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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JPM who wrote (31825)	4/5/1998 4:07:00 PM
From: CPAMarty	Respond to of 50808

from :cartmanlovesdvd Apr 5 1998 12:55PM EDT previews.bootnet.com All-in-one media accelerators have never really succeeded. Just ask nVidia about its phat-but-ultimately-flat NV1 processor. But Chromatic Research still plans to invade the sub-$1,000 market with its latest all-in-one processing prowess. Packing more "D's" than a Russ Meyer flick, Chromatic Research's Mpact 2 3DVD attempts to give you 2D, 3D, and DVD in a single 352-pad Ball-Grid-Array package... and more! The Mpact 2 3DVD media processor is a videocard, first and foremost. Its high-density VLSI innards house five internal controllers that keep tabs on all manner of multimedia functionality, including: 2D features are VESA 2.0 and Win95/ DirectDraw compliant 3D includes a Direct3D hardware accelerator Video includes DVD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 decoding, and NTSC/PAL video outputs Sound includes digital audio such as Dolby Digital AC-3 decoding and SRS-True Surround A related piece, the Mpact 2 3DMAX, also incorporates fax/modem and telephony. All this is handled via the Mpact 2 3DVD solo VLIW/SIMD processor, which is capable of up to six billion operations per second. With a little help from Mpact's Mediaware real-time kernel, simultaneous execution of these functions is possible. On the 3D side, the chip fully supports DirectX 5, with a firmware floating-point setup engine that handles native D3DTLVERTEX support (for indexed and nonindexed triangle lists, strips, and fans). Rendering is limited to 16-bit Z-buffer, but it will push visual features such as edge anti-aliasing, alpha-blending, bilinear/trilinear filtering, and per-pixel mip-mapping. Unlike boards relying on SDRAM/SGRAM or EDO, the Mpact 2 3DVD relies on Rambus technology for local memory. Via two 9-bit-wide 300MHz Rambus channels of DRAM, vendors can opt for a minimum of 4MB all the way up to 8MB for higher resolutions (with a little help from the 230MHz 24-bit RAMDAC). Another major function of the Mpact 2 3DVD is its hardware MPEG-2/AC-3 decoding capabilities, which kills the need for an add-in dedicated card. The processor promises to sustain full NTSC 59.94fps video output at up to 720-pixels per line on the MPEG-2 side, while audio action can occur via the 36-bit internal precision, CD-quality output with variable sampling rates. A tri-mode 48KHz SPDIF can be linked with the appropriate receiver for hair-raising aural delights. Boards will come either in PCI 2.1 or AGP 1x DMA flavors. With an 8MB PCI reference board in tow, we took the Mpact 2 3DVD out for a spin. On our 300MHz Pentium II test bed, the initial results may not excite hardcore pixel pimps fiendin' for triple-digit performance--640x480 Forsaken coughed up 38fps, while X forked out 40fps. Despite these slower scores, all visual effects were performed perfectly, from Turok's table fogging effects to Forsaken's various alpha-blends. But none of the 3D accelerators we've seen could work hardware DVD decoding and AC-3 manipulation all on the same chip, and with PCI slots becoming more of a commodity, an all-in-one setup starts to look more appealing. Vendors such as STB and Diamond have announced products based on the Mpact 2 3DVD, while major OEMs also plan to incorporate this handy-dandy technology in their systems. Perhaps the "media processor" may finally get the respect it so desperately yearns for. -- Andrew Sanchez ÿ