S3's New Trio64UV+ Controller Brings 64-Bit Performance and Multimedia Functionality to Entry-Level Home Systems; Optimized UMA-Based Graphics/Video Accelerator Lowers Home PC Costs.SANTA CLARA Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 11, 1995--S3 Incorporated (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : SIII) today introduced its first Unified Memory Architecture (UMA (1) (Unlicensed Mobile Access) See GAN. (2) (Upper Memory Area) Memory in a PC between 640K and 1M. More relevant in the days of DOS, this region was broken into Upper Memory Blocks (UMB) reserved for video memory and other ) solution, the Trio64UV+ integrated graphics Refers to having the video display circuitry of a computer contained directly on the motherboard rather than on a separate plug-in card (the display adapter). Integrated graphics typically share memory with the CPU (see shared video memory) and provide a more economical alternative to the and video accelerator A hardware component on a display adapter that speeds up full-motion video. The primary video accelerator functions are color space conversion, which converts YUV to RGB, hardware scaling, which is used to enlarge the image to full screen and double buffering which moves the frames into . Targeted at the 1996 entry-level segment of the home PC market, the 64-bit, video-enabled Trio64UV+ graphics accelerator A display adapter that performs a specialized set of graphics functions to render an image on screen. Today, all display adapters provide basic rendering functions in hardware, but many have graphics processing units (GPUs) that are sophisticated computers. eliminates the need for a separate graphics memory. This UMA-based solution allows for enhanced multimedia functionality and performance in entry-level systems at significant cost-savings compared to current architectures. The Trio64UV+ graphics accelerator is the latest in a series of products based on the highly successful Trio64 family of 64-bit graphics accelerators. S3 customers will be able to obtain the UMA-based Trio64UV+ solution in volume production in Q1 1996. "By lowering the graphics subsystem cost, the Trio64UV+ graphics and video accelerator enables system manufacturers to bring video features and 64-bit performance to home PC users at entry-level prices," said Sunil Sanghavi, S3's group director of marketing, home and advanced systems. "S3's Trio64V+ core provides a highly optimized graphics solution, including mature drivers, video acceleration, and our expertise in shared frame buffer technology ranging over four generations. As a result, the Trio64UV+ accelerator is expected to achieve volume production quickly with robust hardware and proven software driver technology." Multiple Price/Performance Points Without UMA, systems manufacturers will be forced to reposition current mid-range systems as entry-level systems in 1996 to keep up with the increasing demand for performance and functionality by the value-conscious home PC buyer. To meet entry-level price points, systems manufacturers would be forced to remove the L2 cache from these systems, thus restricting the end-user's price/performance choices. With the advent of S3's UMA-based Trio64UV+ solution, home PC users now have the choice of spending less or purchasing a higher-performance entry-level PC. By simply eliminating the need for a separate graphics frame buffer, the Trio64UV+ accelerator can reduce the graphics subsystem cost by 60 percent and yet provide an average of 90 percent of the performance. Alternately, if the savings realized by removing the graphics frame buffer are invested in an L2 cache, the Trio64UV+ graphics accelerator can provide the fastest entry-level solution. This solution can deliver an average five percent faster CPU/system performance and 20 percent faster graphics performance at the same cost as previous generation 32-bit, entry-level graphics solutions. Commitment to UMA "S3 expects that UMA will capture the lion's share of the value-segmented home PC market by mid-1996, and migrate to the mid-range in 1997," said Neal Margulis, S3's vice president, home and advanced systems. "The Trio64UV+ graphics accelerator is designed to support multiple price/performance points today, and is the first of many S3 products that will use UMA to provide continuously improving performance and functionality." Broad Industry Support The Trio64UV+ graphics and video accelerator supports all major UMA protocols. S3 is active on the VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association, Milpitas, CA, www.vesa.org) A membership organization founded in 1989 that sets interface standards for the PC, workstation and computing environments. Note the following VESA standards following this entry. UMA hardware and software committees. In addition, S3 has developed the Trio64UV+ design in conjunction with all major vendors of core logic UMA solutions. The Trio64UV+ accelerator is supported by the next-generation Intel Pentium-class core logic designs from Acer America Corporation, Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, Intel Corporation, OPTi, Inc., Silicon Integrated Systems Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS, Traditional