Antex announces low cost MPEG playback audio adapter with advanced features and multiple compression formats.

GARDENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 1995--Antex Electronics Corp., the leading manufacturer of professional high-end digital audio adapters, has announced the availability of an add-in card that offers broadcast quality playback of digital audio files including a variety compressed formats.

The adapter is designed for OEMs, systems integrators and computer users who demand high quality audio and MPEG Layer I/II digital audio recording.

The SX-5e is the latest product offering from the Antex Series 2 family of audio adapters. All adapters in this series incorporate Texas Instruments' digital signal process (DSP) chips. The SX-5e features the 27 MHz programmable TMS320C32 floating point DSP. It is a low-cost audio playback only adapter designed to allow application programs to decode various compressed audio formats including ISO/MPEG Layer I/II, 8-bit and 16-bit PCM and Microsoft ADPCM. The adapter is compatible with 386/486, PS/2 ISA systems and boasts a wide frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

Because the SX-5e is designed for playback only, developers, OEMs and integrators can include high-quality audio playback at a more competitive price. This also means they can add superior CD-quality sound to their applications without sacrif rich, high-fidelity digital audio at a significantly lower cost than other boards," said Jim Antrim, president of Antex Electronics. "More and more developers are using our high-end MPEG record/playback boards for authoring. By offering a playback version they now have a very cost-effective delivery system for playback of superior-quality digital audio files."

On Board Buffering for Continuous Flow Data Transfer

The SX-5e also features 4 seconds of on-board buffering, expandable to 8, for a continuous transfer of data at all standard sample rates. This buffering is higher than most other boards on the market and provides for "glitch free" audio playback in stereo - even at the highest sample rates.

The SX-5e is a half-size ISA compatible add-in card capable of playing back files sampled at rates up to 48 kHz. Installation and hardware configuration are easily accomplished through software selectable interrupts and I/O addresses.

The SX-5e driver software included with the board provides playback of high-quality digital audio using the adapter under either DOS, Microsoft Windows, Windows NT or OS/2. In Windows 3.1 and OS/2, the SX-5e is supported by multimedia extensions allowing it to be used with any compatible multimedia application.

Under DOS, a high-level digital audio Application Program Interface (API) allows all of the SX-5e features to be fully utilized. Languages supported include C, Pascal and BASIC. The driver software is available as part of an Audio Developers Kit (ADK) in either a TSR or Linkable version and both are downward compatible with existing Antex drivers.

The new SX-5e digital audio adapter and ADK are designed and manufactured in the USA by Antex Electronics Corp., 16100 S. Figueroa St., Gardena, Calif. 90248, telephone [phone], fax [phone]. The company offers over 20 models of digital audio and multimedia boards and now has over 50,000 audio adapters in professional use around the world. The SX-5e Digital Audio Processor will be available on March 1 at a list price of $395 and Audio Developers Kit at a list price of $750 each.

CONTACT: Antex Electronics Corp, Gardena

Robert Bird, 800/338-4231; fax [phone]

or

Priscomm Inc., Costa Mesa

Allan Karl, 714/433-7400; fax [phone]