DVD daughtercard (Zoran)............
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Zoran Vaddis DVD Decoder Chip Shipping On Real 3D DVD Daughter
Card for Starfighter; First VMI Daughter Card to Receive Microsoft
"Designed for Windows 95" Logo
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1998--Zoran Corporation (Nasdaq/NMS:ZRAN), a leading
provider of integrated circuits and software for digital video and audio enabled by compression, announced today that Real
3D, a leading provider of Intel740 based graphics cards, is shipping the Zoran Vaddis(TM) IC and the Zoran SoftDVD(TM)
navigator with the new Real3D DVD daughter card for its StarFighter(TM) graphics board.
The two boards together offer customers an uncompromising DVD solution, combining top DVD performance and 3D
performance. Developed as part of a collaboration between Zoran and Real 3D, the StarFighter DVD is the first VMI (Video
Module Interface) daughter card solution for DVD to pass Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) logo testing
for the Windows 95(TM) Operating System, as well as Dolby and Macrovision certification testing.
"We are very happy to add our DVD capability to Real 3D's StarFighter line," said Dr. Shmuel Farkash, vice president of
Video Products of Zoran Corporation.
"The Vaddis chip, which is already proven in DVD players by Sharp Corporation and others, is now penetrating the PC
market. The Vaddis4VMI reference design complements Zoran's SoftDVD thereby enabling our customers to choose from a
full hardware implementation through a mixed hardware/software solution, to an all software solution. This further underscores
our commitment to provide the DVD market with a full range of flexible, cost effective, DVD playback solutions."
Tim Connolly, director of PC Graphics Marketing, Real 3D, added, "Zoran's Vaddis4VMI reference design with SoftDVD
Navigator has provided Real 3D with an excellent basis for our daughter card design. The StarFighter AGP is already
recognized as the leading 2D/3D AGP board available and the addition of hardware DVD gives users a leading all-in-one
multimedia graphics board."
By adding hardware DVD capabilities to the StarFighter AGP product line, StarFighter DVD enables users to truly multitask
while performing DVD applications without running into CPU power limits. The StarFighter AGP 8MB board with video
in/out and hardware DVD is in full production now.
StarFighter DVD is based on the Zoran Vaddis4VMI(TM) reference design kit, composed of Zoran's highly-integrated
Vaddis DVD decoder chip and SoftDVD Navigator, a single 16Mbit SDRAM IC, and a 27MHz clock oscillator for a
complete low cost, compact DVD solution.
On the Vaddis4VMI Reference Design
Vaddis4VMI is a DVD daughter card reference design targeted for Intel740-based AGP graphics cards and based on the
VMI 1.4 standard. VMI provides a direct bi-directional high-bandwidth connection for both DVD data and video from
Vaddis to the graphics controller.
Systems designed to take advantage of VMI can achieve high DVD performance at a lower cost than PCI solutions, because
they do not require a dedicated PCI slot to add DVD functionality or cables to run from board to board. Furthermore, VMI
eliminates loading of the PCI bus with video thereby improving system performance.
On the Vaddis DVD Decoder
The Vaddis ZR36700 IC decoder is the world's most advanced DVD solution targeted at second-generation consumer
stand-alone DVD/VideoCD/CD-DA players and PC-based DVD systems. Based on Zoran's proprietary MPEG 2 video
and Dolby Digital audio technology, the Vaddis decoder integrates the decoding and presentation functionality required for full
implementation of the DVD standard in a single chip.
This includes DVD content protection (CSS), Program stream demultiplexing, MPEG 2 video, MPEG 1 video, Dolby
Digital (AC-3) audio, MPEG audio, audio/video synchronization, Linear PCM audio, Subpicture, On Screen Display (OSD),
Letterbox, Pan-Scan and more.
The first member of the Vaddis family, the ZR36700, integrates many of the different components required in first generation
DVD systems and interfaces efficiently to the remaining components in the system. Using a Zoran-proprietary implementation,
the Vaddis decoder requires only a single 16 Mbit SDRAM for full operation. Vaddis dramatically reduces the number of
chips and the size of the required memory thereby lowering the power consumption and overall cost of a DVD system.
The Vaddis ZR36700 DVD decoder is in volume production and is available immediately.
About Zoran
Zoran Corporation develops and markets software and integrated circuits (IC) for compression enabled digital Audio and
Video applications. Zoran also designs complete reference products based on Zoran's technology.
Zoran's product lines and Intellectual property (IP) include JPEG codecs, MPEG, DVD and Super-VCD decoders, IC
cores, digital audio processors for decoding and processing digital audio streams such as Dolby Digital and MPEG, and
real-time DVD and VCD software for PC. All these standard based products benefit from Zoran's Standard-Plus(TM)
technology.
Zoran's software is bundled by PC and graphics-card manufacturers for software and software assisted DVD/VCD playback
on PCs. The company's ICs are used in numerous digital Audio and Video products. Leading applications incorporating
Zoran's products and IP are professional and consumer video editing systems, filmless digital cameras, stand alone
DVD/VCD players and PC-based systems, digital speakers and audio systems.
Zoran is headquartered in Santa Clara, with additional operations in Haifa, Israel, Toronto, Canada and offices in Tokyo,
Japan and Shenzhen, China. For more information about Zoran call 408/919-4111, or visit our Web site: www.zoran.com.
For our latest press releases please call our fax-on-demand service at 1-800-PRO-INFO, ticker symbol ZRAN.
Note to Editors: Vaddis, SoftDVD and Vaddis4VMI are trademarks of Zoran Corporation. StarFighter is a trademark of
Real 3D. Intel740 is a trademark of Intel Corporation Windows 95 is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation
CONTACT: Zoran Corporation
Yizhar Ganor, 408/919-4286
ir@zoran.com
or
Financial Relations Board
Investor Contact:
Cathy Roberts, 415/986-1591
clr@sf.frbd.com
Media Contact:
Alicia Nieva-Woodgate, 415/986-1591
anw@sf.frbd.com
or
Real 3D
Chris Stellwag, 407/306-3328
stellwag@real3d.com
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