Trident unveils SOUNDSUITE audio technology that slashes bill of materials cost; 3D Wavetable interactive audio with QSound produces 2 to 4 factor cost reduction.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 1997--Trident Microsystems (NASDAQ:TRID) today announced the development of a PC audio capability with the introduction of SOUNDSUITE technology, a collection of audio techniques to enhance the capability of their 3D graphics chips.

The first SOUNDSUITE-based audio products are scheduled to sample early Q3, 97.

Available in modular form, SOUNDSUITE will initially include: interactive 3D positional audio, hardware wavetable synthesizer, DLS (Downloadable Samples) support, complete Sound Blaster and ISA DMA emulation, VirtualFM, Microsoft DirectSound and DirectSound 3D (or DS3D) hardware acceleration, special effects, PCI Bus Mastering, DEJ (Digital Enhanced Joystick) and AC-97 high-quality codec interface. Other significant audio solutions will be added as they become available.

"Our THAMA technology slashed DVD incremental costs by a factor of ten," said Dr. Gerry Liu, vice president of multimedia marketing. "We expect SOUNDSUITE-based audio subsystems to reduce costs by a factor of two to four over existing 3D PCI wavetable solutions."

Audio solutions to date have included integrating an on-chip FM synthesizer, adding a Sound Blaster emulation microcontroller, a codec or even providing fallback to ISA operation and wavetable ROM interface. SOUNDSUITE minimizes these redundancies and achieves a nominal savings of 40% to 70% in both gate count and pin count. Implementing Trident's SOUNDSUITE offers cost, design and architectural advantages to the board designer. A lower pin count can be achieved and still adhere to the AC97 standard that stipulates an all-analog signal integration.

Complete Sound Blaster/ISA DMA emulation and VirtualFM

Trident's SOUNDSUITE is implemented on a single chip and maintains Sound Blaster compatibility using core logic with or without Distributed DMA support, unlike other PCI audio solutions that either do not work with the Intel Triton family, or require a companion chip to achieve compatibility. The VirtualFM technique uniquely supports real-time OPL3-to-Wavetable conversion.

DSP-Free 3D Positional Audio Licensed from QSound Labs' QSoft3D

SOUNDSUITE provides two solutions for 3D positional audio, either DirectSound 3D or QSound Labs' QSoft3D. DirectSound 3D hardware acceleration is supported through PCI bus mastering, ITD (Interaural Time Difference), IID (Interaural Intensity Difference), Pan, Delay and Doppler hardware. QSound Labs' QSoft3D is an efficient sound algorithm that delivers advanced, interactive 3D positional audio without the MIPS requirement of other DSP-based algorithms.

"The Trident SOUNDSUITE technology suite is a very compelling and cost-effective platform for our QSoft3D technology. We believe that, together, we are offering the most effective PCI-based interactive 3D positional audio subsystem available on the market today," said David Gallagher, president of QSound Labs.

On-Chip Hardware Wavetable Synthesizer

Many ISA audio controllers are bundled with a software wavetable synthesizer, further burdening the performance of ISA-DMA based applications. Trident's SOUNDSUITE resolves all the compromises of the ISA audio controller bundled with a software synthesizer.

"Trident has seen a major opportunity in the changes that are occurring in the audio market, and is moving quickly from ISA to PCI, from FM synthesis to Wavetable, from Sound Blaster compatibility to DirectSound and DirectSound 3D. Trident is well-positioned to take advantage of this transition by introducing the right product, at the right time and at the right price," said Kenneth Ma, senior director of multimedia marketing.

Background

Trident Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRID), with headquarters in Mountain View, designs, develops and markets integrated circuit graphics controllers and multimedia video processing chipsets for PCs which significantly enhance graphics display. Trident's products are sold through a network of OEMs and system integrators worldwide.

Forward-Looking Information

The statements made herein regarding the development of Trident's audio products are forward-looking statements. The actual availability and sales of such products could vary substantially as a result of a variety of factors, including the Company's ability to supply and support its customers, the ability of the Company's customers to manufacture an ship products incorporating the Company's products, as well as the availability of other products and resources. Trident's performance depends upon the overall markets' reaction to its technology, feature sets, pricing and delivery schedules. Further information regarding these and other risks is described from time to time in the Company's SEC reports. -0-

         Comparison of Recently-Announced PCI Audio Controllers

                              S3
                  Trident    Sonic  Crystal    VLSI      Oak    Opti
                 SOUNDSUITE  Vibes  CS4610   Songbird  OTI-610  935

Replacing ISA
 OPL3 audio          Y         Y      N         Y        N       Y

Hardware Wavetable   Y         Y      Y         Y        Y       N

Interactive 3D
 Positional audio    Y         N      Y         Y        Y       N

Codec (Integrated
 vs AC-97)        AC-97  Integrated  AC-97    AC-97   AC-97 Integrated

Package       less than 20    160     100      208      160   128/160
                  pins        QFP     QFP      QFP      QFP     QFP
                additional
               incremental
Announced
 Price      less than $7.50   $30     $22      $25      $15     n/a
               incremental

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Trident is a registered trademark of Trident Microsystems, Inc. Other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Trident Microsystems

Peter Brown, 415/943-3761

[e-mail]

www.tridentmicro.com