Avance Logic announces Video Acceleration product; ALG1301 Video Acceleration RAMDAC allows OEMs to build Multimedia Acceleration products.FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 7, 1994--Avance Logic Monday announced a new Video accelerator RAMDAC (Random Access Memory Digital to Analog Converter) The VGA controller chip that maintains the color palette and converts data from memory into analog signals for the monitor. RAMDAC - Random Access Memory Digital-to-Analog Converter that allows system OEMs to introduce affordable Multimedia Acceleration technology with their 486 and Pentium PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). or VL systems. The ALG ALG antilymphocyte globulin. ALG antilymphocyte globulin. ALG Antilymphocyte globulin, see there 1301 Video Acceleration RAMDAC reduces Video Redraw overhead up to 50%, while enabling the system to display 50-100% greater Frame Rates and larger Frame Sizes without "Postage-stamp Size Video Windows." Additionally, users will enjoy TV-quality, true-color video images instead of the dithered images seen today. The ALG1301 coupled with the company's existing line of Graphics Accelerators, will allow OEMs to include Multimedia Acceleration products at prices comparable to today's low-end PCI or VL graphics boards. The ALG1301 which includes a dual-programmable clock, 24-bit RAMDAC, and Video Accelerator is the latest addition to a broad line of graphics products from the 2.5-year-old Fremont company. Avance Logic has been shipping volume quantities of graphics accelerators for ISA (1) (Instruction Set Architecture) See instruction set. (2) (Interactive Services Association) See Internet Alliance. (3) (Internet Security and Acceleration) See .NET. , EISA (Extended ISA) Pronounced "ee-suh." A PC bus standard that extends the 16-bit ISA bus (AT bus) to 32 bits and provides bus mastering. ISA cards can plug into an EISA slot. , MCA MCA in full Music Corporation of America Entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in Chicago in 1924 by Jules Stein as a talent agency. In the 1960s it bought Decca Records and Universal Pictures, and today it produces films, music, and television shows. , and Local Bus since early 1992. The ALG1301 is targeted at the video playback market, not the video capture and editing segment which is still more of a professional area. The ALG1301 supports popular industry-standard software CODECs such as Indeo, MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) An ISO/ITU standard for compressing digital video. Pronounced "em-peg," it is the universal standard for digital terrestrial, cable and satellite TV, DVDs and digital video recorders (DVRs). , MS-Video, and CinePak. Applications of the ALG1301 include high quality video games, movie playback, business presentations, and CD-ROM-based Multimedia which include video clips. "Low-cost video acceleration technology is necessary to jump-start the acceptance of video-based Multimedia titles in the market," said Michael Harris, Avance Logic director of sales and marketing. "Many chip manufacturers have introduced much more high cost, video acceleration solutions that also support video capture for the personal computer market. However, to make video-based multimedia systems attractive to business, as well as home office operations, an acceptable level of performance at or near current accelerated VGA (Video Graphics Array) The display standard for the PC. All PC display adapters support VGA, and Windows machines boot up in "VGA mode" before switching to higher resolutions. board pricing is necessary." Current video acceleration solutions carry a hefty price tag and have features that are just not required for the playback market, according to Harris, as OEMs or retailers sell these products into the after-market due to the high cost associated with their manufacture and their limited market acceptance. Boards based on Avance Logic's ALG1301 and ALG23XX or ALG22XX chipsets, however, should sell at or near prices of current accelerated VGA boards -- allowing the 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 to make Video Acceleration a standard product in all of their computer shipments. "Avance Logic has lowered its chip manufacturing costs with the introduction of the ALG1301 Video Acceleration RAMDAC by not adding expensive features that just aren't necessary to play back full-motion video," said Harris. "By passing the savings to the OEM, much more affordable multimedia boards will be available to the end user, finally making video-based multimedia a reality." The ALG1301 is an advanced RAMDAC that accelerates Color Space Conversion Changing one type of color-encoded signal into another. Converting from RGB to YUV and back to RGB are common color space conversions when working with video formats (see YUV). Converting from the display color space (RGB) to the printer color space (CMYK) is another common example. and Scaling. The chip supports YUV The color encoding system used for analog television worldwide (NTSC, PAL and SECAM). The YUV color space (color model) differs from RGB, which is what the camera captures and what humans view. 4:1:1, 4:2:2, and YUV9 among others. Most CODECs such as Indeo, CinePak, MPEG, QuickTime, and MS-Video are supported. The ALG1301 features the ability to increase video frame rates by up to 100% vs. current technology, and support 16.7 million colors in the video window with a 24-bit RAMDAC and clock generator included with the chip. Full support for Windows 3.x/4.0 and most popular software packages will be included through the Microsoft DCI (Display Control Interface) An Intel/Microsoft programming interface for full-motion video and games in Windows. It allowed applications to take advantage of video accelerator features built into the display adapter. interface. Along with the ALG1301 chip -- in a 44-pin PLCC (Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier) A plastic, square, surface mount chip package that contains leads on all four sides. The leads (pins) extend down and back under and into tiny indentations in the housing. See chip package. surface mount package -- Avance Logic provides OEMs with a complete solution including the ALG23XX or ALG22XX Graphics Accelerator, a PCI or VL BIOS, and a driver kit. The ALG1301 Video Accelerator RAMDAC is the third generation of Avance Logic's DAC See D/A converter and discretionary access control. DAC - Digital to Analog Converter technology and provides 8, 15, 16, or 24-bits per Pixel. By operating up to 110Mhz, the ALG1301 supports the higher refresh rates and resolutions demanded by the volume PC marketplace. Avance Logic has been shipping RAMDACs since early 1992. The part comes packaged in a 44-pin PLCC. The ALG1301 includes a dual programmable clock generator to provide all the necessary video clock frequencies to drive the graphics subsystem. The generator produces the DRAM memory clock and the Dot Clock. Accordant frequency generation, along with the proper BIOS modes, support VGA and VESA-compatible Super VGA. The PCI or VL compatible BIOS (Object Code) comes free-of-charge to Avance Logic OEM customers. The BIOS provides complete PCI or VL bus compatibility as well as downward video mode compatibility. An object code distribution license is included in the manufacturing and design kit. The ALG1301 chip's manufacturing schedule calls for production in late November with many OEMs planning on shipping volume in December. Samples will be available to the larger OEM in early November. OEM pricing is $15 in high volumes. Avance Logic Inc. is a privately held U.S. producer of high-performance, integrated circuit components for IBM PC-compatible adapter boards. The company's graphics controller devices and other products designed to reduce OEM design costs are currently available through a worldwide network of manufacturers representatives. -0- Note to Editors: All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CONTACT: Avance Logic
Abraham Shen, 510/226-9555 (USA/France/United Kingdom)
RabbitXpress
Wolfram Tismer, 08142/49 104 (Germany)
|
|
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion