, a modem, and more..................
Analog Devices Announces Industry's First Microsoft
Windows 98-Based Audio Accelerator Supporting Intel
AC'97, USB, 1334 Sound, Modem Adaptors
SoundMAX 64 Digital Audio Delivers 90 dB 'Pro-Quality' SNR; Combines 1.23 GOPS
DirectX Acceleration with Intel DC '97 and PCI-PM/ACPI Compliance for Home PCs
NORWOOD, Mass., Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) today
took a leadership position in the PC audio/modem industry with its
announcement of SoundMAX(TM) 64, the industry's first audio accelerator
optimized for Microsoft Windows 98 multimedia applications and supporting
Intel AC'97 motherboards and PCI cards, as well as USB and IEEE 1394 audio and
modem adaptors. SoundMAX 64 has been designed for accelerating PC audio
applications such as DVD/Dolby Digital playback, Microsoft Windows-based 3D
gaming, and DLS wavetable music, with modem extensibility that supports 56K
Internet access and telephony.
"As the PC industry increasingly makes the transition from ISA to PCI
audio and modems, it is also moving from Windows 95 to Windows 98," said
Campbell Stras, Analog Devices' SoundMAX product line manager. "SoundMAX 64
provides an attractive solution for PC system OEMs because it supports and
complements Intel's and Microsoft's strategic initiatives with MMX processors,
AC'97, ACPI and Windows 98. It concurrently accelerates multiple DirectX APIs
-- and supports extensible features, including audio/modem integration, that
fundamentally attack the system cost structure. All this contributes to the
OEM's ability to provide more exciting features for the PC user's dollar,
particularly in the rapidly-growing home PC market -- where PC users want
interactive 3D and multiplayer gaming, faster Internet access, multimedia
conferencing, DVD playback capability -- and compatibility with their
installed base of applications."
"A forward-looking audio solution must accommodate several emerging
applications such as DirectSound mixing, downloadable MIDI samples, 3D
positional audio and multi-channel decoding," said Andy Fischer, senior
analyst at Jon Peddie Associates. "OEM's can no longer settle for
compatibility with a legacy sound standard, but must investigate ways to
distinguish their multimedia offerings. The work that Analog Devices and
EuPhonics have done to deliver SoundMAX 64 and EuSynth/Wave-64 demonstrates
skillful management of both DSP and host resources in the Windows environment,
and should serve as an impressive calling card to both add-in board and system
OEMs."
Analog Devices' continuous time oversampling (CTO) sample rate conversion
technology delivers professional audio quality for multimedia PCs. CTO
performs 64 streams of variable sample rate conversion, synchronization and
digital mixing.
The SoundMAX 64 mixer supports variable-rate redirectable streaming under
WDM, maintaining PC 98 system performance with USB speakers or other IEEE 1394
audio/video peripherals. Variable sample rate conversion becomes central to
PC audio architecture as audio I/O migrates outside the PC enclosure. Systems
disaggregate into purely digital accelerators, speakers, DVD drives, voice
modems, DBS or CATV receivers, etc. -- each with their own time base.
SoundMAX 64 resolves these issues by resampling up to eight independent,
asynchronous sample rates.
"Analog Devices used a balanced application of general-purpose DSP and
algorithm-specific CTO in architecting the SoundMAX 64 accelerator," commented
Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts. "The result is a powerful, yet
low-cost audio/telephony engine delivering 1.23 GOPS DirectX and 56K modem
acceleration as measured using industry-standard benchmarks." Because the
embedded 723 MOPS programmable DSP core supports a wide variety of algorithms
and technology, it can be rapidly customized to OEM-specific requirements, and
is "future proofed" since Windows audio and communications drivers can be
upgraded in the field.
Pro-Quality Digital Audio and Scaleable Music Synthesis
SoundMAX 64 is fully compliant with PC 98 advanced audio specifications,
featuring 90dB system SNR digital audio playback and mixing, as well as
independent recording and playback sample rates. To further enhance audio
quality, SoundMAX 64 supports DSP-accelerated tone control, speaker
equalization and 3D spatial enhancement for any set of OEM speakers as Windows
driver configurations.
A powerful PCI bus master with 72-stream scatter-gather DMA engine
accelerates DirectMusic and effects -- providing high-quality music synthesis
at low cost. SoundMAX 64 incorporates the EuPhonics' EuSynth/Wave64
Synthesizer with DIVA (dynamic interprocessor voice allocation) technology,
which provides up to 64 simultaneous voices. DIVA makes best use of the DSP
and CPU by accelerating the first 32 voices and synthesizing the rest in the
CPU.
"With SoundMAX 64, Analog Devices has finally solved the industry riddle
of 'why move audio from ISA to PCI?,'" said EuPhonics' president and CEO Dr.
Jeffrey Barish. "The combination of a PCI bus mastering variable rate
mixer/resampler and a programmable DSP engine sitting on a high-bandwidth bus
to powerful Intel MMX processors and main memory yields an extremely powerful,
flexible and cost-effective audio/communications architecture. It perfectly
complements EuPhonics' scaleable DIVA technology and SoundCore algorithm
suite. OEMs and end users get 64-voice polyphony and a no-compromise gaming
experience for mass-market home PCs."
