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

To: Peter V who wrote (36977)	10/31/1998 8:32:00 AM
From: J Fieb	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Here are more details........ techweb.com C-Cube aims MPEG-2 codec at consumer-PC space Junko Yoshida Milpitas, Calif. - Betting that the big trend for consumer PCs in 1999 will be DVD-quality video-recording capability, C-Cube Microsystems is launching DVxplore, a single-chip consumer MPEG-2 codec. The chip will let PC users record and edit DVD-quality video stored to a rewritable DVD or hard drive. With full-featured DVD-playback capability, including Content Scrambling System (CSS) copy protection, DVxplore also decodes DVD disks on a PC. "We've designed the chip so that it can become a standard on a mainstream consumer PC, priced around $1,500 to $1,100, next year," said Chris Day, director of PC marketing at C-Cube. By leveraging the same Microsparc-core-based DVx architecture used in its other codec products, C-Cube kept the price of the real-time MPEG-2 consumer codec to $75. The Microsparc core runs at 110 MHz. The chip, fabricated on a 0.25-micron process at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., also integrates custom video DSP and motion-estimation coprocessors. It runs off a 1.8-V power supply and consumes 2 W. C-Cube is not alone in its zeal to zero in on the consumer-PC market with codec silicon. Startup iCompression (Santa Clara, Calif.) began sampling an MPEG-2 encoding chip-decoding capability is not included-at $195 in the summer (see June 29, page 1). Japanese companies such as Matsushita and Sony are also working on solutions. DVxplore, integrated with a PCI interface, is optimized for PC applications. While leaving both audio encoding and decoding tasks to the host CPU, the chip enables a number of PC video applications: MPEG-2 and DV25 video encoding and decoding; dual-stream MPEG decode, for real-time transitions and real-time rendering of special effects; frame-accurate editing of MPEG-2 and DV25 video; MPEG-1 support for Internet video; DVD playback; and support for both analog and DV video sources. One feature in DVxplore's favor is its DV25-to-MPEG transcoding ability; the feature is particularly important when a consumer connects a DV camcorder to a PC for video editing (see related story, page 20). C-Cube's chip allows 6 hours of video recording on a 10-Gbyte hard drive when encoding occurs at 4 Mbits/second in 720 x 480 resolution. DVxplore's time-shifting capability, meanwhile, lets PC users record a TV show while simultaneously playing back video from any point in the recording. Users can replay any scene instantly or rewind to the beginning of programs while they are still being recorded. The chip's variable-bit-rate capability can be leveraged not only for adjusting the quality of video encoding but also for making sure an entire program can be recorded in a given storage space. "Depending on the space constraint, a PC can switch its video recording to a lower bit rate, so that it can fit a whole program into a hard-disk drive," said William Chien, PC-encoder product-line manager at C-Cube. The company is working with developers to leverage DVxplore's features in applications software. Taiwan-based Ulead System, for one, has developed a full-featured, frame-accurate MPEG-2 editing program that is said to exploit DVxplore's dual-stream and real-time transitional effects features. C-Cube is sampling the chip now, with volume production slated for January. Copyright ® 1998 CMP Media Inc.

