New DSP Family from Cirrus Logic Boosts Audio Leadership.

Entertainment Editors/Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2004

Cirrus Strength in Software the Key to Programmability and Fast

Time To Market, New DSP Solution Reaffirms Forward Concepts'

Audio Leadership Findings

Helping digital entertainment manufacturers deliver more affordable, advanced audio features into consumer electronics products, Cirrus Logic Inc. (Nasdaq:CRUS) today announced the introduction of the CS49500 family, a high-end, multichannel audio digital signal processor (DSP) family targeted for the audio/video receiver (AVR) and other digital entertainment markets.

The CS49500 family relies on dual 32-bit DSP cores, optimized for audio, with dual multiply-and-accumulate (MAC) units and 72-bit accumulators, to deliver up to 1,440 MOPS (millions of operations per second) for advanced decoding and robust 96 kHz multi-channel post processing. Without requiring any external RAM, the CS49500 family of single-chip solutions can support all industry-standard decoding algorithms, such as Dolby(R) Digital-Pro Logic IIx, DTS-ES 96/24(R) with THX(R) and other advanced post-processing, in addition to customer-programmable algorithms. The CS49500 family has enough ROM to store all mainstream application codes and also supports extension to future algorithms via external download of code into RAM.

The highlight of the CS49500 family is its dual decoder CS49520, which can, for example, simultaneously decode DTS and Dolby Digital, or AAC(tm) and Dolby Digital. The dual core architecture can operate as two separate 32-bit DSPs with different clock domains. Dual decoding is an advanced feature that enables new AVRs to support dual zones with content coming from two different sources. The result is a very powerful yet cost-effective solution for manufacturers of high-performance digital consumer entertainment systems such as AVRs and DVD receivers, digital televisions, home-theater systems and other types of audio systems, such as automotive.

"The CS49500 family builds on Cirrus' established audio leadership by bringing to market a single-chip, 32-bit dual-core DSP that delivers advanced multichannel decoding and post-processing at high-performance levels of 96 kHz and above," said Raghunath Rao, director of Audio Video Systems Marketing, Cirrus Logic. "The CS49500 family is easy to design and customize, because we offer a complete solution that includes a reference system design with a modular software framework, an optimized library of algorithms, programming tools and extensive customer support."

Conventional DSP solutions use a single-core architecture that requires all audio code to be integrated together and operate in a tightly coupled, pre-defined manner. Using the Cirrus dual-core architecture and software framework, customers receive pre-certified software on the first core that covers all major technology standards for decoding and processing. Using the Cirrus C compiler and assembler, customers can easily develop code on the second core on top of Cirrus pre-certified post-processing features. Application interaction problems, which are inherent to development on a single core, are not a concern, because there is minimal coupling between the applications on different cores limited to only a data hand-off.

Forward Concepts identified Cirrus Logic as the leader in consumer and professional audio segments for the fourth consecutive year in its semi-annual report on audio chip markets, "The Convergence of Audio 2003: A Chip Market Analysis." The report covers the three major markets for audio integrated circuits and once again identifies Cirrus Logic as holding the top audio chip position. The last report by Forward Concepts, which came out in 2001, also placed Cirrus in the top slot.

The Cirrus DSP portfolio, strengthened by the addition of the CS49500 family, boasts a wide range of DSPs focused on audio applications. The CS49300 and CS49400 series of audio processors represent a strong presence in consumer audio devices in the moderate price and performance range, while the new CS49500 family enables advanced applications and customer programmability. The CS49500 family's dual 32-bit fixed-point DSP core with dual MACs and 72-bit wide accumulators enables audio processing power approaching that of very high-end processors, and provides improved precision over competing devices currently in the market. The end result is an ease of customization that makes it easier for OEMs to maximize features and performance and offer consumers a richer audio experience.

Pricing and Availability

The devices are available in a 144-pin LQFP package and are currently sampling. The CS49500 will be available at $12.95 when purchased in quantities of 10,000 or more. Additional pricing information is available from local Cirrus Logic sales representatives.

Cirrus Logic Inc.

Cirrus Logic is a premier supplier of high-performance analog, mixed-signal, and digital processing solutions for consumer entertainment electronics, automotive entertainment, and industrial product applications. Building on its global market leadership in audio ICs and its rich mixed-signal patent portfolio, Cirrus Logic targets audio, video, and precision mixed-signal applications in these growing markets. The company operates from headquarters in Austin, Texas, with offices in California, Colorado, Europe, Japan and Asia. More information about Cirrus Logic is available at www.cirrus.com.

Cirrus Logic and Cirrus are trademarks of Cirrus Logic Inc. All other product names noted herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.