Connectware introduces MPEG-1 playback solution for Sun SPARC and Sun-compatible workstations.RICHARDSON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 1996--Connectware Inc., an AMP company, Monday announced its RasterVideo-MPEG card, a high-performance, full-motion MPEG-1 playback solution for Sun SPARC (Scalable Performance ARChitecture) A family of RISC CPUs from Sun that runs mostly under Sun's Solaris, but also under Linux and BSD operating systems. After development began in the mid-1980s by David Patterson of the University of California at Berkeley and Bill and Sun-compatible workstations. ``With RasterVideo-MPEG, all the live video display capabilities of the base RasterVideo product remain available. The user can select 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). playback or live video display using a TV/VCR button on the screen,'' explained Tim Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Connectware. ``This product ideally complements the company's portfolio of high-end performance video and imaging solutions developed for Sun and UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). environments.'' RasterVideo-MPEG incorporates industry-standard MPEG-1 in hardware for high-quality decompression of video and audio on the desktop. The decoded video is overlaid on the SPARCstation screen, while the CD-quality MPEG audio is supplied to an output connector which can be connected to the SPARCstation audio input or can drive powered speakers directly. RasterVideo-MPEG uses SBus DVMA (Direct Virtual Memory Access) to minimize impact on the system CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. , even on older SPARC configurations, such as SPARC 2 and SPARC Classic. 8x8's MEP Multimedia Encode Processor is at the heart of the RasterVideo-MPEG card. The MEP contains two programmable engines: the MIPS-X RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. microprocessor and the VP (Vision Processor) core, a SIMD (single instruction multiple data) DSP. In addition to the audio and video decoding, specialized hardware in the MEP performs video scaling and temporal filtering to provide the highest-level video quality. The RasterVideo-MPEG card is now available and priced at $2,995. Customers may call Connectware at 800/357-0852 or 214/997-4111 for more information. Visit the Web site at www.connectware.com. Founded in 1987, 8x8 (formerly Integrated Information Technology (company) Integrated Information Technology - (IIT) A Santa Clara based company producing a programmable, single chip H.261 and MPEG system. The chip contains a RISC processor, originally based on the MIPS architecture but now called RISCit, and a "Pixel Processor". ) is an innovator in high-performance silicon and software products serving the multimedia computing, communications and consumer marketplaces. 8x8 is the world leader in the explosive markets of ISDN ISDN in full Integrated Services Digital Network Digital telecommunications network that operates over standard copper telephone wires or other media. video conferencing, analog videophone, MPEG encode/ decode and multimedia-for-PC. A privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. , 8x8 has employees worldwide, with offices in Boston and London. Connectware, Richardson, was founded in September 1993 and is a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of AMP Inc. Connectware is an emerging leader in multimedia communications and advanced networking technologies. The company's technology focus addresses not only today's traditional LANs but also the convergence of LANs and WANs through Asynchronous Transfer Mode See ATM. (communications) Asynchronous Transfer Mode - (ATM, or "fast packet") A method for the dynamic allocation of bandwidth using a fixed-size packet (called a cell). See also ATM Forum, Wideband ATM. ATM acronyms. Indiana acronyms. (ATM) workstation interfaces and network switches. Connectware provides communication integration through software and hardware offerings, imaging/video solutions to the desktop and custom software applications development. Connectware has sales and marketing offices throughout North America, Europe and the Asia- Pacific region. Product development is conducted in Texas, California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and India. AMP is the world's leading supplier of connectors and interconnection systems, serving customers around the world in a wide range of markets, from consumer goods to communication and computer systems. Employing more than 40,000 people in 200 facilities in the United States and 39 other countries, the company had a record $5.2 billion in sales in 1995. -0- NOTE TO EDITORS: Connectware and RasterVideo are trademarks. AMP is a registered trademark. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners. Editorial inquiries may be directed to Connectware at 214/997-4143. CONTACT: Connectware Inc., Richardson Zoe Meyer, 214/997-4143 |
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