Interactive Windows-based 3D and Multiplayer Gaming
With algorithms from Aureal, Bose, EuPhonics and Harman, SoundMAX 64
accelerates the latest generation of DirectSound 3D-compatible games. The
high-performance DSP core localizes up to 24 sounds within a 360 arc around a
player's head, and the sound dynamically tracks the on-screen 3D graphics,
contributing to a more immersive and realistic experience for the user.
"In SoundMAX 64, Analog Devices developed a solution that completely
utilizes the new audio features in Windows 98. Through the Win32 Driver Model
(WDM), SoundMAX 64 can deliver robust legacy compatibility, full hardware
acceleration, and the ability to transfer audio through digital busses like
USB and IEEE 1394," said Jay Torborg, director of graphics and multimedia,
Windows Operating Systems Group at Microsoft Corp. "By providing the ability
to concurrently accelerate DirectSound, Direct3D, and the upcoming DirectMusic
APIs, Analog Devices is well positioned for the future of audio."
For multiplayer gaming and H.324 multimedia conferencing, the SoundMAX 64
architecture supports full-duplex speakerphone operation using redirectable
WDM streaming, thereby obviating the need for wiring between the audio
subsystem and the network adapter. Optional DSP-accelerated monaural or
stereo echo cancellation enables hands-free, open-room conversations without
voice dropout in conferencing and multiplayer gaming. And users can enjoy
these applications over standard POTS lines because SoundMAX 64 will support
V.70 DSVD and H.324 conferencing, using DSP-accelerated G.728 and G.723 voice
codecs.
PC Theater Expandability
SoundMAX 64 decodes various multichannel formats such as Dolby Digital,
Dolby Pro Logic and MPEG II to support audio playback of old and new movie
content on DVD (Digital Video Disc). The PCI device also supports multipoint
AC-Link configurations of up to three AC'97 codecs, thereby supporting 5.1
output channels for two front and two rear satellites, and one center channel
speaker, plus a subwoofer.
Audio/Modem Integration for Fast 56K Internet Access
SoundMAX 64 provides PC system OEMs with the additional benefits of
conserving system resources while driving down costs because it eliminates the
need for a separate PCI modem. "The trend toward audio/modem integration is
accelerating with the move to PCI audio and modem devices and higher
performance host microprocessors," said Dean McCarron of Mercury Research.
"Integration of these low-bandwidth devices reduces the number of PCI loads to
one, which saves OEMs a valuable PCI load and slot for additional high-
performance hardware."
SoundMAX 64 supports MMX-based and DSP-accelerated audio/modem integration
via AC'97 Rev. 2 extensions, which facilitate this trend for both native host
and hardware-accelerated modem configurations. The RAM-based DSP architecture
supports software acceleration of up to 56K modems including x2(TM) and
K56FLEX(TM) technologies and future ITU standards since it is field
upgradeable. SoundMAX 64 will also provide a highly-integrated, visually-
appealing user interface for telephony or communications applications, audio
playback and recording, and DVD playback, because it incorporates the
innovative WillowMedia audio/telephony applications front end from Willow
Pond.
"We applaud the initiative that Analog Devices has taken in audio/modem
integration based on native Pentium and hardware-accelerated solutions," said
Russ Hampsten, Audio Marketing Manager of Intel. "Our new AC'97 Revision 2.0
specification supports this trend with standard interfaces to scaleable
devices for stereo audio, as well as handset and telco line interfaces."
Availability and Pricing
SoundMAX 64 board-level OEM evaluation units will be available in the
first quarter of 1998, with volume production in the second quarter. For
audio configurations, OEM chipset pricing starts at under $20.00.
With sales of $1.2 billion for fiscal 1997 Analog Devices is a leading
manufacturer of precision high-performance integrated circuits used in analog
and digital signal processing applications. Headquartered in Norwood,
Massachusetts, the company employs approximately 7,500 people worldwide and
has manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina,
Ireland, the Philippines and Taiwan.
NOTE: SoundMAX is a trademark of Analog Devices, Inc. All other trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.
READERS SHOULD CONTACT: Analog Devices, Inc., Ray Stata Technology Center,
804 Woburn Street, Wilmington, MA 01887, Tel: 781-937-1428 or
Fax: 781-821-4273/
SOURCE Analog Devices
/EDITORS' ADVISORY: These industry analysts have been briefed on Analog
Devices' SoundMAX 64:
Forward Concepts, Will Strauss, 1-602-968-3759
Jon Peddie Associates, Andy Fischer, 1-415-387-7460
Mercury Research, Dean McCarron, 1-602-998-9141
Total Research in Multimedia, Rick Sizemore, 1-602-404-4397
Send sales leads to: Analog Devices Literature Distribution Center, One
Technology Way, Norwood, MA 02062 or Fax sales leads to: 781-461-3700/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804,
ext. 054550/
/CONTACT: Al Haun of Analog Devices, 781-461-3263, al.haun@analog.com/
/Web site: analog.com
(ADI) |
