Mediamatics Kickstarts DVD PC Market with new DVDExpress Product Family; Software Audio/Video Players Provide Consumer Quality Video on PCs; Leading OEMs Embrace Product Strategy, Can Now Ship DVD for Entertainment PCs.FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 1996--Mediamatics, Inc., the world's largest supplier of MPEG decoders, today announced the first members of its DVDExpress(TM) product family, the DVDExpress 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 Player and the DVDExpress Audio Player.These products enable PC companies to ship DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. solutions immediately. The DVDExpress players have already gained acceptance with leading PC OEMs, graphics controller manufacturers and content providers, offering OEMs cost savings up to $80.00 per system, compared to full hardware DVD solutions. The DVDExpress players will be demonstrated in Mediamatics' 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). booth No. M338, in the Sands Expo The Sands Expo and Convention Center, at 1.2 million square feet (110,000 m²), is the second largest convention center in the Las Vegas, Nevada area. It opened in 1990 across the street from the original Sands Hotel. , November 18-22, 1996. Mediamatics' newest software decoders provide cost-effective DVD solutions for the fast growth Entertainment PC market. Mediamatics' DVDExpress products allow both 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). video and AC3 audio decoding in software, eliminating the need for additional hardware. These products deliver consumer (laser disc) quality 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. and synchronized audio, two features demanded by PC users. The DVDExpress A/V Player is a full software-only MPEG-1,2/AC3 audio/video decoder that is ideal as a low cost DVD playback solution for Intel's MMX (MultiMedia EXtensions) A set of 57 additional instructions built into the Pentium MMX chip for improved multimedia and modem performance by performing mathematical operations on multiple sets of data at the same time (see SIMD). (TM)-enabled PCs, due out early '97. Mediamatics' DVDExpress A/V Player scales with available 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. bandwidth to provide full-motion video playback using these powerful MMX processors. The DVDExpress Audio Player is a software AC3/MPEG-1,2 audio decoder that, when integrated with any third party hardware MPEG video decoder, delivers the complete audio/video DVD solution for today's non-MMX(TM) enabled PCs. At the heart of the DVDExpress product family is Mediamatics' Motion Video Collaborative Compression Architecture (MVCCA(TM)) that enables a new breed of MPEG-2 accelerated graphic controllers. MVCCA is a balanced systems partitioning architecture that moves a portion of the MPEG-2 decoding functions to the graphics controller, delivering flawless, tear-free, consumer quality video playback while maintaining mass market cost objectives. Trident Microsystems Trident Microsystems is a supplier of display-processors for flat panel displays (plasma, LCD, etc.). At one time, Trident was also a supplier of PC graphics chipsets and sound controllers. is the first graphics controller manufacturer to announce a product based on this MVCCA design. Trident recently announced the Image975(TM) 3D DVD MPEG-2 accelerated graphics controller. The DVDExpress A/V Player is designed to work with both MPEG-2 accelerated and non-MPEG-2 accelerated graphic controllers. With MPEG-2 accelerated graphics controllers, the DVDExpress A/V Player delivers consumer quality audio/video playback. Fits with Mediamatics' DVD Strategy Mediamatics' strategy is to enable a new realm of DVD PC possibilities with leading-edge products and industry partnerships. The company is delivering DVD to the PC industry by building on MPEG-1 partnerships established over the last two years with companies such as Microsoft, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) and Toshiba. The DVDExpress family provides a flexible platform enabling PC system OEMs and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to seamlessly integrate DVD solutions into existing and future PCs. A building block approach is crucial to PC OEMs and ISVs, for it provides immediate and long-term solutions for this fast-changing market. "Our DVD products make the dream of interactive DVD on the PC a reality," said Prem Nath, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Mediamatics. "The key to bringing DVD to the industry is delivering cost-effective, flexible software designs that enable content developers and system OEMs to integrate DVD now, and then build on this design as the DVD market evolves. By working with industry leaders such as Microsoft and leading content providers, we have ensured that our products integrate seamlessly with emerging technologies and standards to ensure a smooth product transition for our customers to the interactive DVD world. Our new products define and deliver true consumer quality, full motion playback demanded by end users." About the Products DVDExpress(TM) A/V Player is a software only audio and video decoder with full implementation of the ISO (1) See ISO speed. (2) (International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, www.iso.ch) An organization that sets international standards, founded in 1946. The U.S. member body is ANSI. 11172 for MPEG-1, ISO13818 for MPEG-2 and MP@ML MP@ML Main Profile @ Main Level for DVD video and audio standards. The MMX optimized video decoder is designed to work with both current and emerging MPEG-2 accelerated graphic controllers, providing the best quality and performance in every solution. The DVDExpress A/V Player is designed to work with current interactive applications from companies such as Warner Advanced Media, Tsunami Media, Creative Multimedia and InterActual Technologies, as well as providing compatibility for future DVD applications based on Microsoft's ActiveMovie API. The software-only solution benefits PC OEMs with a typical system cost savings of over $80 compared to hardware based solutions. DVDExpress Audio Player is the audio component found within the DVD Express A/V Player. When coupled with a hardware MPEG-2 video decoder from companies such as SGS SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SGS Symantec Gateway Security (appliance) SGS School of Graduate Studies SGS Subgrid Scale SGS Singapore Government Securities SGS Shell Global Solutions Thomson, LSI LSI: see integrated circuit. (Large Scale Integration) Between 3,000 and 100,000 transistors on a chip. See SSI, MSI, VLSI and ULSI. Logic, Texas Instruments See TI. (company) Texas Instruments - (TI) A US electronics company. A TI engineer, Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit in 1958. Three TI employees left the company in 1982 to start Compaq. , Philips and Hyundai, the player provides a cost effective DVD solution for today's PCs. Unlike hardware decoders, the A/V Player offers both AC3/MPEG-1,2 audio playback and MPEG-1,2 video playback. Its use translates into typical 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 bill of materials The list of components that make up a system. For example, a bill of materials for a house would include the cement block, lumber, shingles, doors, windows, plumbing, electric, heating and so on. savings of approximately $35 per unit when compared to current hardware solutions. The player works with Intel 486, current Pentium(TM), MMX-enhanced Pentium and Motorola PowerPC CPUs. DVDExpress A/V Player Features -- Full MPEG-1,2 video and audio software decoder, uncompromised quality and performance -- AC3 software audio decoder (see DVDExpress Audio Player) -- Scaleable bandwidth management Controlling the traffic flow in a network. See bandwidth manager. optimized for Intel MMX processors -- Designed for optimum performance with current as well as future MPEG-2 accelerated graphic controllers -- Optimal performance achieved with graphics controllers which have incorporated Mediamatics' Motion Video Collaborative Compression Architecture(TM) (MVCCA) DVDExpress Audio Player Features -- AC3 (5.1 channels) and MPEG-1,2 audio decoder, uncompromised quality and performance -- Scaleable bandwidth management optimized for MMX, non-MMX and PowerPC processor-based systems -- Flexible software design providing output in 2 channel stereo, and Dolby ProLogic formats as well as to 6 channel audio cards and SPDIP SPDIP Shrink Plastic Dual-In-Line Package SPDIP Shrink Plastic Dual Inline Package interfaces. Industry Leaders Support Mediamatics' DVD Family and Strategy Microsoft Corporation: "After licensing software MPEG-1 technology from Mediamatics in June of 1995, we have worked closely with the Mediamatics team to successfully integrate software MPEG-1 into ActiveMovie," said Jay Torborg, Director, Multimedia & Graphics, Microsoft Corporation. "We are now leveraging this excellent cooperative relationship to enhance ActiveMovie with the ability to handle software MPEG-2/DVD playback efficiently." Warner Advanced Media: "DVD technology will enable many segments of the entertainment industry," said Frank LoVerme, vice president, Advanced Media Sales at Time Warner Advanced Media Services. "Wide availability of content and a cost-effective solution is key to make the Entertainment PC a success. Time Warner is the world's largest owner, creator and distributor of intellectual copyrights and has a vested interest Vested Interest A financial or personal stake one entity has in an asset, security, or transaction. Notes: For example, if you have a mortgage, your bank has a vested interest on the sale of your house. See also: Right in the success of DVD. As the world's largest supplier of MPEG decoder software, Mediamatics will play an important role in ensuring that entertainment products will successfully harness the power of DVD-enabled PCs." Trident Microsystems: "When Trident went looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a partner for their DVD solutions it did not need to look very far," said Frank Lin, President and CEO of Trident Microsystems. "Trident has worked closely with Mediamatics' team to integrate their Motion Video Collaborative Compression Architecture (MVCCA) into our graphics controllers. The result is the best quality, performance and price for PC DVD solutions." ATI Technologies, Inc.: "ATI (ATI Technologies Inc., Markham Ontario, http://ati.amd.com) A leading manufacturer of graphics chips and display adapters. Founded in 1985 by K. Y. Ho, Benny Lau and Lee Lau, ATI chips and boards are widely used by OEMs. has taken the lead in providing the best graphics accelerators in the industry with our 3D Rage II chip," said Henry Quan, vice president of marketing for ATI Technologies. "Teaming with Mediamatics was a natural for ATI, as they have a proven record with software video. Both companies are committed to delivering the best MPEG-2 solution to the industry." S3 Incorporated: "As the world's largest supplier of graphics, video and multimedia accelerators, S3 is working closely with Mediamatics to help drive the emerging DVD PC market," said Gary Johnson, President and CEO of S3 Incorporated. "Our leading 2D and 3D accelerators combined with the Mediamatics DVDExpress A/V Player deliver a DVD-ready feature set at a compelling price/performance point." Creative Multimedia: "We have been working closely with Mediamatics to optimize our products on the MMX and DVD platforms," said Charlie Kawasaki, executive vice president of development for Creative Multimedia. "Mediamatics has demonstrated its market leadership with its software technology. Their understanding of system architecture has helped us adopt these new technologies quickly and inexpensively." Tsunami Media, Inc.: "Using Mediamatics software DVD solution, we've optimized our `Silent Steel' application with the best that MPEG-2 and AC3 has to offer," said Ed Heinbockel, President of Tsunami Media, Inc." A software solution provides the cost efficient means that developers need in order to penetrate the DVD market." InterActual Technologies: "Software playback is the key for enabling cost effective DVD solutions on the PC," said Todd Collart, President of InterActual Technologies. "Mediamatics' software DVD solutions will enable our products, such as our new STAR TREK(R) VideoSaver(TM) product line, to have wide market penetration, eliminating the need for costly hardware upgrades." Detailed DVD White Paper by Mediamatics Available For a detailed outline of Mediamatics' vision for consumer quality video and interactive DVD on the PC, please refer to its strategic white paper, entitled "The Road to Cost Effective Interactive DVD Playback on the Entertainment PC." This paper is available by calling 510/668-4850 x213, or by email at cheryl@mediamatics.com. About Mediamatics, Inc. Mediamatics, founded in 1993, provides software and semiconductor products enabling full-motion video and high quality audio on PCs, making them cost-effective entertainment solutions. The company offers highly refined compression technology based on its Collaborative Compression Architecture (CCA (1) (Common Cryptographic Architecture) Cryptography software from IBM for MVS and DOS applications. (2) (Compatible Communications A ). This architecture employs a scaleable approach to partitioning system functionality between CPU (via software) and peripheral elements (via VLSI VLSI: see integrated circuit. (1) (Very Large Scale Integration) Between 100,000 and one million transistors on a chip. See SSI, MSI, LSI and ULSI. (2) (VLSI Technology, Inc., Tempe, AZ, www.semiconductors. ) to achieve the highest quality playback performance while maintaining mass market cost objectives. Its products are licensed by Microsoft and all major PC OEM manufacturers making it the world's largest supplier of MPEG1 decoders. To receive additional corporate and product information, visit Mediamatics' 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 at: http://www.mediamatics.com -0- Note to Editors: Mediamatics, DVD Express, CCA and MVCCA are trademarks of Mediamatics, Inc. All trade names referenced are the service mark, trademark or registered trademark or trade name of their respective companies. CONTACT: Mediamatics, Inc. Pier L. Del Frate, 510/668-4850 x225 pdelfrate@mediamatics.com or Marketing/PR Savvy Ford Kanzler, 415/726-1055 ford@prsavvy.com |
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