Motorola Pumps Its DSP56004 Up To 66 MHz; Motorola Introduces Supporting DSP-Based Digital Audio Development Systems.

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 1995--Motorola's (NYSE:MOT) Digital Signal Processing Division, part of Motorola's Microcontroller Technologies Group, today announced the availability of a faster version of its 24-bit DSP56004 digital signal processor (DSP).

Previously available at 50 MHz, the Digital Signal Processing Division's Symphony(TM) DSP56004 is now available at 66 MHz and is optimized to provide home theater and ambient effects for consumer audio applications. The 66 MHz DSP56004 delivers 33 million instructions per second (MIPS) and a 15 nanosecond instruction cycle.

Today Motorola also announced the availability of its digital audio development systems which provide hardware and software solutions for Dolby Laboratories (San Francisco, Calif.) ProLogic(TM), Lucasfilm Ltd. (San Rafael, Calif.) Home THX(R) processing and other industry-standard audio algorithms, with plans to support Dolby AC3 Surround(TM) in the future. The Digital Signal Processing Division's evaluation modules are high-quality, cost-effective, multi-channel audio development and reference platforms which feature Motorola's 24-bit Symphony(TM) family's DSP56007 digital signal processor (DSP). The evaluation modules, with Motorola silicon and software, are complete turnkey solutions to reduce time-to-market and design costs. These products are optimized for developing a variety of applications, including audio/video receivers, televisions, automotive audio, set-top boxes and digital video disks.

DSP56004 at 66 MHz

With 66 MHz of performance, DSP56004 users can run Dolby Laboratories (San Francisco, Calif.) ProLogic(TM) and Lucasfilm Ltd. (San Rafael, Calif.) Home THX(R) algorithms simultaneously. The enhanced DSP56004 offers the highest quality home theater solution available, and it is the only single chip solution which concurrently supports the two most popular home theater technologies. The DSP56004 is also targeted for high-performance, cost-sensitive digital audio applications in consumer audio markets, such as audio/video receivers and televisions.

"Running at 66 MHz, the DSP56004 increases functionality and processing power for a considerably lower cost than other multi-chip ProLogic and THX solutions," said Keith Essency, Motorola's DSP Division 24/32-bit operations manager. "Motorola is responding to the needs of its audio customers by providing high-performance, cost-effective, programmable solutions, with industry-standard audio software and additional bandwidth so customers can add software to differentiate their products."

With support for standard interfaces, the DSP56004 provides customers with a single-chip audio effects engine. The DSP56004 features a low-cost serial host interface for communication with microcontrollers, an external memory interface for glueless connection to SRAMs and DRAMs for data storage and a serial audio interface, simplifying the interface with analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) converters.

The DSP56004 serial audio interfaces support the leading audio standards including Philips' Inter-Integrated Circuit Sound (I2S), Sony and Matsushita formats. There is also a serial interface for microcontrollers using Motorola's Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) or Philips' Inter-Integrated Circuit Control (I2C) formats. In addition, Motorola's DSP56004 offers all the architectural features of the 24-bit DSP56000 core product family with added digital audio specific enhancements.

The 66 MHz DSP56004 will be available in production volumes in the third calendar quarter of 1995 in 80-pin, Quad Flat Pack (QFP) packages for an OEM price of U.S. $16.80 per unit in 100K piece quantities. The DSP56004 is also available at 50 MHz for $14.00 in 100K unit quantities.

Digital Audio Development Systems

Two Symphony EVM systems are available now. The first, the DSP56007EVM, includes general-purpose audio software, such as finite impulse response filters (FIRs), infinite impulse response filters (IIRs) and fast Fourier transforms (FFTs), in the DSP56007 ROM. The second version, the DSP56THXEVM, offers software support for Dolby ProLogic and Lucasfilm Home THX functionality. The DSP56THXEVM is available only to Dolby and Lucasfilm licensees. A third version, the DSP56AC3EVM, will implement AC3 Surround decoding and will be available later this year. All three systems are identical except for the on-chip DSP resources and embedded code, leveraging the pin-for-pin compatibility of the Symphony family. This allows a single board design to be used for implementing ProLogic only, ProLogic and THX or AC3 functionality.

The DSP56007 Evaluation Module will be available from Motorola distributors in August 1995 for U.S. $499.95. The DSP56THXEVM with Dolby ProLogic and Lucasfilm THX is available to Dolby and Lucasfilm authorized licensees for U.S. $799.95. For order information contact a local Motorola semiconductor sales office or distributor.

Having 1994 worldwide sales of $6.9 billion, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector is the largest U.S.-based broad line supplier of semiconductors, with a balanced portfolio of more than 50,000 devices. Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of wireless communication, semiconductors, and advanced electronic systems and services. Major equipment businesses include cellular telephone, two-way radio, paging and data communications, personal communications, automotive, defense and space electronics and computers. Communication devices, computers and millions of consumer products are powered by Motorola semiconductors. Motorola's 1994 sales were $22.2 billion. -0-

Note to Editors: ProLogic is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. THX is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm LTD. Symphony is a trademark of Motorola, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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