Hitachi develops world's first prototype MPEG camera.NORCROSS, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 1996-- Digital Full-Motion Video Video transmission that changes the image 30 frames per second (30 fps). Motion pictures are run at 24 fps, which is the minimum frequency required to eliminate the perception of moving frames and make the images appear visually fluid to the eye. Camera to Debut at COMDEX The former, premier computer trade show in the U.S. Although it grew into an end user event, it was originally created for dealers and distributors (it was the COMputer Dealers EXposition). Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc. today announced the introduction of the world's first prototype Motion Picture Experts Group (spelling) Motion Picture Experts Group - Incorrect expansion of MPEG, which stands for Moving Picture Experts Group. (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). ) camera. The MPEG camera, which allows for realtime compression See real time compression. and full-motion video, will be shown at COMDEX November 18 in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. at the Hitachi booth No. L1030. MPEG is an internationally recognized video compression standard that brings digital video within the reach of the average PC user. Hitachi's prototype camera has a high compression ratio enabling high-capacity storage on a PC hard disk and boasts more than 352 x 240 dots of resolution for high-picture quality. It is smaller than a conventional camcorder and all of the camera's functions such as realtime compression, full-motion video and playback are handled by a single chip -- the MPEG-1 encoder/decoder (CODEC) LSI LSI: see integrated circuit. (Large Scale Integration) Between 3,000 and 100,000 transistors on a chip. See SSI, MSI, VLSI and ULSI. , developed by Hitachi, Ltd. "Hitachi's MPEG camera is a true first," said Tom Itoh, president of Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc. "Our MPEG camera allows the PC user to inexpensively produce, edit and view high-quality movies on a PC. Before Hitachi invented this camera, a PC user interested in producing video, would have needed a separate video camera, video capture board and a PC. This was both expensive and produced marginal quality at best." The need for an MPEG camera that provides versatile digital editing has been fueled by several factors, including increasingly powerful PCs and the explosive growth of the Internet. The new MPEG camera will allow PC users to perform such applications as adding full motion pictures to Internet home pages and in-house video training on company intranets. The new MPEG camera records video and audio in MPEG-1 format and stores the data on a PC hard disk. An interface kit allows recorded video to be transferred to a PC for editing. Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc., develops and markets a variety of consumer electronics and commercial multimedia products. Hitachi America, Ltd., 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 Hitachi, Ltd., Japan, markets and manufactures a broad range of electronics, computer systems and products, and provides industrial equipment and services throughout the U.S. Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is the world's leading global electronics company, with fiscal 1995 consolidated sales (ending March 31, 1996) of $76.6 billion. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. Background Hitachi entered into a joint marketing alliance with FutureTel, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., called MPEG.net, to promote MPEG-based digital media and applications. To this end, an office has been set up in Santa Clara, Calif., and a WWW WWW or W3: see World Wide Web. (World Wide Web) The common host name for a Web server. The "www-dot" prefix on Web addresses is widely used to provide a recognizable way of identifying a Web site. site established at http://www.mpeg.net. At COMDEX/FALL '96, a new MPEG middleware package, provisionally named "MPEG Edit Engine", and technical data relating to a recording API will be unveiled. In addition, a beta version of MPEG editing tools together with free MPEG content will be distributed at the MPEG consortium. The MPEG consortium is located at booth #M277, #P5329. FutureTel, Inc. FutureTel, Inc., is a recognized pioneer in MPEG technology. The company has developed and is marketing products that enable users to create, manipulate and exchange compressed audio/video over local-and wide-area network using PC platforms. FutureTel marks its products to OEMs and through systems integrators and VARs worldwide. The company is a privately-held corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Summary Specifications: MPEG 1 CODEC chip The first single-chip MPEG-1 encoder/decoder, adopting a 3-layer 0.5-micron CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. process, and using only 500 mW. -- Enables realtime encoding/decoding of full motion video signals -- High-speed encoding of high-quality still images in JPEG JPEG in full Joint Photographic Experts Group Standard computer file format for storing graphic images in a compressed form for general use. JPEG images are compressed using a mathematical algorithm. format PC card hard disk The MPEG camera uses a PC card hard disk to record video. The camera is therefore compact and it is easy to manipulate stored video data. The hard disk is vibration-resistant and low-noise. Media Navigation File management functions are built into the camera to utilize the advantages of disk-based storage. Video clips can readily be arranged into folders and unwanted recordings deleted, thereby reducing the time to find particular video clips. Files are itemized on an LCD screen, and can be selected for playback at the push of a button. Interface kits An ISA (1) (Instruction Set Architecture) See instruction set. (2) (Interactive Services Association) See Internet Alliance. (3) (Internet Security and Acceleration) See .NET. interface kit allows the camera to be connected to an ISA bus, and there is also an ECP (Enhanced Capabilities Port) See IEEE 1284. 1. ECP - Engineering Change Proposal. 2. ECP - Enhanced Capabilities Port. 3. ECP - Extended Capabilities Port. 4. ECP - Extended Concurrent Prolog. interface kit to connect the camera to a parallel port. Compression format MPEG-1/JPEG/MPEG Audio Video format NTSC (National TV Standards Committee) The committee that developed the television standards for the U.S, which are also used in Canada, Japan, South Korea and several Central and South American countries. Both the committee and the standard are called "NTSC. Recording media PC card hard disk Recording modes Video(MPEG-1)/Photograph(JPEG) Photograph (JPEG) with audio(MPEG-1) Recording times/capacity: -Video Approx. 20 minutes -Photographs Approx. 3,000 -Audio Max. 4 hours (Approx. 1,000 with 10 sec audio.) Zoom x3 optical zoom + x2 electronic zoom Monitor 1.8-inch TFT LCD Power consumption 6.5 W CONTACT: Ken Mizoguchi Hitachi America, Ltd. 914-333-2902 mizoguchi_k@halny.hitachi.com or Michael Fay 212-614-4559 |
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