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Philips Announces New Trimedia CPU Optimized for Mobile Media Processing Applications

IBM Delivers New Midrange Storage Systems

Info-Tek Unveils Mobile DVB-T Tuner

Creative Introduces New Prodikeys PC-MIDI Dual-Function Keyboard For Home Users

Atmel Introduces New Rad-Hard SPARC Processor For Space Industry

Albatron, PNY, Leadtek, XFX Deliver Graphics Cards On 6800GS GPU



Philips Announces New Trimedia CPU Optimized for Mobile Media Processing Applications

Royal Philips Electronics today introduced a new TriMedia CPU to be used in a wide range of Philips' Nexperia media processing solutions. Philips says its new TM3270 TriMedia CPU combines the performance needed for processing the latest audio/video formats with extremely low power operation.

The TM3270 TriMedia CPU is a fully synthesizable design allowing easy integration into Nexperia SOC (System on Chip) designs. Utilizing new, patented instructions for H.264 video processing and voltage-scaling capabilities, it is able to decode full D1-resolution H.264 video with CABAC while consuming under 100mW typical power consumption. It supports the encoding and decoding of all leading audio and video formats including H.264, MPEG-1/2/4, Windows Media 9 and DivX. Support for programmable image-enhancement optimizes video quality for sharpness and clarity on next generation displays. The CPU is fully C-programmable, maintaining backward compatibility with previous TriMedia CPUs, and ensuring compatibility with future evolving standards.

The TM3270 CPU is available now in low-power 0.09-Micron CMOS process. The first Nexperia SOC solutions containing the new TriMedia CPU will be announced in the first half of 2006.

Source: Royal Philips Electronics

IBM Delivers New Midrange Storage Systems

IBM today announced the introduction of the IBM System Storage N5000, a new series of networked storage systems designed for midrange customers, particularly enterprises operating distributed networks across remote sites.

The N5000 series provides network attached storage solutions for small to midrange enterprises to help them address a wide range of data storage needs, including high performance mission-critical data access, disk-to-disk backup, and data retention and archive scenarios utilizing non-erasable and non-rewritable (WORM) technology.

The N5000 series supports all major storage access protocols including NAS, iSCSI for IP SAN and FCP protocol for Fiber Channel SAN environments. Support for NAS, IP SAN and FC SAN environments operate concurrently or separately based on the customer’s needs.

The IBM System Storage N5200 and N5500 products differ only in high availability features, scalability and performance capabilities. IBM plans to make them generally available on December 9, 2005 in both single and dual storage controller models, with list prices for the N5200 starting at approximately $60,000, and list prices for the N5500 starting at approximately $85,000.

Today’s announcement represents the second set of product offerings resulting from the technology and marketing alliance between IBM and NetApp that was announced in April. In August, IBM introduced the IBM System Storage N3700, which is designed to offer an economical and robust network attached storage solutions for small and medium-sized businesses of less than 1,000 employees.

Source: IBM

Info-Tek Unveils Mobile DVB-T Tuner

Info-Tek Corporation, the major supplier of the GECUBE brand, has announced the new release of a complete DVB-T tuner USB solution - the GECUBE Digital TV Walker. A mobile multimedia device that allows users to watch and record TV on the go, the TV Walker supports high-definition digital TV and radio broadcasts.

Specifications:

  • Model Name: GC-DVBT 2.0-RC
  • Interface: USB 2.0
  • TV Port: DVB-T
  • TV Support: DVB-T
  • Audio Support: Stereo
  • Physical Specifications: 78x25x14mm

The novelty has support for SDTV, EPG and Teletext, has an optional remote control, can record digital TV in to MPEG-2, take still image snapshots.

Source: Info-Tek

Creative Introduces New Prodikeys PC-MIDI Dual-Function Keyboard For Home Users

Creative today announced the Creative Prodikeys PC-MIDI dual-function keyboard for home users.

