From Business Wire:
Product Line Targets Emerging U.S. OpenCable Specification as
Well as Worldwide Applications
VLSI Technology Inc.'s (NASDAQ:VLSI) ViSTA(TM) '99 product line
-- introduced here at the California Cable Television Association's
Western Show -- is the first complete open-market silicon solution for
design and implementation of set-top boxes that intend to meet
OpenCable industry specifications.
The new chips and associated software development tools also
enable consumer electronics manufacturers to build digital interactive
multimedia set-top boxes compatible with the world's diverse digital
TV technical standards and delivery models.
David Tahmassebi, director of marketing for VLSI's Consumer
Digital Entertainment division said: "Our ViSTA '99 product offering
is a powerful solution for implementing the next generation of
advanced interactive set-top boxes worldwide.
"We are also pleased to address the OpenCable's core functional
requirements with ViSTA '99 to enable the upcoming North American
retail market. The goal of the OpenCable specification is to enable
consumers to buy a set-top box from a retailer in -- for example --
Little Rock and be sure that it will work on the cable system in
Seattle or anywhere else in North America." ViSTA '99 Background
ViSTA '99 is a complete hardware-software solution for designing
and manufacturing digital television set-top boxes, and integrated
digital TV receivers and video components.
Intelligent electronics for a typical ViSTA '99 three-chip
digital TV application will consist of a VLSI front-end network
interface chip -- for satellite, cable or terrestrial broadcast
signals -- the VLSI VES2750 MPEG2 Transport Demultiplexer chip and the
VES6200 MPEG2 Audio/Video Decoder and System Controller chip.
To build an OpenCable like set-top box, a consumer electronics
manufacturer would design in the VLSI VES1900 cable network interface,
the VES1848 return channel modem, VES2750 and VES6200 ICs.
To further shorten the customer design cycles, ViSTA '99 comes
with comprehensive software support including the ViSTA API
(applications programming interface), pSOS(TM) real-time operating
system support, OpenTV(TM) and MediaHighway(TM) driver support, the
VLSI Horizon II development/evaluation board, and VLSI JumpStart(TM)
ARM-based software development environment.
The ViSTA '99 product line forms the centerpiece of the VLSI
Consumer Digital Entertainment Division's business proposition.
Consumer Digital Entertainment has emerged as a major vertical market
focus for the company.
VLSI consumer digital entertainment customers include leading
companies in the worldwide consumer electronic industry, such as
Nokia, Sony, and Thomson Consumer Electronics (RCA brands).
Arriving first to market with products that intend to support the
OpenCable standard proceeds from VLSI's design philosophy for the
ViSTA product line. VLSI has designed the ViSTA product line to
empower customers to efficiently address digital TV market
opportunities all over the world from a unified technology base.
The ViSTA architecture's partitioning of system functions, wealth
of on-chip functionality, support for a wide portfolio of technical
standards and specialized software support make it an outstanding
choice for consumer electronics manufacturers who must think globally
and act locally to take advantage of diverse market opportunities.
What's New in ViSTA '99
ViSTA '99 highlights include use of advanced 0.2-micron
mixed-signal IC manufacturing technology in the VES2750 and VES6200
chips, low-cost IC packaging and integration of the world's fastest
ARM7 "Thumb" embedded microprocessor core running at 108 MHz.
In addition, the ViSTA '99 design supports includes 2D graphics
acceleration, advanced video and graphics post processing, scalable
fonts, and AC-3 audio decoding.
The VES2750 and VES6200 join ViSTA '99 as new chips for MPEG-2
transport demodulation, system control and Audio/Visual decoding. Both
chips will be manufactured in VLSI's VSC10 0.2-micron mixed-signal
process technology, the most advanced ever used for a consumer
electronics product.
Shrinking the geometry of the ICs cuts their manufacturing costs
and significantly improves performance. VLSI has configured the
VES2750 and VES6200 as a two-chip solution for back-end digital video
processing and system control.
The VES6200 chip embeds an ARM7 "Thumb" microprocessor core
running at 108 MHz. This is more than twice as fast as the ARM core
embedded in the ViSTA '98 solution. This provides more data processing
power for consumer electronics manufacturers to add differentiating
features such as Internet access, advanced program guides and
interactive applications.
The VES6200 also incorporates a digital encoder compatible with
PAL (European), SECAM (France, Eastern Europe) and NTSC (Americas,
Japan) color broadcasting standards.
The VES2750 incorporates a wide range of peripheral interfaces,
and includes support for IEEE 1394 "FireWire" communications with
other digital devices such as camcorders, digital VCRs and connections
between cable set-top boxes and HDTVs as identified in the OpenCable
specification. To expedite product development based on the ViSTA '99 product
line, VLSI will supply the Horizon II evaluation and development
board. The Horizon II board integrates the VES2750 and VES6200 chips
with memory, communications ports, debugging connections and a
connector for front-end data interface chips and tuners.
Pricing and Availability
VLSI quotes OEM quantity pricing for the VES2750 and VES6200
combination at under USD $30. The company will ship samples of the
products in Q1 1999 with production ramp planned for Q3 1999. For more
information, readers should contact VLSI's Samuel Feldman,
samuel.feldman@vlsi.com. About VLSI Technology, Inc.
VLSI Technology, Inc. designs and manufactures custom and
semicustom integrated circuits for leading firms in the wireless
communications, networking, consumer digital entertainment andcomputing markets.
VLSI's value proposition is based on full-service customer
support, deep libraries of vertical market-focused IC intellectual
property, unparalleled custom circuit design expertise enabled through
the Velocity Rapid Silicon Prototyping design style, and one of the
world's most flexible and efficient custom circuit manufacturingfacilities.
The company is based in San Jose, Calif., with 1997 revenues from
continuing operations of $712.7 million, and approximately 2,200
employees worldwide. Visit VLSI's homepage at vlsi.com.
Note to Editors: Horizon, JumpStart, Velocity and ViSTA are
trademarks of VLSI Technology, Inc. Other trademarks or registered
trademarks are property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: VLSI Technology, Inc., San Jose
Martin Chorich, 408/922-5155
martin.chorich@sanjose.vlsi.com |