To: Peter V who wrote (36977)	10/31/1998 8:44:00 AM
From: J Fieb	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Blackbird details Early (and Easy) Additions -- Motorola's Blackbird Architecture Looks To Take The Angst Out Of Upgrades Carl Weinschenk An assumption underlying virtually all network development is that significant changes mean equally significant headaches when it comes to rebuilding and upgrading infrastructure. Tweaking applications usually means lots of time and money spent replacing equipment and handling problems.Because of the high costs that improvements can generate, service providers must weigh changes carefully: Will the new application bring in meaningful new revenue, or is it more trouble than it's worth? The trick is finding a way to add new features quickly without causing massive service disruption. Motorola Inc. says service providers soon will be able to do just that. The company's Blackbird architecture promises to let service providers change features or implement entirely new applications without replacing equipment in customers' homes. The new functionality is simply downloaded in software. This idea has powerful allure for network operators. Take cable operators, for example. For the past three years, cable companies have been deploying proprietary cable modems, but the industry soon will switch to standards-based versions that are starting to emerge. The transition to standards-based modems will require that cable operators physically replace or upgrade modems, which is costly. And operators could end up with a load of suddenly obsolete first-generation modems. If, however, the proprietary modems were based on Blackbird, operators could upgrade to the standards-based models simply by downloading new software to ROM or flash memory in the consumer device. An upgrade that normally would take months could take just minutes. Blackbird works by coupling two powerful CPUs, Motorola's PowerPC and "Project X" from VM Labs Inc. (Los Altos, Calif.), says Ray Burgess, assistant general manager of Motorola's consumer groups, which is part of the company's semiconductor sector. Blackbird emerged from research and development done with TeleTV, a defunct telephone company and video entertainment consortium. The phoenix rising from this ill-fated venture could significantly change how content is distributed. "We got to thinking the media processing technology we were creating allowed us to create a software-defined network," Burgess says. Instead of providing the ability to change functions by ramping up on memory (see "The Chips Are Up for Network Help," November 1997), Blackbird makes better use of a fairly standard amount of memory. It runs on 8 to 32 megabytes of RAM and 2 to 16 megabytes of ROM. The PowerPC CPU runs most of the generic functions, explains Tom Starnes, the director of the embedded microcomputers for consultancy Dataquest Inc. (San Jose, Calif.). The Project X CPU, which was designed as a media engine, performs the value-added processing. "Project X is the sexy thing," Starnes says. Some of its capabilities include 3-D gaming, videoconferencing, digital video disc (DVD) processing and high-speed data transmissions. Blackbird currently exists as a reference design. Customers can insert motherboards from Motorola in their boxes, have Motorola build boxes with the customer's brand name on them or simply license the reference design and have the circuitry built at their own plants, Burgess says. Motorola does not intend to build its own Blackbird boxes, he says. Since the processing and media engine functions are partitioned from the network interface device, Blackbird can be used with many common architectures, including hybrid fiber/coax (HFC), digital subscriber line (DSL) and switched digital video (SDV). "It's the first I've seen that truly makes programming for all possible platforms, whether it be satellite, cable, LMDS or MMDS," says Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts Co. (Tempe, Ariz.), a high-technology market research firm. "It's the closest I've seen to a universal set-top box." LMDS (local multipoint distribution service) and MMDS (multichannel multipoint distribution service) are types of cellular voice, video and data distribution platforms. The ballpark price for the Blackbird hardware and software will be between $300 and $700. "It's a lot of horsepower at a very moderate price, and it takes up a very small space," Strauss says. How GIC designs a set top techweb.com ---

To: Peter V who wrote (36977)	10/31/1998 9:40:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Nice customer list for The DVxplore chip.......................... Peripheral cards from video vendors such as Diamond Multimedia, STB, ATI Technologies, and Creative Labs, and DVD video players from vendors like Sony, Pioneer, and Toshiba, will hit the market by Christmas of 1999, Henry said. techweb.com C-Cube Chip Makes Digital Recording Easier (10/30/98 4:43 p.m. ET) By Andy Patrizio, TechWeb Recordable MPEG-2 video, the high-resolution video format used in DVD, will take a big step toward mass availability and acceptance when C-Cube announces a single-chip MPEG-2 codec on Monday. DVxplore will make MPEG-2 recording and editing affordable for the PC user for the first time. Previous MPEG-2 editing systems from C-Cube have run into the thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars, according to Patrick Henry, director of marketing for C-Cube. The DVxplore chip will be used in both PC cards and home DVD video players. Peripheral cards from video vendors such as Diamond Multimedia, STB, ATI Technologies, and Creative Labs, and DVD video players from vendors like Sony, Pioneer, and Toshiba, will hit the market by Christmas of 1999, Henry said. Peripheral cards with the DVxplore chip will be able to record both digital video streams, such as MPEG-1 and DV25, the standard used in digital camcorders, and an analog stream coming from a television or VCR. The DVxplore chip can convert these formats to and from MPEG-2, so a signal from a VCR can be converted from analog to MPEG-2 and saved on a DVD-RAM disc. In addition to the hardware, C-Cube will provide editing software able to input, convert, edit, and save the video streams. C-Cube is targeting four markets for the DVxplore chip: retail products, OEM bundles in the build-to-order computer market, set-top boxes with storage, and bundling with a DVD-RAM drive. The company already makes MPEG-2 decoder chips for DVD playback on PCs. "I think that high-quality video is becoming more important on the PC as a media type," said Henry. The DVxplore chip will begin shipping to OEMs this quarter. Products based on DVxplore are anticipated to hit market by the second quarter of 1999; they will start around $299 initially, and could be as low as $199 by Christmas, said Henry.