Chinese: 矽統科技) is a company that manufactures, among other things, motherboard chipsets. The company was founded in 1987 in Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan. Corporation, UMC UMC United Methodist Church UMC United Microelectronics Corporation UMC University Medical Center UMC United Microelectronics Corp (Republic of China) UMC University of Missouri-Columbia , and VIA Technologies, Inc. Proven Performance Optimized for next-generation Pentium processor designs, the Trio64UV+ accelerator incorporates an enhanced version of the high-performance 64-bit graphics engine and 24-bit 135 MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. true-color RAMDAC (Random Access Memory Digital to Analog Converter) The VGA controller chip that maintains the color palette and converts data from memory into analog signals for the monitor. RAMDAC - Random Access Memory Digital-to-Analog Converter that is found on the Trio64V+ chip. Full software support for the Trio64UV+ controller is provided through S3 drivers for Windows 3.11, Windows NT, and Windows 95; OS/2, 2.1 and 3.0 (Warp); SCO UNIX; AutoDesk's AutoCAD, and Microstation. Multimedia Functionality In addition to leveraging the high-performance of an existing accelerator core, the Trio64UV+ product takes advantage of another proven technology, S3's Cooperative Accelerator Architecture solution, to bring unprecedented multimedia functionality to entry-level PCs. The Cooperative Accelerator Architecture solution allows for video acceleration from S3's industry leading Streams Processor technology, and the ability to directly connect to 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). or live video through S3's Scenic Highway local peripheral bus. S3's Streams Processor technology supports on-the-fly stretching and blending of a primary RGB (Red Green Blue) The computer's native color space, which is the color system for capturing and displaying images. RGB was derived from our own perception of color because human eyes are sensitive to red, green and blue (see trichromaticity). stream and a secondary RGB or YUV/YCbCr (video) stream. Game and presentation effects include hardware double-buffering support for high-quality tear-free playback; 2-D scrolling and sprite plane support; color and chroma keying for overlaying of graphics-onto-video and video-onto-graphics; and arithmetic blending of two pixel streams for fade-in/fade-out transition effects. Additionally, the Streams Processor technology provides hardware acceleration for Indeo, Cinepak, and software-accelerated MPEG-1 video playback. The S3 Scenic Highway local peripheral bus offers a bi-directional protocol that couples video and graphics to improve system performance and interactivity. Based on a defacto industry standard interface supported by multiple third-party video chips, the Scenic Highway interface eliminates unnecessary, expensive glue logic, enabling a low-cost upgrade to live video and MPEG-1 peripherals such as S3's Scenic/MX2 MPEG decoder. Price and Availability The S3 Trio64UV+ graphic accelerator is priced at $25 for 10,000 units. Samples are available now in an industry-standard 208-pin Plastic Quad Flat Pact (PQFP (Plastic Quad Flat Package) Refers to many varieties of QFP chip packages, which are molded in plastic. See QFP. ), and volume production is expected in Q1 1996. About S3 S3 Incorporated, headquartered in Santa Clara, California Santa Clara, California (IPA: /ˌsæntəˈklærə/) , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. is a leading supplier of multimedia acceleration solutions for leading personal computer (PC) platforms and operating systems. S3 is committed to applying its expertise in audio, video and graphics acceleration hardware and software to create innovative and affordable products for the home, desktop and mobile markets. -0- Note to Editors: S3 and True Acceleration are registered trademarks of S3 Incorporated. The S3 corporate Logo, S3 On Board and the S3 On Board Logo, No Compromise Integration, No Compromise Acceleration, Innovations in Acceleration, Cooperative Acceleration Architecture, Streams Processor, Scenic Highway, Galileo, SDAC SDAC Solar Data Analysis Center SDAC Seismic Data Analysis Center SDAC Sled Dog Action Coalition SDAC Shelby Dodge Automobile Club (Centerline, MI) SDAC Seventh-Day Adventist Church SDAC Satellite Data Analysis Center , MIC, Native-MPEG, S3 801, S3 805, S3 PS805, S3 805i, S3 928, S3 928PCI (1) (Payment Card Industry) See PCI DSS. (2) (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The most widely used I/O bus (peripheral bus). , Trio, Trio32, Trio64, Trio64V+, Trio64UV+, Scenic/MX1, Scenic/MX2, Sonic/AD, ViRGE, ViRGE/VX, Vision64, Vision864, Vision964, Vision/VA, Vision866, Vision868 and Vision968 are trademarks of S3 Incorporated. Other notations of trademark and registered trademark are trademarks of their respective firms. All tradenames referenced are the service mark, trademark, or registered trademark of their respective companies. CONTACT: S3 Incorporated Nikki Tanis/Paul Crossley, 408/980-5400 ntanis@S3.com pcross@S3.com |
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