To: Ram Seetharaman who wrote (2243 ) 1/12/1999 3:28:00 PM From: Steve Reinhardt Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 3493
Ram, The V.90 modem/PCI audio combo solution is a significant news. But any shipment of this will not be on 4Q,1998 but for the 1Q, 1999. I agree with you on what Fong could do to ESS after he is a board member, thanks. Stevetechweb.com January 11, 1999, Issue: 1043 Section: Product Week -- Chips PCI audio/modem combo joins V.90 line Fremont, Calif. - ESS Technology Inc. has extended its V.90 SuperLink line to audio/modem combinations and claims to be one of the first suppliers to offer both digital signal processing and host signal processing (HSP) versions to meet next-generation PC requirements. The devices combine high-performance audio with V.90 56-kbit/second data, fax and voice PCI communications for notebook, desktop and add-in card applications. The HSP version includes a digital audio accelerator, an audio codec and a modem codec. The DSP solution includes a high-performance DSP to offload the host CPU and increase overall system performance. Both chip sets feature 500-Mips equivalent processor performance and are compatible with Microsoft's PC98/99, DirectSound and DirectSound3D standards as well as with Intel's AMR standard. Both chip sets are based on ESS's Maestro-2EM digital audio accelerator, which features full ACPI support, a hardware wavetable synthesizer with downloadable samples and DirectSound3D acceleration. Its ES2890 modem DSP connects to the Maestro-2EM, creating both modem and audio functions with only one PCI slot. ESS' Maestro-2EM is available in a 144-pin thin quad flat package, the ES2890 modem DSP in a 100-pin TQFP, the ES2818 AFE in a 52-pin plastic quad flat package, the ES1918 audio codec in a 48-pin TQFP and the ES2816 modem AFE in a 28-pin small-outline integrated-circuit package. The DSP devices are priced at $28 in 10,000-unit quantities. HSP solutions sell for $23 in those same quantities.