Creative Prodikeys PC-MIDI features popular multimedia keyboard functions such as customizable HotKeys, media playback control, and enhanced F-keys functions, which enable easy access to frequently used applications and tasks on the PC. The HotKeys are customizable with the included HotKeys Manager software. The signature integrated music keys are neatly embedded and protected under the keyboard palm rest which supports the wrists for typing comfortably. The Snap-On color faceplate feature also allows users options to customize the keyboard color.

Creative Prodikeys PC-MIDI comes with a suite of easy-to-use music software designed to let home users explore music making on the computer. Users can play with different instrument sounds, learn to play a song, and easily create and record music in MP3, WAV or WMA formats.

The Creative Prodikeys PC-MIDI is available in November for US$39.00 through all Creative's retail outlets.

Source: Creative

Atmel Introduces New Rad-Hard SPARC Processor For Space Industry

Atmel introduced the AT697, a new generation of radiation hardened 32-bit SPARC processors (V8) for the space industry developed with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA).

Compared to the former SPARC processors, the AT697 improves the speed versus power consumption ratio by eight, providing the spacecraft computers with an increased calculation capacity in a three-time smaller package. The AT697 is also software compatible with the previous Atmel SPARC processors – including the SPARC V7 TSC695F –, which are today widely used in flight as the central component of the spacecraft computers. This allows engineers to re-use any software application that has been developed with Atmel's previous SPARC processors, with the benefit of the AT697 higher performance.

The AT697 processor implements the LEON2 FT (fault tolerant) VHDL model owned by ESA, the European Space Agency. It is produced on Atmel's 0.18µm CMOS process in Atmel's France manufacturing site. It includes a SPARC V8 Integer Unit, a Floating Point Unit, separate instruction and data caches, a PCI interface and a flexible memory controller that can interface with SRAM, PROM and SDRAM.

To smooth the engineers' task, the design is fully static and highly testable thanks to a boundary scan through a JTAG interface. And a dedicated Debug Support Unit will ease the software debugging. The AT697 operates with 1.8-Volt and 3.3-Volt power supplies for the core and the I/O buffers, respectively. It delivers 86 MIPs (Dhrystone 2.1) and 23 MFlops (Whetstone) at 100 MHz. The ratio between performance and power consumption reaches a value as high as 150 MIPs/W, the power consumption being 7 mW/MHz.

To prevent erroneous operations resulting from Single Event Upset and Single Event Transient errors, it implements a set of protection features including Triple Modular Redundancy, error correction and detection (EDAC) or parity checks on internal memories and EDAC on external memories. The first version of this processor has been tested successfully against total dose up to 100 krads and its single event latch-up threshold is higher than 70 MeV/(mg/cm2).

The AT697 samples are available now. The current version of the processor (AT697E) will be delivered tested to military quality flow (QML-Q) for some ESA projects by the end of 2005. At the end of 2006, the AT697 processor flight models will be delivered tested to either QML Q & V or ESCC quality flows. This second version of the AT697 processor will have improved radiation capabilities, up to 300 krads.

Source: Atmel

Albatron, PNY, Leadtek, XFX Deliver Graphics Cards On 6800GS GPU

Since NVIDIA yesterday announced the availability of its NV42-based GeForce 6800GS GPUs, vendors also extended their series of graphics card offerings.

Albatron announced the new PC6800GS VGA card with the core rated at 425MHz. This card also has 256MB of DDR3 memory with a 256-bit memory bus. The memory can clock up to 1 GHz.

Leadtek's WinFast PX6800GS TDH 256MB (425MHz/1GHz) is said to cost about $270 (in Japan) exceeding NVIDIA's recommended $250. The package includes Splinter Cell, Prince Of Persia and DVD Player software.

The PNY Verto GeForce 6800GS Overclocked differs by 470MHz/1.1GHz clock rates and the price of $279.

The XFX GeForce 6800GS XXX seems to be the most overclocked of all featuring 485MHz core clock at 1.1GHz memory clock (the XFX GeForce 6800 GS eXTreme version is clocked at 450MHz/1.05GHz).

Such cards are also expected from Galaxy, Innovision, MSI (NX6800GS), Sparkle (PixelView GeForce6800GS) and Prolink (SP-PX42SDH).

Sources: Albatron, PNY, Leadtek, PC Watch

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