Adaptec Announces First 1394 Firewire Host Adapter; Initial Products Designed for OEMs and Peripheral Developers.MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 1996--Adaptec Inc. today announced its first IEEE-1394 Firewire products: a host adapter Also called a "controller" or "host bus adapter," it is a device that connects one or more peripheral units to a computer. It is typically an expansion card that plugs into the bus. IDE and SCSI are examples of peripheral interfaces that call their controllers host adapters. See host. for OEMs and developer kits for system and peripheral developers. The AHA-8940 Firewire-to-PCI host adapter will allow system OEMs to build 1394-enabled desktop systems that address video editing See nonlinear video editing and video editor. , publishing and multimedia applications in business and home markets. The AHA-8940 Firewire Developer Kits will enable developers to create 1394 Firewire software and hardware products. These new products will help OEMs meet the increasing demand for high-speed digital communication between the personal computer and its peripherals. These peripherals include traditional products like printers and scanners as well as newer peripherals such as DVDs and consumer electronic audio/video (A/V (1) (Audio/Video) Refers to equipment and applications that deal with sound and sight. The A/V world includes microphones, tape recorders, audio mixers, still and video cameras, film projectors, slide projectors, VCRs, CD and DVD players/recorders, amplifiers and ) devices including digital camcorders, VCRs and home theater An audio/video entertainment center that has a large-screen TV and hi-fi system with three speakers in the front (left, right and center) and left and right speakers in the rear. Starting in the early 1990s, video inputs were added to stereo receivers and preamplifiers. systems. The Technology IEEE-1394 digital technology delivers a fast and constant stream of data over thin, flexible cables of up to four and one-half meters and can connect up to 63 devices. These features make 1394 Firewire one of the most attractive technologies for the convergence of the personal computer with consumer electronics. The fast 1394 Firewire connection, with real-time data Real-time data denotes information that is delivered immediately after collection. There is no delay in the timeliness of the information provided. Some uses of this term confuse it with the term dynamic data. transfer, ensures that A/V-to-PC transfers do not lose video frames and maintain complete audio synchronization. The connection is entirely digital and preserves video quality by eliminating the degradation, which results from the transfer to analog and then back to digital, that exists in today's video applications. "We expect the first applications for Firewire to be video editing and desktop publishing desktop publishing, system for producing printed materials that consists of a personal computer or computer workstation, a high-resolution printer (usually a laser printer), and a computer program that allows the user to select from a variety of type fonts and sizes, ," said Robin Selden, managing director for the Advanced Media Products Group at Adaptec. "However, because of 1394's broad connection capability, it will also become a popular technology for consumer electronic products. Firewire peripherals are going to need high-capacity, high-performance hard disks for storage of large video and multimedia files, so 1394 Firewire is a natural complement to Adaptec's SCSI SCSI in full Small Computer System Interface Once common standard for connecting peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, etc.) to small and medium-sized computers. SCSI has given way to faster standards, such as Firewire and USB. business." The AHA-8940 Firewire-to-PCI Host Adapter The primary component of the AHA-8940 Firewire host adapter is the Adaptec AIC-5800 Link controller chip that has performance capabilities up to 400 MBits/sec (the maximum bandwidth of 1394 according to IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, www.ieee.org) A membership organization that includes engineers, scientists and students in electronics and allied fields. specifications). Other key elements of the board include a 200 MBits/sec PHY See physical layer and physical. (physical interface) chip that represents state-of-the-art in PHY technology and three (two external and one internal) 1394 connectors. Additionally, Adaptec is providing extensive software support for the AHA-8940. It will initially support Windows NT with future embedded support for Windows 95 and Macintosh O/Ss. Adaptec's AHA-8940 Firewire host adapter is based on technology licensed from Apple Computer. "We chose Adaptec as a valued licensee of our technology to help make Firewire available to everyone. With an adapter card it is now practical to add Firewire to personal computers. We celebrate this important accomplishment and look forward to the applications it will enable," said Jonathan Zar, senior business development manager for Apple Computer. Adaptec 1394 Target Silicon To ensure complete 1394 solutions on both sides of the bus, Adaptec is concurrently developing silicon for high performance target 1394 Firewire devices. These will be compatible with the AHA-8940 Firewire host offerings. The Developer Kits Two kits are being released by Adaptec: the 1394 Firewire O/S Developer Kit and the 1394 Firewire Developer Kit for Windows NT. Both Kits include the AHA-8940 Firewire host adapter, cables, software, documentation and sample code needed for development. The 1394 Firewire O/S Developer Kit is intended for non-Windows developers creating O/S support for Firewire in other O/S environments. The 1394 Firewire Developer Kit for Windows NT is intended for peripheral developers who are writing drivers for 1394 Firewire peripherals. Pricing & Availability Both of the Developer Kits are available for qualified developers at $599 each. OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and sample pricing for the AHA-8940 Firewire host adapter, which includes the AIC-5800 Link chip, is $350. For embedded solutions, OEM sample pricing for the AIC-5800 Link chip is $65. All products are available for purchase directly through Adaptec. About Adaptec Adaptec provides bandwidth management technologies for organizations building the global information infrastructure. Its high performance I/O (Input/Output) The transfer of data between the CPU and a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input to another. See PC input/output. I/O - Input/Output , connectivity and network products are incorporated into the systems and products of major computer and peripheral manufacturers. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Milpitas, Adaptec (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : ADPT ADPT Automated Data Processing/Telecommunications ADPT Adaptec Corporation (stock symbol) ADPT Adaptive Prediction ADPT Auger Depth Profiling Technique ADPT Automated Data Processing Telecommunications ADPT Adapter ) employs 2,500 people worldwide in design, manufacturing, sales, service and distribution. Adaptec's home page address is http://www.adaptec.com. CONTACT: Adaptec Inc. Marci Pedrazzi, 408/957-4937 marci_pedrazzi@corp.adaptec.com |
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